Applied Energy xxx (2013) xxx–xxx

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Applied Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apenergy

Measures for improving the adoption of higher efficiency appliances in

Indonesian households: An analysis of lifetime use and decision-making
in the purchase of electrical appliances
Muhammad Ery Wijaya ⇑, Tetsuo Tezuka
Department of Socio-Environmental Energy Science, Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University, Yoshida-Honmachi, Sakyo-Ku, Kyoto, Japan

h i g h l i g h t s

" We observe human psychosocial variables regarding purchase of electrical appliances.

" Two cities with different cultures are subject of this study – Bandung and Yogyakarta.
" Differences in the lifetime of appliances can be attributed to the cultural.
" Ads and store’s staff have the greatest impact on people’s choice of appliances.
" Adoption of higher-efficiency appliances could be implemented based on each culture.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: One approach to decreasing electricity consumption is to facilitate the replacement of older appliances
Received 27 September 2012 with new, higher-efficiency. The objectives of this paper are to compare and analyse the replacement
Received in revised form 30 November 2012 of appliances in two cities of Indonesia – Yogyakarta and Bandung – that are characterised by different
Accepted 12 February 2013
cultural backgrounds, ethnicities, and decision-making processes in the household purchase of electrical
Available online xxxx
appliances. A questionnaire survey method was employed to obtain information on behavioural econom-
ics and human psychosocial variables such as attitudes, beliefs and perceived benefits regarding the
Keywords:
replacement and purchase of electrical appliances. The results show that refrigerators in Yogyakarta have
Appliance lifetime
Decision-making
a longer lifetime than in Bandung. However, in Bandung, air conditioners, electric fans, rice cookers, and
Energy efficiency water pumps have a longer lifetime than in Yogyakarta. These differences in the lifetime of appliances can
Households be attributed to the cultural differences within the two cities that are reflected in the manner in which
Indonesia people use electrical appliances as well as to their lack of knowledge regarding appliance operation.
An analysis of the factors influencing the purchase of appliances indicated that people in Yogyakarta
show a greater awareness of the benefits of adopting higher-efficiency appliances than do persons in Ban-
dung. The following suggestions could be implemented to improve the strategy of encouraging the adop-
tion of higher-efficiency appliances: (1) in Yogyakarta, energy labelling could be applied to assist
customers in understanding the rate of energy consumption of selected appliances; (2) in Bandung,
the store sales staff could be trained to adapt their promotional messages to persuade people to purchase
high-efficiency appliances and to promote the adoption of higher-efficiency models; and (3) the price of
appliances could be correlated with the rate of energy consumption, and the total lifetime cost of use
should be displayed in the store and included in promotional materials.
Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction policy in most countries. This emphasis on energy conservation

Economic development and energy consumption are commonly
linked; i.e., a higher level of economic development typically corre-
sponds to a greater consumption of energy. Therefore, energy con-
servation becomes the dominant issue in discussions of energy
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +81 75 753 3346.
E-mail address: ery_wijaya@mail.ugm.ac.id (M.E. Wijaya).
is due to the increasing use of excessive energy and the increasing
effect on the environment associated with this trend. There is an
urgent need to raise the awareness regarding energy use, and its
effect on the environment affects everyone in terms of their daily
activities.
Household energy consumption has been studied in many
countries because it often represents a large percentage of the total
energy consumption [1–5]. In 2010, the household sector in Indo-

0306-2619/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.02.036

Please cite this article in press as: Wijaya ME, Tezuka T. Measures for improving the adoption of higher efficiency appliances in Indonesian households: An
analysis of lifetime use and decision-making in the purchase of electrical appliances. Appl Energy (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.02.036
2 M.E. Wijaya, T. Tezuka / Applied Energy xxx (2013) xxx–xxx
nesia corresponded to 41% of the total electricity consumption in
the country [6]. Therefore, efforts to promote energy savings in
the household sector will steadily increase. A high percentage of
household energy consumption is associated with the use of major
household appliances. To decrease energy use, both an increase in
energy-use efficiency (through the adoption of higher-efficiency
appliances) and the adoption of more ecologically aware consumer
behaviours (through an improvement in users’ operational knowl-
edge regarding electrical appliances), should be promoted [7].
Household energy consumption is strongly influenced by life-
style and cultural factors [5,8]. Therefore, the study of household
electricity consumption in Indonesia must necessarily recognise
that society consists of persons with varied cultural backgrounds
or ethnicities corresponding to several different regions. The diver-
sity of cultural backgrounds may affect the residents’ decision-
making behaviour regarding the purchase and use of electrical
appliances in Indonesia. Finally, it will affect the total electricity
consumption in the country since the household sector is the larg-
est consumer of electricity. However, the role of local culture as an
influence on household electricity consumption has traditionally
received little attention. As a result, policy and decision makers
have a limited understanding of the opportunities for intervention
in support of the control of electricity consumption in the house-
hold sector.
Therefore, to address this lack of knowledge on the role of cul-
tural differences in household electricity consumption, this paper
has the following objectives: (1) to compare trends regarding the
replacement of appliances in two cities in Indonesia with different
cultural backgrounds and ethnicities and investigate the reason for
the replacement and (2) to compare and analyse decision-making
in the purchase of electrical appliances by households in the stud-
ied two cities. The results of this study are expected to improve the
strategy for the adoption of higher-efficiency appliances as part of
an effort to develop an energy conservation policy based on local
cultural information.
2. Overview of Indonesia
2.1. Indonesian economy and consumption of electricity
Indonesian economic development encourages the growth of
the industrial and commercial sectors as well as the welfare of
the population. From 2001 through 2010, the Gross Domestic Prod-
uct (GDP) per capita showed a sharp increase over previous years
with an average annual increase of up to 15%. In 2001, the GDP
per capita was US$ 748. In 2010, the corresponding figure was
US$ 3010 [6,9]. This growth of the GDP per capita is predicted to
continue over the coming years due to the revival of the world
economy. Despite the encouragement of economic growth, the
strongest economic activity in Indonesia remains centered in the
Java-Madura and Bali area, known as the JaMaLi area. In 2010,
the total population in this area was 141 million, corresponding
to almost 60% of the nation’s total population [10]. In 2000, the to-
tal national electricity consumption was 79 TW h. This total in-
creased to 147 TW h in 2010 [6]. Approximately 78% of this
increase in electricity consumption occurred in the JaMaLi area.
The national electrification ratio in 2010 reached 67.2% and will
continue to rapidly grow in accordance with the national trend
of economic growth [11].
In the JaMaLi area, the household sector is predicted to be the
largest consumer of electricity by 2027, overtaking the industrial
sector. According to the government’s projection, the household
sector will include 59% of the total electricity consumption,
whereas the commercial, industrial and public sectors will con-
sume 22%, 12% and 7%, respectively [12]. Therefore, households
Please cite this article in press as: Wijaya ME, Tezuka T. Measures for improving the adoption of higher efficiency appliances in Indonesian households: An
analysis of lifetime use and decision-making in the purchase of electrical appliances. Appl Energy (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.02.036
are an important group to consider in terms of energy conserva-
tion. In addition to representing a greater fraction of the national
consumption, the total electricity consumption by households con-
tinues to increase.
2.2. Demography of Indonesia
The population of Indonesia was approximately 230 million in
2009, comprising 58 million households. Indonesia has one of the
world’s largest populations with an average annual population
growth of 1.3%. Indonesia is a multi-ethnic society and includes
more than 1000 ethnic/sub-ethnic groups. Nevertheless, the size
of most ethnic groups is small, and only 15 groups have more than
1 million people. An ethnic group refers to a cultural identity that
involves language, tradition and patterns of behaviour. According
to the 2000 Population Census published by Statistics Indonesia,
the two largest ethnic groups in Indonesia, the Javanese and Sun-
danese, represented 41.7% and 15.4% of the national population,
respectively [9]. In addition, the Sundanese and Javanese were
the largest consumers of electricity in Indonesia. Populations of
these ethnic groups inhabit the island of Java. Therefore, the Java-
nese and Sundanese were selected as the subject of this study.
Javanese persons are typically known to live according to a modest
and practical lifestyle, whereas Sundanese are considered more
materialistic and consumerist as an open minded society [13,14].
Accordingly, two cities were selected to represent these ethnic
groups: Bandung was selected to represent the Sundanese culture,
and Yogyakarta was selected as the centre of Javanese culture.
3. Methodology
This study was designed to assess behavioural economics and
human psychosocial variables, such as attitudes, beliefs and per-
ceived benefits in the replacement and purchase of electrical appli-
ances related to different cultural backgrounds and ethnicities. The
primary information was obtained from questionnaire surveys
conducted in the two cities. Due to several constrains, the number
of respondents was limited to 100 households randomly selected
from each city for in-depth investigation. In Bandung, only Sunda-
nese people were recruited as respondents. In Yogyakarta, only
Javanese people were selected. The research was conducted from
October to November of 2011.
Despite the low number of sample, the reasons to include par-
ticularly these cities and households were based on the following
considerations:
(a) The selected cities are the representation of the largest elec-
tricity consumer in Indonesia, which is in Java-Madura and
Bali (JaMaLi) area, where the Sundanese and Javanese are
living in that area. Therefore, Yogyakarta was selected to
represent Javanese culture, while Bandung was selected to
represent Sundanese culture.
(b) Currently, there is no available data in the country about res-
idential electrical appliances. Therefore, initial information
about the characteristics of Indonesian household electricity
consumption was developed by using small sample size
from resident in Yogyakarta and Bandung cities. This study
is the first time that collected data of residential electrical
appliances in Indonesia.
(c) Since this study is the first time, there are several barriers
such as time constrains, financial limitation and low partic-
ipatory response from respondents. The respondents were
recruited through a door-to-door solicitation procedure in
which they were asked to consent to a survey of their home
appliances, review of their monthly electricity bill, and an
 M.E. Wijaya, T. Tezuka / Applied Energy xxx (2013) xxx–xxx 3

in-depth interview regarding household members and their Yogyakarta Bandung

typical electricity use behaviour. A lot of prospective respon- 80

Number of households
dents rejected to participate in this survey due to their own
60
privacy.

40
3.1. Outline of the questionnaire survey
20
The questions emphasised two topics: replacement of the appli-
ance and decision-making in the purchase of the appliance. The 0
questionnaire included the following items: (1) the lifetime use 300 301 to 500 501 to 1,000 >1,000
of the appliance, (2) the reason for replacing an appliance, (3) the Income (US$)
information required regarding the characteristics of the appliance,
Fig. 1. Rank comparison of household incomes in Bandung and Yogyakarta.
(4) the factors influencing the purchase of the appliance and (5) the
respondent’s knowledge of the price of electricity. The questions
on the factors influencing the purchase of the appliance and the
respondent’s knowledge of the price of electricity used a scoring (a) <US$ 10 US$ 10-25 >US$ 25-40 >US$ 40
system with a Likert scale to make it easier for the respondents 50

Number of hosehold
to rate the numerous options represented by the possible answers. 40

30
3.2. Respondent profile
20
The majority of respondents that participated in the survey in 10
both cities were male, and most of the respondents held a senior
high school degree. The average age was 45 years in Yogyakarta 0
and 43 years in Bandung. The average family size for each respon- 300 301 to 500 501 to 1,000 >1,000
dent was four in both Yogyakarta and Bandung. The detailed char- Income (US$)
acteristics of the respondents are shown in Table 1. In Yogyakarta, (b) <US$ 10 US$ 10-25 >US$ 25-40 >US$ 40
approximately 75% of those surveyed had monthly incomes of less 50
Number of households

than US$ 300.

In Bandung, the income distribution was also dominated by 40
households with monthly incomes of less than US$ 300; however, 30
the proportion of households with incomes of less than US$ 300
was considerably less than that of Yogyakarta. In general, both cit- 20
ies showed similar trends regarding income levels because the in- 10
come distribution was dominated by the households with the
lowest income level. However, the Bandung households had an 0
300 301 to 500 501 to 1,000 >1,000
average income that was higher than that of the Yogyakarta house-
holds. Fig. 1 shows a comparison of the monthly income levels of Income (US$)
the households in Yogyakarta and Bandung. Fig. 2. Distribution of monthly electricity bills by income level in (a) Yogyakarta
Fig. 2 presents the distribution of monthly electricity bills based and (b) Bandung.
on income levels in both cities. The monthly electricity bills for 45
households in the lowest income-level group (less than US$ 300) in
Yogyakarta ranged from US$ 10–25, whereas 31 households in this accompanied by an increase in the income level. In Yogyakarta,
income-level group had bills of less than US$ 10. The same pattern as in Bandung, high electricity bills tended to correspond to high
was observed in Bandung, where 31 and 13 households in the low- income levels.
est income-level group had electricity bills from US$ 10 to 25 and
less than US$ 10, respectively. This study shows that the average
household electricity consumption in Bandung was higher than 4. Results and discussion
that in Yogyakarta. In Bandung, the trend in electricity consump-
tion shows an increase in the amount of the electricity bill is 4.1. Lifetime use of appliances

The decision to replace an old electrical appliance with a new

Table 1
Characteristics of the respondents in Bandung and Yogyakarta.
one indicates that there is a process of adopting higher-efficiency
appliances. The occurrence of such decisions also indicates that
Category Yogyakarta Bandung improvements in the energy efficiency of appliances have the po-
Age M = 45.24, SD = 11.75 M = 43.07, SD = 10.33 tential to decrease the energy use of a household. Therefore, the
Gender Male = 63% Male = 60% rate at which households replace various appliances has important
Female = 37% Female = 40% implications for the realisation of savings in household energy de-
Education Elementary = 12 Elementary = 2 mand in response to technological improvements [15]. This study
Jr. High School = 7 Jr. High School = 7 assessed the lifetime of appliances used by respondents in
Sr. High School = 55 Sr. High School = 52 Yogyakarta and Bandung for eight frequently used devices:
University = 26 University = 39
washing machines, water pumps, rice cookers, lighting devices,
Size of the household M = 4.29 M = 4.10 electric fans, air conditioners, refrigerators and television sets.
SD = 1.30 SD = 1.11
If we compare the two cities (see Table 2), it appears that refrig-
Note: M stands for Mean, SD stands for Standard Deviation. erators in Yogyakarta have a longer lifetime than in Bandung. In

Please cite this article in press as: Wijaya ME, Tezuka T. Measures for improving the adoption of higher efficiency appliances in Indonesian households: An
analysis of lifetime use and decision-making in the purchase of electrical appliances. Appl Energy (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.02.036
4 M.E. Wijaya, T. Tezuka / Applied Energy xxx (2013) xxx–xxx

contrast, air conditioners, electric fans, rice cookers, and water Bandung Yogyakarta
pumps have a longer lifetime in Bandung than in Yogyakarta. This
Promotion/Sale 7
variation might be attributed to cultural aspects that reflect the 10
way in which people use electrical appliances as well as a lack of
Initial Purchase 15
knowledge regarding the operation of appliances. These arguments 26
are strengthened by the respondents’ reasons for replacing their Better 22
appliances (see Fig. 3). In both cities, the most frequently given rea- quality/technology 25
97
son for purchasing an appliance was to replace one that was bro- Replace a broken
ken (92% in Yogyakarta and 97% in Bandung). one 92
The average lifetimes of the same types of appliances in both 0 20 40 60 80 100
cities are lower than those for developed countries, such as in % of respondents
the US and Canada, for example, where the average lifetime for
refrigerators and washing machines is 16 and 12 years, respec- Fig. 3. The respondents’ reasons for replacing an electrical appliance(s) (because
tively [15]. However, these differences do not indicate that the certain respondents selected two or more reasons, these totals may exceed 100%).

adoption of more efficient appliances in Indonesian households is

more likely than it is in the developed countries. The observed dif-
quality of the appliance was the next most frequent response, gi-
ferences stem from technical aspects of the lifetime problem that
ven by 90% of the respondents in both Yogyakarta and Bandung.
include several issues. First, the quality of the electrical appliances
Information related to energy consumption and the technology of
sold in Indonesia is relatively low, and these appliances show a low
the appliance was not a priority in either city. This lack of emphasis
durability. Second, the reliability of the power supply in Indonesia
might be due to a lack of available information on these topics or
is poor. This quality problem indicates that the electrical appli-
may indicate that people are not in the habit of receiving this type
ances are more easily damaged. These arguments are also
of information.
strengthened by the respondents’ reasons for replacing their appli-
Several types of media are used to access the information that
ances, as shown in Fig. 3: only 22% of respondent in Bandung and
people seek prior to purchasing an appliance (see Fig. 5). In
25% in Yogyakarta indicated that the reason for replacing an appli-
Yogyakarta, commercial advertisements in newspapers, maga-
ance was to obtain improved quality or technology.
zines, the internet or public spaces are the primary sources of
information. The prevalence of these sources can indicate that
4.2. Required information on the characteristics of appliances commercial advertisements play a key role in facilitating the con-
sideration of factors related to energy consumption. Furthermore,
Prior to purchasing an appliance, people usually gather infor- additional policies, such as the standardisation of energy labelling,
mation on the characteristics of the appliance. This information are required to help people understand the rate of energy con-
will often help the buyer make a decision regarding the purchase sumption of selected appliances. The officially mandated directive
of the appliance(s). In this study, several frequently considered on the energy standards and labelling for appliances is controlled
characteristics of appliances were assessed. These characteristics by Government Regulation No. 70/2009, and the energy labelling
included the price, quality (this term refers to the appearance of standard has been governed by the Standard National of Indonesia
an appliance), energy consumption, warranty, user friendliness,
technology, safety, accessories, type, brand, and country of origin.
In this survey, the respondents could select more than one answer.
The results regarding the information that is required by the (a)
respondents prior to purchasing the appliance are shown in Fig. 4. Country of origin 33
The price and quality are the most frequently type of informa- Brand 64
Type 27
tion required prior to purchasing an appliance for 85% and 99% of
Accessories 4
the respondents in Yogyakarta and Bandung, respectively. The Safety 57
Technology 36
User friendliness 65
Table 2 Warranty 56
Descriptive statistics of appliance lifetimes. Energy consumption 55
Quality 90
Appliance City N M SD
Price 85
TV Yogyakarta 100 9.86 4.85 0 20 40 60 80 100
Bandung 100 10.16 4.76
% of respondents
(b)
Refrigerator Yogyakarta 72 11.54 3.33
Bandung 75 9.96 3.29
Country of origin 12
Air conditioner Yogyakarta 10 11.10 3.11
Brand 45
Bandung 11 12.45 2.58
Type 26
Electric fan Yogyakarta 75 5.71 3.38 Accessories 14
Bandung 75 7.95 2.84 Safety 21
Technology 22
Lighting Yogyakarta 100 1.56 0.79
Bandung 100 1.25 1.16 User friendliness 45
Warranty 55
Rice cooker Yogyakarta 86 6.04 3.47 Energy consumption 38
Bandung 80 7.90 2.93 Quality 90
Water pump Yogyakarta 76 8.30 4.60 Price 99
Bandung 50 9.80 5.58 0 20 40 60 80 100
Washing machine Yogyakarta 41 7.71 3.73 % of respondents
Bandung 38 7.68 2.31
Fig. 4. Information required by the respondents prior to purchasing an appliance in
Note: M stands for Mean, SD stands for Standard Deviation. (a) Yogyakarta and (b) Bandung.

Please cite this article in press as: Wijaya ME, Tezuka T. Measures for improving the adoption of higher efficiency appliances in Indonesian households: An
analysis of lifetime use and decision-making in the purchase of electrical appliances. Appl Energy (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.02.036
 M.E. Wijaya, T. Tezuka / Applied Energy xxx (2013) xxx–xxx 5

Yogyakarta Bandung Bandung Yogyakarta

100
78 Country of origin 2.99
% of respondents

80 3.05
62
60 Brand 3.4
48 3.72
38
40 Type 3.01
25 3.08
13
20 2.85
Accessories 2.45
0 3.2
Commercial ads Product review Store sales staff Safety 4.06

Fig. 5. Sources of information prior to purchasing an appliance. Technology 3.19

3.58

User Friendliness 3.45

(SNI) No. 04-6958-2003. However, energy labelling does not yet
appear on the appliances sold on the market. The energy labeling
scheme has been realized in many countries such as European Un-
ion countries, US, Iran, Brazil, Thailand, Australia and India [16–18]
as a key component of efforts to increase the diffusion of energy
efficient household appliances.
In Bandung, the majority of respondents sought information
regarding appliance characteristics and used the store’s sales staff
as a primary source of information. According to study of Gaspar
and Antunes [7], the store sales staff is present and available
immediately before and/or at the time of choice. The study con-
cluded that the opinions about an electrical appliance from store
sales staff are much valued and trusted by consumers in Europe.
It is probable that sales staff have the greatest positive impact on
people’s choice of energy-efficient styles of appliances. Therefore,
sales staff should be trained to adapt their promotional messages
to persuade people to purchase high-efficiency appliances.
4.3. Factors influencing the purchase of appliances
After obtaining the required information regarding the appli-
ance characteristics, the purchaser’s next step is to make the deci-
sion to choose the electrical appliance that is most strongly
preferred. The analysis of this step is important because it reveals
the relationship between the factors that influence the purchase of
an appliance and the information required prior to purchasing the
appliance in both cities. Following this stage of the analysis, a fur-
ther strategy can be formulated to improve the adoption of higher-
efficiency appliances by Indonesian households. In the survey, the
respondents were asked to rank their awareness of the factors to
be considered in purchasing an electrical appliance. The question
was scaled from 1 (not aware at all) to 5 (high awareness).
The results of this analysis indicate that the quality, price,
safety, and energy consumption were the most frequently consid-
ered factors in the purchase of an appliance by the respondents in
Yogyakarta (Fig. 6). In Bandung, the respondents preferred to con-
sider the price, quality, brand, and user friendliness (Fig. 6). Table 3
presents a comparison of the two surveyed cities with respect to
the factors influencing the purchase of appliances. A detailed com-
parison of the responses from the two cities shows that people in
Yogyakarta devoted more attention to considerations of quality,
energy consumption, user friendliness, technology, safety, and
brand (with p-value < 0.05). These results differed significantly
from those found for Bandung. In contrast, people in Bandung de-
voted more attention to the accessories sold with the appliance.
The responses to this factor for the Bandung and Yogyakarta
respondents were significantly different.
These results, as well as those presented in Section 4.2, show
that in Yogyakarta, the quality of an appliance was the primary
type of information considered as being necessary in the decision
process prior to making a purchase. Price was similar to quality
as important information for the respondents in Yogyakarta and
3.77
Warranty 3.38
3.53
Energy consumption 3.29
3.81
4.1
Quality 4.34
Price 4.24
4.12
1 2 3 4 5
Respondents' response (scaled from 1 to 5)
Fig. 6. The respondents’ responses regarding factors influencing the purchase of
appliances in Yogyakarta and Bandung.
was the second factor considered. Surprisingly, the fourth type of
information considered when making a purchase was data on en-
ergy consumption, although this information was seldom required
prior to the purchase. Furthermore, this result indicates that the
respondents in Yogyakarta showed a better awareness of energy
consumption. The results for Bandung also showed that price and
quality were the primary factors considered as necessary informa-
tion prior to the purchase and as aids in decision-making regarding
the purchase. However, the information on energy consumption
was given a comparable priority. There is a substantial opportunity
to promote the adoption of more energy-efficient appliances in
Bandung via store sales staff and commercial advertisements.
4.4. Knowledge of the price of electricity
Indonesia has one of the lowest electricity tariffs in Asia. The
electricity tariffs for the household sector have remained constant
from 2003 to 2012, although the cost of supply has more than dou-
bled from US$ 0.056 to US$ 0.132/kilowatt-hour (kW h) between
2004 and 2008. In real terms, the tariffs have actually decreased
by approximately 50% between 2003 and 2009. Over the same per-
iod, the tariffs for residential customers in countries throughout
the local region have increased: 33% in the Philippines, 20% in
Malaysia, 18% in Vietnam, and 11% in Singapore [19]. According
to Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) Regulation
No. 7/2010, the electricity tariff for the residential sector is essen-
tially categorised into three groups of consumers: low-class house-
holds (with installed wattages of 450–2200 VA), medium-class
households (3500–5500 VA), and high-class households (more
than 6600 VA). This regulation also mentions an increase in the
electricity tariff for all households, except those in categories cor-
responding to installed wattages of 450 VA and 900 VA, by approx-
imately 18% from which in year 2003. The majority of respondents
surveyed in this study were included in the low-class household
group because this group represents the largest category of resi-
dential electricity consumers in the country. The electricity tariffs
for the low-class households are ranged from US$ 0.042/kW h to
US$ 0.080/kW h.

Please cite this article in press as: Wijaya ME, Tezuka T. Measures for improving the adoption of higher efficiency appliances in Indonesian households: An
analysis of lifetime use and decision-making in the purchase of electrical appliances. Appl Energy (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.02.036
6 M.E. Wijaya, T. Tezuka / Applied Energy xxx (2013) xxx–xxx

Table 3 Table 4
T-test results for the comparison of the factors influencing the purchase of appliances T-test results for the comparison between Yogyakarta and Bandung of respondents’
between Yogyakarta and Bandung. responses regarding their understanding of the cost of electricity.

Factor City M SD p-value City M SD p-Value

Price Yogyakarta 4.12 0.71 0.19 1. Understanding of electricity prices
Bandung 4.24 0.57 Yogyakarta 2.15 0.91 0.02
Bandung 2.42 0.62
Quality Yogyakarta 4.34 0.74 0.02
Bandung 4.10 0.75 2. Awareness of changes in their monthly electric bill
Yogyakarta 3.69 0.88 0.09
Energy consumption Yogyakarta 3.81 0.81 0.00
Bandung 3.50 0.70
Bandung 3.29 0.90
Warranty Yogyakarta 3.53 0.80 0.20 Note: M stands for Mean, SD stands for Standard Deviation.
Bandung 3.38 0.85
User friendliness Yogyakarta 3.77 0.86 0.01
Bandung 3.45 0.82 consumed by the appliance during its lifetime, the awareness of
Technology Yogyakarta 3.58 0.90 0.00 consumers regarding higher-efficiency appliances could be in-
Bandung 3.19 0.88 creased significantly. This means has been promoted and applied
Safety Yogyakarta 4.06 0.90 0.00 in some developed countries such as US, Japan and Korea [21]. In
Bandung 3.20 0.93 this study, the argument to apply the overall price of the appliance
Accessories Yogyakarta 2.45 0.94 0.00 is supported by the results shown in Table 4. These results show
Bandung 2.85 0.67 that for both cities, the awareness of the respondents is higher
Type Yogyakarta 3.08 0.95 0.58 regarding the overall price of the monthly consumption of electric-
Bandung 3.01 0.82 ity rather than actual unit price of electricity.
Brand Yogyakarta 3.72 0.85 0.01
Bandung 3.40 0.79
Country of origin Yogyakarta 3.05 1.20 0.68
Bandung 2.10 0.78 5. Conclusions
Note: M stands for Mean, SD stands for Standard Deviation.
The lifetime of appliances and decision-making during the pur-
chase of electrical appliances by Indonesian households with many
In this survey, the behavioural economics of the respondents diverse cultural backgrounds and ethnicities was studied and ana-
relatively to electricity consumption was investigated by asking lysed using a case study in Yogyakarta and Bandung. The results
regarding the person’s level of familiarity with the price of their show that the average lifetime of appliances in the two cities is
electricity as set by the government. These ratings used a scale of similar for TVs, lighting devices, and washing machines. It appears
1 (not at all) to 4 (highly). This same topic was also examined by that a refrigerator in Yogyakarta has a longer lifetime than a refrig-
asking the respondents about their awareness of the changes in erator in Bandung. However, in Bandung, air conditioners, electric
their monthly electricity bill. These ratings used a scale of 1 (not fans, rice cookers, and water pumps have longer lifetime than in
at all) to 5 (highly). This assessment was required to provide an Yogyakarta. This variation stem from cultural aspects that reflect
explanation of the responses of the respondents in Yogyakarta the way that people use electrical appliances as well as a lack of
and Bandung with respect to the energy consumption of knowledge regarding the operation of the appliances. To increase
appliances. the lifetime of appliances, the manufacturer should also educate
The results (Table 4) indicate that people in Bandung had a sig- people on the operation and maintenance of appliances. In addi-
nificantly better understanding of the prices of electricity than did tion, to improve the durability of appliances, the government
the people in Yogyakarta. In contrast, no significant difference was should promote quality standards for appliance manufacturers
found between Bandung and Yogyakarta respondents (p-va- and electricity producers.
lue > 0.05) in their awareness of changes in their monthly electric- The results of the analysis of the factors influencing the pur-
ity bill. The average frequencies of the respondents’ responses chase of appliances indicate that in Yogyakarta, the quality of an
regarding electricity prices differed between cities. However, the appliance is the first factor considered when purchasers seek infor-
results on the 4-point scale show that the price of electricity was mation prior to the purchase and decision-making about the pur-
not well understood by the respondents in Bandung and Yogyakar- chase. Information on the price was ranked second in importance
ta. In contrast, the awareness of the respondents in both cities by respondents in Yogyakarta. Information on energy consumption
regarding the changes in their monthly electricity bill is fair to very was ranked as the fourth factor considered when making a decision
high. These results indicate that the respondents in Bandung and to purchase an appliance. Similarly, the results for Bandung
Yogyakarta devote considerable attention to their monthly elec- showed that the price and quality were the primary factors consid-
tricity expenditure, although their knowledge of the prices of elec- ered when information is sought prior to the purchase and deci-
tricity set by the government is sparse. sion-making regarding the purchase, respectively. However,
All of these results (including those presented in Sections 4.2 energy consumption was given a low priority as a factor to be
and 4.3) indicate that a lack of understanding of the prices of elec- considered.
tricity could be the reason that energy consumption was not The analysis of these results allows us to offer several sugges-
selected in either city as the main factor considered in decision- tions for improving the strategy for the adoption of higher-effi-
making about the purchase of an appliance. This result is also ciency appliances: (1) in Yogyakarta, energy labelling could be
found in Japan by Yamamoto et al. [20] that the price of electricity applied to assist customers in understanding the rate of energy
did not function as a signal in the decision-making processes of consumption of selected appliances; (2) in Bandung, the store sales
electrical appliance users. In fact, a component of price that is often staff could be trained to adapt their promotional messages to per-
overlooked in the purchase of an appliance is the cost of the energy suade people to purchase high-efficiency appliances and to pro-
consumed by the appliance. If the overall price of the appliance mote the adoption of higher-efficiency models; and (3) the price
was assessed by including an overview of the cost of the energy of appliances could be correlated with the rate of energy consump-

Please cite this article in press as: Wijaya ME, Tezuka T. Measures for improving the adoption of higher efficiency appliances in Indonesian households: An
analysis of lifetime use and decision-making in the purchase of electrical appliances. Appl Energy (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.02.036
 M.E. Wijaya, T. Tezuka / Applied Energy xxx (2013) xxx–xxx
tion, and the total lifetime cost of use should be displayed in the
store and included in promotional materials.
The results of this study provided a strategy for improving the
adoption of higher-efficiency appliances in Indonesia to decrease
household energy use in a country with many different cultural
backgrounds and ethnicities. The success of this strategy in prac-
tice requires policy improvement and a strong commitment to
the application of these strategies.
Acknowledgements
This research was funded by the Kyoto University Global Center
of Excellence (GCOE) Program ‘‘Energy Science in the Age of Global
Warming’’. The authors thank all the respondents that participated
in this study. The first author is grateful to the Ministry of Educa-
tion, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Japan for pro-
viding support during the study.
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