Regional spatial and temporal dynamics of refrigerator use and energy efficiency implementation: The case of Greater Accra Region-Ghana

EasyChair Preprint 697

Abstract

Residential electricity consumption continues to rise and accounts for 16-50% of the total energy use across different countries in the world. In many developing countries, people are deploying more and more household appliances for comfort and utility for which refrigerators are indispensable. Globally, refrigerator use constitutes a significant proportion of household demand ranging from 3-19%, because it operates steadily over time irrespective of seasons or place and thereby has a considerable impact on energy use and the environment. Ghana has commenced the implementation of the established mandatory minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) for refrigerators but no study has been done to understand its impact in time (2020-2050) and its regional variation based on the different socio-economic dynamics of each location. This study, therefore, aims to analyse temporally and spatially the impact of different scenarios of MEPS and labelling transitions in relation to energy savings and emissions for refrigerator use in households at the regional and district level, using the Greater Accra Region in Ghana as a case study. For the temporal analysis, a bottom-up approach is used to estimate energy consumption and savings based on top-down data such as population, income levels and appliance ownership. Then, for the spatial analysis, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are used to map the spatial distribution of the results by disaggregating the overall energy consumption according to the population density of each district. Results showed that the considered efficiency standards and labels will potentially save at regional level, a cumulative total of 4.9-8.1TWh electricity, and reduce emission of 1.04-1.71 million tons of CO2, for the period of 30 years. In a more environmentally conscious case, a certified emission market value of 10-17 million USD could be fetched. These findings will apprise policy decisions in energy development planning.

Keyphrases: Appliance ownership, ArcGIS, Bottom-up and top-down approach, Geographical Information System, electricity consumption

@booklet{EasyChair:697,
  author    = {Felix Amankwah Diawuo and Joana Pedro and Carlos A. Silva},
  title     = {Regional spatial and temporal dynamics of refrigerator use and energy efficiency implementation: The case of Greater Accra Region-Ghana},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 697},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2018}}