Calculation

P6: Intensity of energy consumption of products = Sum for each product (Average annual energy consumption of a product unit x Units produced)  / Normalisation factor

Unit of the indicator: MJ/normalisation factor

Why this indicator is important

The energy consumption of some products such as automobiles, appliances and electronic devices is usually much higher in their use phase than in their production or in the extraction and processing of materials used to make them. If the objective is to reduce the energy consumption over the lifetime of the product, all three phases need to be taken into account.

This indicator measures the annual energy consumption of the product mix produced during the reference year per unit of output. It represents the part of the facility’s total “energy footprint” that it creates through the use of its products.

 

Interpretation

Improving performance on this indicator would require design changes in a product or in its usage pattern. For example, a product could be designed to be more energy efficient by incorporating more efficient electrical motors or reducing its weight. Another approach is to understand the patterns of use and to adapt the product to those patterns. An example of this is the ability for a laptop computer to reduce the speed of the processor when it is engaged in less intensive activities.

A review of the detailed data will show which products and which phase (materials, production and use) contribute most to the overall “energy footprint” of the facility.

Related issues

This Toolkit does not provide the capacity to estimate the energy consumption of a product based on its components or use. For example, a device may contain a motor and three lights. Data collected though this Toolkit is not sufficiently detailed to determine which component is responsible for the majority of the energy consumption during the use phase.