Energy-saving campaign spurs sales of electricity-efficient home appliances

20/07/2011

Bic Camera Inc.'s Ikebukuro head office in Toshima Ward reported that sales of air conditioners since April have risen 30 percent over a year ago and those of electric fans posted fourfold to fivefold increases. Highly energy-efficient refrigerators are also in big demand.

Sales of air conditioners, refrigerators and other so-called white-colored electrical appliances are brisk ahead of summer as there are fears that electricity shortages may strike some parts of Japan in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the ongoing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant.

Consumers are flocking to electronics shops in droves to curb utility costs by replacing existing air conditioners, refrigerators and the like with new, more electricity-efficient products.Consumer electronics companies are making all-out efforts to meet the needs of these consumers as well as victims of the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami who are trying to rebuild their houses.

"I came here to buy an energy-efficient electric fan to help save electricity. I planned to use my air conditioners for one or two more years but now want to buy something with greater energy efficiency," a 65-year-old housewife in Tokyo's Ota Ward said at an electronic retail store.

Bic Camera Inc.'s Ikebukuro head office in Toshima Ward reported that sales of air conditioners since April have risen 30 percent over a year ago and those of electric fans posted fourfold to fivefold increases. Highly energy-efficient refrigerators are also in big demand.

"Shoppers are checking electrical appliances with greater energy-saving capabilities. There are many people who buy high-end types," said Tatsuya Kasakura, a senior employee at Bic Camera's Ikebukuro head office.

An official with the nation's air conditioner industry says brand new air conditioners are 10 to 20 percent more energy efficient than those of 10 years ago, depending to some degree on how they are used.

Although the government's eco-point incentives for air conditioners and other electric appliances ended at the end of March, a senior official with an electrical appliance maker said demand for such products to save electricity is offsetting a widely feared drop in demand.

Sales of electric fans are also brisk before the hot summer sets in.

Hitachi Living Systems Inc. went into full-scale production after sales of three types of electric fans tripled in April over a year before. "They are selling like hotcakes. We never experienced such a boom before," a Hitachi official said.

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. also saw sales of three types of electric fans register a nine-fold jump in April from a year earlier and is now preparing to boost production by about 10 percent.

Toshiba Home Appliances Corp. says its air conditioner shipments in April climbed 80 percent as compared with a year earlier and those of refrigerators and washing machines increased about 10 percent. "Some buyers were probably victims of the disaster," a Toshiba official said.

According to the Japan Electrical Manufacturers' Association, shipments of white-colored home appliances in April rose 20 percent over a year before to 175.2 billion yen after a fall in March due to the disaster.

An executive with an electrical manufacturer said, "Demand for electrical appliances at home will further increase once construction of temporary housing begins in earnest," pointing to the need to ensure a stable supply of such products in the coming months.

Hitachi Living Systems Inc., which handles large-scale appliances, has boosted production of air conditioners by 30 to 40 percent over the last year ahead of beefing up measures to save electricity at its factories.

mdn.mainichi.jp

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