Vietnam Energy Efficiency Standards
and Labelling Program:
Australian Government Support Project
MARKET SURVEY
September 2012
Prepared by:
Introduction
From January 2013 it will be mandatory for all lighting and most electrical appliances on sale
in Vietnam to carry a label showing the energy efficiency of the product. This survey was
conducted to provide an understanding of electricity consumption by lighting and appliances
and to explore the attitudes and behaviour of consumers.
The survey was conducted in August 2012 and involved a face-to-face survey of a
representative sample of Vietnamese households and commercial consumers (offices,
shops, restaurants, 3, 4 and 5 star hotels, hospitals and schools). In total 1,380 homes and
450 non-domestic premises were surveyed. The survey captured data on electricity use,
appliance ownership, how appliances are used, purchase behaviour and initial attitudes to
the label.
The results from the survey on electricity consumption and appliance ownership are
consistent with other information from Vietnam Electricity and the General Statistics Office
of Vietnam.
Electricity consumption in Vietnam
Vietnam’s electricity consumption is estimated to be 105 TWh in 2012; 34 TWh will be used
by households and 9.5 TWh in the non-domestic sectors covered by this report. The current
peak demand for electricity is around 20 GW.
The chart on the right shows the Vietnam
Institute of Energy’s forecast for energy
consumption to 2030. Electricity
consumption is forecast to increase six-fold
and peak demand is expected to increase
to 110 GW. Over the same period the
Institute forecasts that generating capacity
will increase to 700 GW.
About 22.5 million households in Vietnam
are connected to the power grid;
15.5 million of these are in rural areas and
consume an average of 1,200 kWh per year. The 7 million homes in urban areas consume an
average of 2,700 kWh per year. On average, households connected to the grid spend 4.2% of
their income on electricity.
Lighting and appliance ownership
All the households covered by the survey had mains
electricity, lighting and at least one electric fan. The
proportion of homes that we investigated with at least
one of the other appliances is shown in the chart
(right). Ownership of all appliances is higher in urban
than rural areas and among wealthier households.
There are around 130 million lamps installed in homes in Vietnam; 60 million of these are
compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and 54 million are fluorescent tubes. Most of the rest are
incandescent bulbs (16 million). Householders tend to use the fluorescent tubes most.
The chart on the right shows the relationship
between household income and ownership of
selected appliances. It can be seen that as income
increases ownership of all appliances increases.
However, as their incomes rise, households seem to
purchase refrigerators and gas hobs sooner and air
conditioners and microwave ovens later than other
appliances.
Ownership of lighting, air
conditioning and fans was
explored in all the nondomestic sectors. Almost all buildings had at least one fan. In
hotels the most common type of lighting is CFLs, in the other
sectors fluorescent tubes are the most common.
Ownership of air conditioners is shown in the chart on the left.
Household appliance use
The chart on the right shows the average hours each of the
appliances covered by the survey was reported to be used. It
should be noted that homes have several lamps and many
have more than one of the other types of appliance.
Householders were asked about the
time of day that they typically used
appliances during different seasons.
The chart on the left shows the time
when appliances are in use during a
typical day in the summer/dry
season, and their electricity
consumption.
Electricity consumption by appliance
In 2012 households are estimated to have
consumed 34 TWh of electricity. Most of
this consumption is represented by five end
uses: lighting (fluorescent tubes are used
most), air conditioning, rice cookers,
refrigeration and televisions. The
estimated1 breakdown is shown in the
chart on the right.
In non-domestic sectors, lighting and air
conditioning are estimated1 each to
account for about 3 TWh/year; together
this 6 TWh/year represents nearly two thirds of the total electricity consumed by the nondomestic sector (9.5 TWh/year).
Peak loads
Electricity demand in Vietnam reaches a peak at
around 10am on weekdays in the summer or dry
season. Lighting and appliance electricity
demand in homes and non-domestic premises is
estimated1 to account for about 20% of that peak
(4 GW). The chart on the right shows the
breakdown by sector and end use.
Future plans
Households were asked about their plans to purchase
electrical appliances in the next year. Consumers tend to
purchase lamps and fans when a replacement is needed but
the purchase other appliances are more planned. The chart
shows the estimated number of households in Vietnam that
consider it “very likely” that they would buy each of the
appliances under investigation in the next year.
Most anticipated TV purchases were intended to replace older
CRT TVs with flat screen models. Otherwise, new appliances
would be the first owned by that household.
Householders and non-domestic consumers are most likely to
buy lamps and fans at a local independent electrical retailer;
mostly because of convenience. However, they would purchase other appliances at a chain
1
The electricity consumption of typical appliances was estimated based on international data. This will be
updated to reflect the Vietnamese market once data are available from the product registration system.
electrical retailer as this is where they would expect to obtain the best combination of
quality and price. Schools were the only exception to this; they prefer to purchase
computers and printers from specialist contractors.
Attitude to the energy efficiency label
Considering the combined views of domestic and non-domestic respondents on the
proposed label:
 Almost all believe that energy efficient equipment would cost them less to run and
nearly all felt that having accurate information on energy consumption would help
them to choose lights and appliances;
 Around 90% think that the proposed mandatory label is a good idea; and
 75% are confident that they would be able to trust the label; the main concerns of
the remaining 25% are that:
o The label could be faked;
o Poor quality products could still receive a high energy efficiency rating; and
o The system might not be well enforced.
About the survey
The survey was conducted for the Australian Department for Climate Change and Energy
Efficiency funded by the Australian Agency for International Development and in
collaboration with the Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade. TITA Research carried out the
data collection. The Vietnam Institute of Energy advised on the survey methodology and
provided data on the electricity market in Vietnam.