Campaign gives consumers their money back – 60 times

The environment, consumers and producers have all benefited from the special cooperation started in June 2004 between the pump sector and the Trust. This was documented in a new evaluation carried out in April 2007 by the consulting firm, Genius Access. The cooperation between the pump sector and the Trust was one element in a campaign designed to increase the market share for energy efficient circulator pumps in Denmark. Christian Lüders, project manager in the Trust reports on the results of the campaign:

‘Consumers will save over 84 Euros million on their electricity bills as a result of our 2004–2006 campaign on energy saving pumps. The Trust spent just under 1.4 million Euros on the campaign, which means that consumers received their money back – 60 times over. At the same time, producers benefited from a sizeable increase in the sales of energy saving pumps. In this way the voluntary agreements with players in the sector worked to everyone’s advantage.’

Denmark takes the lead in sales of energy efficient pumps
There are 1.3 million circulator pumps in Danish households, and although there is now greater focus on the choice of energy saving products, many consumers have not always been so aware of these so-called hidden power guzzlers. The campaign changed all that:

‘Using different marketing initiatives we increased consumer awareness of environmentally friendly pumps. Simultaneously, we also made sure that wholesalers and installers were comprehensively briefed about the benefits of the pumps. For their part, the pump producers were responsible for developing the energy efficient pumps and ensuring their availability on the market. This push-pull strategy proved to be very effective for both customers and suppliers,’ explains Christian Lüders.

Between 2004 and 2006, the share of energy saving pumps grew from 20% to over 90%. Compared with other countries in Europe, these figures easily propelled the Danish market into pole position for the sale of energy efficient pumps. This explains why the Trust also wants to involve producers in other sectors in the future.

‘These positive results have impacted on the balance sheets of both the environment and producers, and have paved the way for expanding our cooperation agreements to include many other product areas in the future,’ concludes Christian Lüders.

After the campaign ended the Trust continued working with pump producers with the aim of helping the so-called A-rated pumps, which are even more environmentally friendly, to gain a foothold in the market. With this in mind the Trust launched a campaign this spring to encourage consumers to replace their old circulator pump with an A-rated equivalent. Around 100,000 pumps a year are replaced in Denmark; currently about one in five are A-rated. From 2007 the Trust’s goal is that one in two pumps sold should be A-rated.

For further information please contact:
Christian Lüders, Project Manager
The Danish Electricity Saving Trust
Tel.: +45 33 95 58 13
Mobile: +45 41 18 84 29
E-mail: chl@elsparefonden.dk