Program Activities

Meeting industry’s and household’s growing energy needs represents one of the biggest challenges Brazil is facing in the 21st century and the Brazilian government is working on energy-efficiency strategies within several sectors.

During the last decade, refrigerator manufacturers have been able to dramatically reduce the energy consumption of new models. However, many households in Brazil still use refrigerators that are more than ten years old and account for about 30% of the household’s electricity bill. New appliances have the potential to slash refrigeration-related energy consumption in a typical household by more than 50%.

In accordance with these findings, the Brazilian Ministry of “Minas e Energia” has launched a framework program “troca geladeira” in the country. The initial program focus has been on the substitution of old energy-guzzling appliances in low-income households. Within the program, the government encourages sales of new appliances with tax benefits and mandates energy companies to run exchange programs with low-income households within their distribution networks.