Fostering investment on energy efficient appliances in IndiaeA multi- perspective economic input-output lifecycle assessment Vivek Kumar Singh a, e, * , Carla Oliveira Henriques b, d, e , Ant  onio Gomes Martins c, d, e a MIT-Portugal Program, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal b Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Coimbra Business School ISCAC, Portugal c Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computers University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal d INESC Coimbra, P olo II, R. Silvio Lima, Coimbra, Portugal e Energy for Sustainability Initiative, University of Coimbra, Portugal article info Article history: Received 2 September 2017 Received in revised form 24 January 2018 Accepted 27 January 2018 Available online 3 February 2018 Keywords: Avoided emissions Input-output life cycle assessment Energy consumption Energy demand Energy efficiency India's residential sector abstract Energy planning in many developing Asian countries has neglected the structure of energy demand and how it is likely to evolve as development takes its path. The limited availability of energy consumption data makes it very difficult to assess the energy savings potential at end-use level. Energy planning requires the formulation of a proper modelling framework that supports the definition of energy policies. From the different approaches available, Input - Output (I-O) models are particularly useful, since they allow considering different impacts that can be consistent with different energy policy options. This paper proposes a novel I-O modelling framework by introducing a bottom-up approach into an I-O model which is combined with technical data for the holistic assessment of energy efficient technologies in the residential sector, which can assist energy decision-makers of India on the appraisal of the future impacts of the current national energy saving targets. A large size platform of real data has also been gathered considering different data sources, namely the household building stock characterization, the number of operating days according to the climatic regions of India, the lifetime and the investment cost of equipment. Finally, the main results are discussed and future research opportunities are identified. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction In 2012 the residential sector was responsible for consuming nearly one fourth of total world electricity consumption [1]. The growing penetration rate of electric appliances in developing countries, such as India, is one of the leading causes of the current energy demand and CO 2 emissions increase. In fact, according to India's Central Electricity Authority, electricity consumption in all households was 203 TWh in 2013 [2]. In the past decade, popula- tion and energy consumption grew at a similar rate to GDP (i.e. about 7%) and it is anticipated that energy consumption will likely surpass GDP's growth rate in about 10e30 years [3]. The level of comfort in the residential sector has been reported to steadily in- crease along with an increasing dependence on electricity. The residential sector is at the second rank after industry with about 24% of total electricity demand in 2013e2014 [4] and appliances account for 35e40% of that demand [5]. Energy consumption has traditionally been tied to economic development. However, its environmental implications have been a driving factor for the definition of contemporary environmental policy around the world, highlighting the role of energy efficiency (EE) in the reduction of GHG emissions [6,7]. Therefore, the consequent rise in energy consumption and GHG emissions can be significantly reduced if consumers are motivated to buy energy efficient appliances [8]. The International Energy Agency anticipates that by 2030 one of the lowest cost GHG emissions abatement option in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries will come from energy efficient end-use technologies (EET) [9]. The support of EE policies can thus be seen as a cost-effective driver of energy consumption and GHG emissions reduction, while providing economical energy services in different activity sectors [10]. The need for energy autonomy and EE plays a decisive role in the eco- nomic development and the societal prosperity for worldwide [11]. EE is an important element that needs to be included in any pro- gram associated with the promotion of economic development in * Corresponding author. Energy for Sustainability Initiative, MIT-Portugal Pro- gram, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal. E-mail address: Vivekkumarsingh22@gmail.com (V.K. Singh). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Energy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/energy https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2018.01.140 0360-5442/© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Energy 149 (2018) 1022e1035