Average Time of Use of Electronic Devices and its Analysis toward Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

This paper summarizes status and time of use of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) using primarily Southeast Asia as a case study. The main EEE under investigation are television, refrigerator, washing machine, air conditioner, personal computer, and mobile phone. Through a survey conducted in 2006 and 2013, possession rates per household, average ratio of second-hand to entire EEE, and time-of-use in Vietnam were retrieved, and through literature review data on EEE use in other countries complemented the analysis. It is found that in Vietnam the average possession rates per household of television, washing machine, refrigerator, and air conditioner in 2013 is almost the same as the one in the highest income group in 2006. The possession ratio of second-hand devices is 2.5 ～ 17.3% in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City together, while that in Hanoi is more or less 50% lower in 2006. The ratio of second-hand devices in Hanoi is lower than that in Ho Chi Minh City, and according to a Weibull distribution applied to the surveyed data, the average time of use in 2013 is greatly decreased compared with that in 2006. Further comparisons per EEE on the average time of use and the GDP-PPP/capita in a cross-sectional sample using data from various countries found that the average time of use for refrigerator, washing machine, and air conditioner decreased up to a certain threshold with the increase in GDP-PPP/capita, beyond the threshold increases were found as GDP-PPP/capita increased further; in other words, a U-shaped trend was found in the curve. On the other hand, no relation could be observed for television, personal computer and mobile phone.