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Fig. 4 Responses to the question “What do you usually do to that the government’s publicity and advertising of the meaning of energy labels may not have been successful at leading consumers to purchase products with high energy efficiency. 82 Regarding electric appliances that the respondents planned to buy in the future, the demand for ACs was highest in Hanoi. In Long An, the demand for LEDs (light-emitting diodes) or smart TVs was largest, with ACs third after electric fans. Most households responded that “money” was the main barrier to buying new products; very few households selected “space” or “electric capacity.” Although most of the respondents in Hanoi were unsure about what their ideal lifestyle would be, they tended “convenient & comfortable” instead of “environmentally friendly” as their ideal lifestyle. In Long An, because it had been difficult to obtain clear responses to the question about ideal lifestyles in Hanoi, we changed the question to ask about the changes in their living environment in the past 10 years, as well as future changes that they expected to see in the local area over the next 10/20/30 years. Many people said that they had seen an improvement in infrastructure, manifested in the construction of roads, and that they had been able to purchase household appliances and motorbikes in the past 10 years. They said that they hoped for more improvements in the future. to choose “healthy” or Thus, from these responses, we can infer that Vietnamese households will likely be demanding more convenient and comfortable lifestyles in the future. How does the spread of electric appliances in Vietnam differ from that in Japan in the past? In Japan in the late 1950s, with the rapid growth of the Japanese economy, and black-and-white TVs were informally referred to as the refrigerators, washing machines reduce electricity consumption when using the air conditioning unit to cool a room?” A. YOSHIDA et al. “three sacred treasures.” Like the Imperial Regalia, which represent three virtues of valor, wisdom and benevolence, these electrical goods were said to be symbols of affluence, longing and convenience. In the mid-1960s, the “sacred treasures” changed to cars, ACs, and color TVs; and in the 1990s to digital cameras, DVD players, and flat-screen TVs. Thus, the items most coveted by people have shifted from home appliances related to daily life to digital home appliances related to entertainment and hobbies. In contrast, in Vietnam in the 1990s, TVs, video players and motorcycles were the “sacred treasures” for the Vietnamese people (Minagawa, 1997). In fact, data from the Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey (GSO, 2006, 2018) have indicated that the penetration rate of these three items was higher than that of all other items until the first half of the 2000s. It is interesting to note that the penetration rate of video players was higher than that of appliances useful in daily life such as refrigerators and washing machines (Trinh, 2014). Since 2006, the penetration of telephones (including mobile phones) has increased rapidly, whereas that of video/DVD players has decreased, such that mobile phones are now considered to have replaced video players as one of the “sacred treasures” (GSO, 2006, 2018; Trinh, 2014). In our survey, the penetration rate of ACs was clearly higher among the higher income groups and many households said they would possess more ACs if they had enough money. One obvious factor in owning and using an AC was “increased income.” As incomes rose, more people came to live in modern houses and use more electric appliances the airtightness of houses in Vietnam had somewhat improved (Kim et al., 2000), most respondents reported being dissatisfied with the indoor thermal environment because it was not suitable for Vietnam’s hot, humid climate. The thermal environment can be improved by using electric fans and opening windows to increase air flow; however, several respondents pointed out that in reality the windows cannot be opened due to noise or heat caused by Fig. 5 Methods of cooling besides using air conditioning units or fans (multiple responses were possible). the including ACs. Although 3.7 Future Prospects 4. Discussion and Conclusion

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