Working Paper: NBER ID: w24314
Authors: Achyuta Adhvaryu; Namrata Kala; Anant Nyshadham
Abstract: Measurement of the full costs and benefits of energy-saving technologies is often difficult, confounding adoption decisions. We study consequences of the adoption of energy-efficient LED lighting in garment factories around Bangalore, India. We combine daily production line-level data with weather data and estimate a negative, nonlinear productivity-temperature gradient. We find that LED lighting, which emits less heat than conventional bulbs, decreases the temperature on factory floors, and thus raises productivity, particularly on hot days. Using the firm’s costing data, we estimate the pay-back period for LED adoption is nearly one-sixth the length after accounting for productivity co-benefits.
Keywords: energy efficiency; LED lighting; productivity; temperature effects; garment factories
JEL Codes: J24; O14; Q56
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| high temperatures (L94) | productivity (O49) |
| LED lighting adoption moderates high temperatures (Q52) | productivity (O49) |
| temperature > 19°C (Q54) | productivity (O49) |
| LED lighting adoption (L63) | productivity (O49) |