These implicit discount rates are much greater than returns provided by other investments including energy supply facilities. Market transformation combines individual policy and program initiatives into a coherent strategy for rapidly moving up the diffusion curve and increasing the ultimate market penetration of energy efficiency measures. This perspective differs from examining the entire stock of products in use at any particular time. Obviously, it takes much longer for energy- efficient products to penetrate a large fraction of the overall equipment stock than the new product market, because of delays in stock turnover. By products, we mean appliances, building components such as windows, vehicles, motor systems, or other major energy-consuming devices.
Market transformation goes beyond simply considering the energy efficiency of new products.
It also involves the people who install and use these technologies. Governments or utilities can play an important role in training, inspection and quality assurance, as demonstrated in the case studies discussed below. The subject of market transformation with respect to end-use energy efficiency has been addressed in other studies. Many of these studies examine particular products, policies, or jurisdictions. In this article, we consider market transformation broadly.