The Light and the Heat: Productivity Co-Benefits of Energy-Saving Technology

Journal Article
Published on 1 October 2020

Abstract

Adhvaryu, Kala and Nyshadham (2020) study the adoption of energy-efficient LED lighting in garment factories around Bangalore, India. Combining daily production line-level data with weather data, they estimate a negative, nonlinear productivitytemperature gradient. They find that LED lighting raises productivity on hot days. Using the firm’s costs data, the authors estimate that the payback period for LED adoption is less than one-third the length after accounting for productivity co-benefits. The average factory in their data gains about $2,880 in power consumption savings and about $7,500 in productivity gains.

Authors

Achyuta Adhvaryu

University of Michigan

Namrata Kala

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Anant Nyshadham

University of Michigan