Rethinking eco-design priorities; the case of the Econova television

Eco-design heuristics (defined as experience-based techniques for problem solving) can play a useful role in helping designers prioritize eco-design strategies. One of these eco-design heuristics (the `use phase´ heuristic) is: Frequently used electric and electronic products usually have, over their life span, a dominant impact in the use phase. Modern mobile devices like smart phones however have their dominant impact in the production phase and therefore challenge this heuristic. The paper asked whether this could be a trend and whether we might find more electric and electronic products that challenge the `use phase´ heuristic. We found that in general, the development of highly energy-efficient consumer electronics and the widespread shortening of product lifespans have indeed started to shift the focus to the materials and production phase of the life cycle. The case study of the Econova television showed that with a `best in class´ product like this TV, it is not possible to establish which life cycle phase is dominant. These findings led to several additions to the `use phase´ heuristic.