Determining whether an appliance should be reused or recycled is an important environmental issue. Reducing the life cycle impact of appliance is paramount. The argument for recycling focuses on the usage phase of appliances accounting for more than 80% of the life cycle impact. In order to deduce what the actual environmental effects of the usage phase, cumulative energy demand (CED) life cycle assessment (LCA) incorporating electricity generation is employed. Future possible reductions in the life cycle impact of the usage phase are examined through the introduction of demand side management (DSM). This paper demonstrates that DSM can be used to increase the contribution of renewable energy to an appliances demand, reducing the usage phase impact of the LCA. © 2011 IEEE.