Posted by Ben.Fox
Tuesday, 1 Jun 2010
A couple of weeks ago the European Parliament approved changes to the energy labels on white goods. This post is very briefly going to look at what this means if you’re planning on buying a new appliance.
What are the EU energy labels?
They are essentially a crib sheet of all the most important data about an appliance. What is included varies depending on what type of product it is but at the heart of all of them is a grade that reflects how energy efficient they are. Currently this grade varies from G to A (or A++ for refrigeration appliances) with G being the least efficient.
What’s changing?
The new rules won’t be changing anything fundamental to the scheme so if you understand the current labels then the new ones won’t be a problem for you. The main difference is that the ratings of A+, A++ and A+++ will be added for appliances that exceed the requirements for A rating.
On the face of it this sounds like needless differentiation between high-end appliances but in fact it reflects the advances that have been made since 1992 when the labels were first introduced.
Some appliances are already being advertised as A+++ rated but these are unofficial grades and although they reflect an improvement in efficiency they aren’t regulated like those found on the energy label.
The only other major change is that all advertisements that include reference to either the price or energy efficiency of a product will have to refer to its energy label.
How does this affect me?
The first wave of officially A+ and above appliances will probably be models that are already on the market. Even manufacturers like Bosch, who refuse to use unofficial ratings, will suddenly have a swathe of products that fit into the upper categories. Along with the official top grade of A+++ some models will potentially start to show an unofficial category of A++++ and A+++++ (like some of the hyper-efficient Siemens tumble dryers).
There are currently two prevalent schools of thought about how this move will affect the white goods industry. The first is that manufacturers will start producing more energy efficient machines in response to demand from consumers. The second is that some manufacturers will produce machines which are designed to perform better in the energy ratings test without carrying that efficiency over into real life use. Unfortunately at this stage there is no way to know which way it will go.