Hi folks, I’m Jon Mullen the Energy Evangelist. Today we’re talking about efficiency labels.
First things first – buy as efficiently as you can afford at the time of purchase. There are some really efficient makes but they are a lot more expensive than others. Don’t waste a massive amount of time on the decision because your time also equals money. So let’s get to the details.
The EU introduced energy efficiency labels to help Europe reduce its energy consumption and carbon footprint. The UK Government predicted these labels will save our economy approximately £850 million. It is now a legal requirement for retailers to display an efficiency label on a range of household appliances, such as washing machines, fridges, dishwashers, tv’s etc.
Each appliance goes through specified testing to make sure it meets EU regulations for each device type and is then given a rating. The ratings have a colour and a grade so that you can see a summary at a glance.
The colour of each grade runs from green, the best, to red, the worst. And, the grades range from A+++, most efficient, through to G, least efficient. When the energy efficiency label was introduced, it only ran from A – G. But as technology has improved, appliances have become more efficient, so the higher ratings have been introduced for the best models.
As well as the grade, the label displays other useful information, and these are well worth paying attention to. For example, the label for a washing machine shows water use, noise levels, and the size of the drum.
On each appliance, you’ll also see the total annual energy consumption. However, you do need to bear in mind that the actual consumption depends on how you use the item, but it is useful when comparing different models.
So that’s enough information for today
I’m Jon Mullen the Energy Evangelist. Come and find out how to #SaveEnergySaveMoney at EnergyEvangelist.co.uk