The UK Government brought in this new energy label to help consumers compare electrical appliances more easily. The new label not only spreads energy performance across a wider scale but also puts in place fresh standards around energy-saving home appliances. It is also hoped that the new label will help manufacturers meet their environmental responsibilities under law.
The official changeover date to the new system was 1st March 2021. There is, however, an agreed transition period where manufacturers can use the old and new label for products. By doing this, consumers will have the correct label to work from, whenever they make a purchase. Although both labels will appear different, they will both be applicable legally for the appliance in question.
When you compare the old energy label for appliances with the new one, it is clear how they differ. The new one, for example, not only has new energy classifications but also a scannable QR code. This QR code is included to make the shopping process much quicker. The other major change is a more generally accepted form of measurement being shown for energy consumption. At the bottom of the new label, this makes it simpler to grasp how good the energy consumption of a device really is. There is also extra information about water consumption and noise emissions for consumers to view on the new label.
The latest energy labels include a symbol for unfrozen and chilled compartments plus one for noise output. There is also extra data around noise output classes.
Changes to labels on these appliances include a new icon for bottles of wine plus extra data around noise output classes.
For electronic displays/TVs, new labels show a rating per 1,000 hours of usage for HDR and SDR. Consumers can also see resolution levels of appliances in pixels when looking at the Size of Screen information. The latest labels also discard information about wattage and hard switches.
For washers, the new energy labels rate the consumption of energy per 100 washes. There is also new data on the duration and capacity load of green 'Eco' cycles on washers. The noise emission level when the machine is spinning is also shown, while water usage in litres is listed as well.
As per the new label for washers, washer dryers will show the consumption of energy per 100 washes. A noise output class will also be listed for the appliance in question when spinning. There is also a water consumption rating, length of a wash and dry standard cycle plus a wash capacity rating and duration of a single wash programme.
Labels for dishwashers now include a symbol for noise output plus how much water is used on the green 'Eco' setting. They also show the length of time the 'Eco' programme lasts for. Lastly, new energy labels for dishwashers spell out the consumption of energy on the 'Eco' cycle per 100 cycles.
