This is the new energy label for household appliances: efficiency from A to G

This month, some countries of the European Union - including Spain - released energy efficiency labels for household appliances. The class A divisions disappear, to welcome a new scale up to G. A good help when it comes to renovating these devices. What does this change consist of? When does it come into force? Will it be the same for all appliances? We will explain it to you in detail in this article.

Since its introduction in 1995, the European Union (EU) energy label has assisted consumers in finding and selecting more efficient products. The success in these 25 years has been unquestionable: 85% of European consumers recognize it and use it at the time of purchase, according to EU data. The current labeling scheme includes six energy classes, ranging from A to D. This scale has mixed labels, as class A is divided into A +++, A ++ and A +.

Advances in innovation have caused most of the products on the market today to fall into those first two or three categories. This can make it difficult to distinguish the most efficient products (those that spend the least to generate one kW of energy consumption). For example, one might think that a class A + refrigerator is one of the most efficient when the reality is the opposite, since those of the lower categories have already been eliminated from the market.

Changes in energy labels.

To make it easier for consumers to buy and make them make the most informed decision possible, the EU has decided to update the categories and introduce several changes: the three plus signs (+++) accompanying the A are eliminated and the scale up to G. If the horizontal colored bars are kept where A, the most efficient, will be green and G, the least, will be red.

It must be borne in mind that, at the moment the new label is introduced in the stores, there will be no products belonging to class A. This category will be kept empty to leave room for innovation and improvement. Therefore, the most efficient appliances, which are currently in A +++, will become class B or C. In addition, to avoid any other change in the scale, the criteria for classes A to G will be periodically reviewed based on the evolution of the market.

Information common to all appliances:

• QR code with which consumers can obtain additional official (non-commercial) information by scanning said code with a smartphone. This item is new. The database will be accessible from March 2021 and, among its functionalities, it will allow the comparison of data between products and the calculation of usage costs.

• Name of the supplier or brand.

• Product model identifier.