ECOS | Environmental Coalition on Standards

02 November 2020

New energy labels in the boxes of TVs and kitchen appliances!

The transition period for introducing new energy labels for dishwashers, fridges, freezers, washing machines, washer driers, electronic displays and TVs is kicking off. Appliance suppliers will start sending the new energy labels to retailers as of 1 November. For the next four months, however, shops will continue displaying old labels – as of 1 March 2021 retailers will have two weeks to replace them all with new ones.

A new era in energy labelling starts on 1 November 2020. New, clearer, and more ambitious labels will start making their way to electronics stores. As of November, appliance manufacturers will start providing dealers with the new versions of the label for their products, and include them in the appliances’ packaging. They must also add new information to EPREL, the EU product database (with some exceptions). However, consumers will not see the new labels displayed in shops until 1 March 2021, when updates will be mandatory for dishwashers, fridges, freezers, washing machines, washer driers, electronic displays and TVs.

During the transition period that goes from 1 November 2020 to 1 March 2021, consumers will see the old labels displayed in the shop but could find the new rescaled energy label inside the box when they get home with their new appliance.

What changes in the new label?

The new label has been rescaled, which means that energy classes will now range from A to G, making the scale much clearer and more intuitive. Categories ‘A+’, ‘A++’ and ‘A+++’ will disappear. This is very good news – while energy labels have proven extremely useful to consumers, the A+++ to G scale is simply confusing, as the majority of products crowd the top classes, not allowing for significant product differentiation and hindering the development of more efficient appliances.

Labels will also be more demanding. The A category will remain empty for the time being – an incentive for manufacturers to innovate and develop more efficient appliances. Most appliances currently classified as A+++ will become B or C.

In addition, new labels will get a new look and will include a QR-code linking to product information available in the public EPREL database.

What’s next?

Lighting will follow closely with new labels coming to shops in September 2021. The exact dates for updated labels for other products are yet to be determined.

The EU energy label has guided consumers and professional buyers to more energy efficient products for more than 25 years. At Coolproducts, we are confident that this new scale will help consumers better identify the most energy efficient appliances, encourage manufacturers to continue researching for more energy efficient technologies and trigger further energy savings!

Eager to know more about the new energy labels? Find more information on  https://www.label2020.eu/ and https://www.newenergylabelt.eu/en 

ECOS is co-funded by the European Commission and EFTA Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EISMEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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