How do you read the EU energy label on an appliance?

The short answer

The EU energy label is a closed scale of seven classes, A to G, shown in colours from dark green (best) to red (worst). The class tells you how energy efficient the model is compared with others of its kind, and for many product groups the label also shows how much energy the appliance uses. The class only compares appliances within a product group, so an A-class fridge and an A-class dishwasher are not comparable with each other. The framework is Regulation (EU) 2017/1369; the exact figures on each label (for example, consumption per year or per cycle) are set by a separate regulation for each product group.

What the label is, in law

The regulation defines the label as a graphic with a closed scale using only the letters A to G, each letter representing a class and each class corresponding to energy savings, in seven colours from dark green to red. Its stated purpose is to inform customers about energy efficiency and energy consumption so they can choose products that use less energy.

Two details are worth knowing:

• When a label is introduced or rescaled, the Commission has to make sure no products are

expected to fall into class A at that moment. The top class is left empty on purpose, to leave room for more efficient products. That is why today's best appliances often sit in B or C rather than A.

• Some labels may have fewer than seven classes. In that case the classes that remain keep

the dark green to red colours.

Why older labels looked different

Before the A–G scale, many labels showed classes such as A+, A++ and A+++. The regulation set out a programme of rescaling these labels back to a plain A to G scale, so that "A" means the same kind of thing across product groups. If you are comparing an old appliance's A+++ label with a new one's label, they are not on the same scale. The regulation states the review and adoption dates for each product group, but the date a given product group switched is set in that group's own regulation, so check it there rather than assuming.

What sellers must show you

The regulation puts duties on both suppliers and dealers:

• Suppliers must supply each unit with an accurate printed label and a product information

sheet, free of charge, and must be able to produce technical documentation showing the figures are accurate.

• Dealers must display the label in a visible manner for units of a covered model,

including for online distance selling, and must make the product information sheet available to customers, in physical form on request at the point of sale.

So a shop or a web shop that sells a covered appliance without showing its label is not following the rules.

Looking up the details

Suppliers must register each new covered model in an EU product database before placing it on the market, and information relevant to consumers is held in a public part of that database. The regulation says easy access to it should be provided through tools such as a QR code on the printed label, so scanning the code on a label is the most direct route to the model's full details.

Changes that matter for the label or the information sheet make a product a new model, so the figures on an old label belong to that model only.

Software updates and your label class

If an update would worsen the parameters on your appliance's label after you have started using it, the supplier must ask for your explicit consent first, tell you the objective of the update and the change in parameters, including any change in label class, and, for a period proportionate to the product's average lifespan, give you the option of refusing the update without avoidable loss of functionality.

What this guide does not cover

It does not say what a particular class costs to run: that depends on the product group's regulation and on your electricity price, and this guide cites only the framework regulation. Look at the consumption figure on the label itself, or in the product database, for the model you are considering.

Track it in Epimeleia

When you buy an appliance, add it as an item and attach a photo of its energy label (or the product information sheet) with the receipt. Having the model's class and consumption figure on file next to the warranty and manual makes it easy to compare against a replacement later.