When it comes to choosing an appliance, our customers usually have an idea in mind of the sort of thing they’re looking for: a washing machine with a large capacity, a stainless steel fridge freezer, a dishwasher with a cutlery tray. But when it comes to energy consumption, it can be a bit confusing for customers to know what to look for – that’s where we come in!
Energy labels have undergone a bit of a changeup in the last couple of years, and now – more than ever – we’re all extremely conscious of the importance of energy efficient and cost-effective appliances.
So, let’s start with the basics:
What do these icons and numbers mean on energy labels? Take a look through the slideshow below of some example appliance energy labels and what each part means:
“My appliance was an A when I bought it, now they’re all F rated. What happened?”
A perfectly reasonable question. After all, even though we spend all day surrounded by new appliances, most of you reading this will buy an appliance and keep it for years until it needs replacing – and a lot can happen in a few years!
In 2020, the UK introduced a new energy label in which energy performance has been spread over a much wider scale. You may have noticed on the old style labels, energy ratings had begun to get into “A++ / A+++ / A+++-10%” territory – which was extremely confusing for customers and sales advisers, alike. It was difficult to decipher the true difference between a machine that was A++ and A+++ rated, especially a difference that was clear enough to consumers (especially those of us who are rubbish with numbers… I know I’m not alone here). So, the new scale makes it far easier for you (and us!) to compare efficiency across products.
This means that: if your appliance was rated A when you bought it, but now it’s equivalent to an F rated machine, the efficiency of your machine hasn’t changed, it’s just sitting in a different place on the efficiency scale. Purchasing an F rated washing machine to replace an old A rated machine isn’t going to cost you more to run it necessarily, it’s just that the goal posts for an A rated machine have moved.
We’re always Happy to be Helpful!
We know all of this information regarding energy consumption and efficiency can be overwhelming and confusing upon first glance, but we hope this has helped to answer some questions you might’ve had.
If you have any questions regarding any of the energy jargon, our sales advisers are always on-hand to help, so don’t hesitate to pop into your local HBH Woolacotts branch or give us a call.
Thanks for reading! Until next time 👋
