Onzo

Everyone is aware that household white goods such as washing machines and fridges are being made more energy efficient. The European Energy Label, with it’s ‘A’ to ‘G’ rating and coloured arrows, is now familiar on washing machines, refrigeration appliances, tumble driers and dishwashers. It also applies to ovens and air conditioning units, as well as light bulbs.

This labelling system is simple to understand and allows a quick comparison between appliances, and for white goods anyone wanting to be energy efficient will buy an appliance as efficient as possible when they are replacing an old one. There are however a couple of issues with the system.

First, it is very hard to work out when it is better or more cost effective to replace an old but working model with a new, more efficient model, and what the payback period might be. There are very few tools to help with this, although future energy management products will help.

Secondly, the rating is not about an absolute level of energy used, but about how efficient the device is for what it is. A large ‘A’ rated double door fridge freezer will almost certainly use more energy than a worse rated, under the counter sized, model. The purchasing decision should therefore be not just to buy an efficient model but to buy a sufficient model; one that meets your needs and is not more than required.

For other goods, the decision is harder as the information is less easy to come by; probably the biggest area is home entertainment equipment, especially televisions. Again though, when purchasing decisions about which appliances to buy in order to be energy efficient people should look at the actual energy used. For most people selecting a television, the choice would be size first, and then perhaps check the power rating for models of that size. However, smaller models are almost certain to have a lower use of energy, and the decision should be a trade off between desire and energy use.

A final category of appliances is of course the items that have manual equivalents, which use no energy. An electric toothbrush uses more energy than a manual one. A food processor uses more energy than doing it by hand. While no one is advocating that we go without labour saving devices, the proliferation in a modern home can be enormous, with a corresponding consumption of electricity.

In conclusion, the best way to be energy efficient is to buy appliances with the smallest energy consumption for your needs, which may be zero, but to bear in mind the energy benefits of not replacing an existing appliance.