What do the new energy labels mean?

ECO energy labels give the following information

Energy efficiency rating

We should all know by now that A is the best and G is the worst. But it doesn't tell us how much better or how much worse each rating is. To me, it's not much use saying one thing is better than another without telling me how much better.

How much difference is there between an A and a B? The difference could be pretty small and relatively insignificant. Of course even if A is only slightly better than B it's better to have the A isn't it? But what if the B is a better washing machine altogether, or is likely to last longer and need less repairs? What if the difference between an A and a B is £2.50 a year but the A costs £50 more?

Ten A rated washing machines could still have differences. One or two of the 10 could only just make the grade and one or two could exceed it so much that they deserve an extra classification This has already happened with refrigeration labels where they had to introduce an A+, then later an A++. This shows the system was set up to be so simple it was inevitably too limited. Currently the A energy efficiency rating has been extended to add an A+.

On the Energy Saving Trust (EU energy label) web site they say the following about the energy efficiency ratings -

"Remember, the more energy efficient an appliance is, the more money you can save - and the more you can help the environment."

However, this is only theoretically true, and only really true if the "more energy efficient appliance" is exactly the same price, and built to the same quality standards, and is the same in most other ways. This is rarely if ever the case. If you compared a Which? best buy that had a high reliability record with one that had a reputation for being unreliable, but the unreliable one had a higher energy efficiency rating I do not agree that the unreliable washing machine is either the best to buy, or would help the environment more. I would say the opposite is true. If you were comparing two different models of the same manufacturer from the same model range though, and they had different energy efficiency ratings, that would be a reasonably fair comparison.

Because proper buying decisions are so complex and difficult to work out it's easy to rely on these labels too much. What if you choose a more energy efficient washing machine because of environmental concerns without realising that this washing machine damages the environment more than the other because of the way it's manufactured, or because of the distance it has travelled round the world compared to one made in your own country, or because of its unreliability record or its lack of longevity?

Because the energy efficiency ratings only focus on energy usage they should only be used as a very small part of the buying decision. Buying a good quality washing machine should be the number one priority.

How much money would you save if you replaced an old washing machine (bought in 1998) with one of the new, "A" rated energy saving recommended models of similar size?

According to the Energy Saving Trust, you would only save up to £10* per year (source: Energy saving assumptions ). This seems surprisingly low. I'm sure most people would expect much more savings than that.

If the annual difference in energy usage between a current A rated washing machine and one made in 1998 is only a maximum of £10 then surely the difference between a current A rated washing machine and a B, or C, shouldn't be too significant? Savings are good to pursue, and even £10 a year is worthwhile, but small savings like this shouldn't influence complex buying decisions too much.

* The (up to) £10 per year savings quoted here are relevant only for washing machines. Other appliances (such as freezers and fridges) have greater savings differences between grade levels, and greater annual running cost savings compared to 1998 because they are on 24/7. The above link also lists estimated potential savings for the other white goods appliances as well as for various home insulation projects.

How much money would you save if you bought a washing machine that had an energy efficiency rating of A instead of one that was B rated?

According to Which? it was just £5.20* a year (doing 5 washes a week). When comparing an A rating with a C rating the savings almost reaches £10 a year. These savings aren't that significant if you end up with an unreliable washing machine that doesn't last long. Over a several year period the savings start to add up but they can still be easily wiped out with just one repair. Watch out for washing machines with lower than C rating though as there are still a handful of really poor ones available.

* figure found during research in mid 2008

Energy consumption kWh/Cycle

Here you can find out the cost in electricity charges that the washing machine is likely to use on a particular wash cycle. The figure is based on a 60 degree cotton cycle - even though most people rarely use it. The most common wash cycle in use is 40 degrees and we are being encouraged to wash at 30 degrees. Therefore if you wash mostly at 40 degrees the figure quoted will be higher than your actual costs.

It still provides a method of comparing different washing machines, but all a manufacturer has to do is ensure their 60 degree cottons wash is energy efficient. The ones most people use aren't tested.

The points raised in previous sections still apply here. What if you compare two washing machines, and one costs £10 per year more to run than the other? Does that mean the cheaper-to-run one is a better buy? You may instinctively choose the “cheapest to run", but the running costs of a washing machine can't be factored down to simple electricity charges. The running costs of a washing machine over its lifetime must include all repairs and how long it lasts too. Clearly these can't be factored in so easily but if a "more economical" washing machine is far less reliable then there's little point saving £10 a year in energy costs. Again these figures are less important than finding a good quality reliable washing machine. Even the worst washing machine in the shops can have a good eco label because manufacturers make sure they do.

How to use the Energy consumption kWh/Cycle figure

Electricity is charged in kWh (kilowatt hours). 1 kWh is the amount of electricity used by an appliance rated at 1000 watts in one hour. If you switch on an electric fire with an element rated at 1000 watts and left it on for 1 hour you will have used 1 kWh of electricity. If you switched two electric fires with 1000 watt elements on for half an hour you would use exactly the same amount of electricity - 1kWh. Drawing 1000 watts for an hour uses the same amount as drawing 2000 watts (twice as much) for half an hour (half the time). For a 100 watt light bulb to use 1 kWh of electricity (also known as 1 unit of electricity) it would need to be on for 10 hours (10 x 100 = 1000 = 1kWh).

The figure in the energy label above is 0.95 This is how many kilowatt hours (kWh) the washer should use on a whites cottons 60 degree wash cycle. If it used 1 whole kilowatt hour the figure would be 1.0, this figure is almost 1.0 kWh (95% of a kWh).

You need to find out how much you are being charged per kWh to work this out into a cash figure which should be on your electricity bill. This is easier said than done because of the complexity of modern electricity tariffs but if you know the figure just multiply the two to get a price. On the Energy Saving Trust site they quote 7 pence per kWh but this is miles out of date. On another section they use the updated figure of 12.12p/kWh which is closer to average current rates but these rates are rising,and different tariffs can vary a lot.

If we use 12.12p/kWhs as an average cost you would multiply 0.95 by 12.12 arriving at a cost of 11.51 pence to do a 60 degree cottons wash. If the label said the washing machine used 1.2 kWh for a 60 degree wash the cost would be 14.54 pence (1.2 x 12.12).

Continued on next column