Energy Labeling Of Household Appliances

Table of contents:

Energy Labeling Of Household Appliances
Energy Labeling Of Household Appliances

Video: Energy Labeling Of Household Appliances

Video: Energy Labeling Of Household Appliances
Video: New EU Energy Label for Electrical Appliances 2024, March
Anonim
  • Technique from A to G
  • Technique of classes A, A + and A ++
  • Impact of the degree of energy saving on quality
How to choose an economical home appliance. Understanding the markings from A to G
How to choose an economical home appliance. Understanding the markings from A to G

Recall that from 2011 to the present, it includes:

  • household refrigerators;
  • household freezers;
  • household washing machines;
  • household air conditioners and electric air coolers;
  • household dishwashers;
  • household electric lamps intended for lighting devices (incandescent and low pressure fluorescent lamps).

The coming new year has added three more items to this list:

  • televisions;
  • household electric ovens (and not only as a separate device, but also as part of kitchen electric stoves);
  • passenger and freight-passenger elevators (it should be noted that only elevators for transporting people are subject to marking, industrial-oriented options are not included in this paragraph).

Previously, computers were also included in this list, but then they were excluded. But this does not mean at all that, having come to the store, it is impossible to find such products with the appropriate marking. Most manufacturers provide this information on a voluntary basis, especially if it promotes the sale of more expensive equipment with not very high performance.

How to choose an economical home appliance. Understanding the markings from "A" to "G"
How to choose an economical home appliance. Understanding the markings from "A" to "G"

But, as often happens with us, due to the lack of information, when choosing a particular device, buyers simply do not pay attention to the corresponding labels. Most people, of course, know that the letter A is better than G, but why and how big the difference is, very few people can imagine. And when it comes to A + or "super A", then many are completely lost. Not to mention those cases when equipment is purchased in European or American online stores - there you can see not only A +, A ++ and even A +++, but also the Energy Guide. Let's take a closer look at what all this means.

Technique from A to G

In Russia, classes are assigned to household appliances in accordance with the rules approved by the Ministry of Industry and Trade back in 2010.

So the following division is provided for refrigerators:

Energy efficiency class Energy efficiency index (ratio of actual annual energy consumption to standard) AND does not exceed 55% AT 55-75% FROM 75-90% D 90-100% E 100-110% F 110-125% G over 125%
How to choose an economical home appliance. Understanding the markings from "A" to "G"
How to choose an economical home appliance. Understanding the markings from "A" to "G"

For washing machines, division is somewhat simpler and does not require additional calculations:

Energy efficiency class Actual energy consumption with a load of one kilogram of laundry in a standard program AND not more than 0.19 kWh AT 0.19-0.23 kWh FROM 0.23-0.27 kWh D 0.27-0.31 kWh E 0.31-0.35 kWh F 0.35-0.39 kWh G over 0.39 kWh
How to choose an economical home appliance. Understanding the markings from "A" to "G"
How to choose an economical home appliance. Understanding the markings from "A" to "G"

Machines with the function of drying clothes have a slightly different division into classes:

Energy efficiency class Actual energy consumption with a load of one kilogram of laundry in a standard program AND not more than 0.68 kWh AT 0.68-0.81 kWh FROM 0.81-0.93 kWh D 0.93-1.05 kWh E 1.05-1.17 kWh F 1.17-0.39 kWh G over 0.39 kWh

The same information can be found about any other equipment subject to mandatory labeling.

Technique of classes A, A + and A ++

However, new technologies already today make it possible to produce ultra-economical devices. So for refrigerators, the same rules provide for two additional categories A + and A ++. For the first, the energy efficiency index will be from 30% to 42%, and the second will include units with an index not exceeding 30%. As a consequence, for class A, the range remains from 55% to 42%. But this is only what concerns refrigerators and Russian legislation.

If purchases are made in online stores in Europe or America, then you should know their division into energy efficiency classes.

The European labeling is the easiest to compare with "our" on the example of all the same refrigerators. Currently, the following division operates on the territory of the European Union:

Energy efficiency class Energy efficiency index A +++ does not exceed 22% A ++ 22-33% A + 33-44% AND 44- 55% AT 55-75% FROM 75-95% D 95-110% E 110-125% F 125-150% G over 150%

It should be noted that the current division into classes will not be relevant for so long and will soon be slightly changed (July 1, 2014). The new version will impose stricter requirements for the A + class, namely, the energy efficiency index should not exceed 42% (instead of the current 44%).

How to choose an economical home appliance. Understanding the markings from "A" to "G"
How to choose an economical home appliance. Understanding the markings from "A" to "G"

When buying other equipment, you also need to know that the class is defined somewhat differently. For the same washing machines in Russia, the cotton program at 60 degrees with a load of 1 kg is used, and in the EU, the maximum load is considered, as a result, the values in kWh will be different, and the equipment will fall under the same class.

For those who do not want to go into details, we can summarize that the equipment of the lower European classes will be "more voracious" than the equipment with the same Russian classes, but it is impossible to buy it in the EU. As for the high classes, the division will coincide with rare exceptions.

There is also a completely different system for assessing the cost of electricity by equipment. It is called, as noted above, Energy Guide. This system is used in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The presence of the EG mark on the device means that it is included in the 25% of the most economical of all possible options. Although the presence of this sign does not at all exclude the European label with the usual letters - the same United States successfully uses both systems.

In addition to the mandatory labeling, some global brands use their own designations. For example, the Bosch company practices the additional designation Green Technology inside, which means saving energy and using exclusively environmentally friendly production. Domestic manufacturers sometimes use the "Super A" marking, the law does not stipulate such symbols, but it can be assumed that this designation is used when they "fell short" a little to A +.

Meanwhile, in Russia there is a rather strict requirement to inform the buyer and the presence of additional signs does not at all exempt the manufacturer from mandatory energy labeling. Fines for non-compliance with these requirements are substantial.

Impact of the degree of energy saving on quality

The lack of information in Russia gives rise to some rumors and legends. For example, there are some misconceptions that economical technique is not that effective. Class A and B washing machines are usually considered, the second, in the opinion of many, will wash better. However, this is not always true. In Russia, a wider marking of washing machines is used, consisting of 3 letters:

  1. Energy efficiency.
  2. Washing quality.
  3. Spin quality.

As a result, the AAA technique will have excellent properties and at the same time will save electricity, but after washing machines marked as AGG, you will not only have to dry the laundry for a long time, but also rewash it if it is seriously dirty.

The same three-digit markings are used for dishwashers:

  1. Energy efficiency.
  2. Washing quality.
  3. Drying quality.
How to choose an economical home appliance. Understanding the markings from "A" to "G"
How to choose an economical home appliance. Understanding the markings from "A" to "G"

When evaluating refrigerators, such a gradation is not required: the usable volume of one and the other can be assessed visually, and any additional options such as "frost-free" are taken into account even at the stage of determining the classes by using coefficients. As a result, class A can include both small single-chamber versions and huge advanced models with a bunch of additional functions. Of course, the second model will consume much more energy, but the class will be assigned the same as that of the economical "baby".

As for TVs, here too the energy efficiency class is assigned in a similar way. So the economical categories can include both small compact devices with a minimum of power consumption, and plasma the size of a wall floor.

At the same time, in Europe, they are more concerned not with the quality of economical products, but with their cost. Today, many companies do not initially imply long-term use of the same device. So, having bought a TV today, in a couple of years you will probably want to replace it with a newer and more modern model, thereby not having time to recoup the overpayment for Class A with savings in electricity bills.

The West has made attempts to introduce, in addition to energy labeling, a "life cycle price" or LCC. It reflects the real costs for the entire period of use of the product. For example, a G-class refrigerator will have a small starting price, but when a significant annual energy bill is added to it, after a few years it will outperform its economical A-class counterpart, since it will have an order of magnitude lower electricity surplus.

How to choose an economical home appliance. Understanding the markings from "A" to "G"
How to choose an economical home appliance. Understanding the markings from "A" to "G"

As a consequence, it only makes sense to overpay for an energy efficiency class if you really intend to use the item long enough, otherwise real cost savings will never be achieved.

Due to the fact that the world does not stand still and our life is filled with more and more energy consumers, and energy, not only alternative, but also the main one, can no longer fully satisfy the demand, the government cannot turn a blind eye to this. This is how laws are born calling to save electricity. Like Europe, Russia may soon restrict the production and import of especially "gluttonous" electrical appliances, as happened with incandescent lamps. By the way, the European Union has introduced a ban on the sale of goods of classes F and G for a relatively long time, and products with a label below B have serious restrictions on their sale.

Recommended: