Energy ratings are key to understanding how sustainable and efficient our kitchen appliances are, but they’re not always easy to comprehend. To give you a helping hand, we’ve put together a guide to new energy efficiency ratings that were introduced in March 2021 and how to use them to find kitchen appliances that suit your household needs while reducing your energy consumption and costs.
Energy ratings explained
We’ve all seen them on kitchen appliances, but what are energy ratings and what do they mean?
Energy ratings are a way of measuring the energy consumption and efficiency of appliances. They operate on a scale and are graded by letters from A- to G. A is the most efficient rating, while G is the least.
Energy ratings are designed to help people to understand how efficient appliances are and help them make informed decisions on overall energy consumption and potential costs of running new appliances.
Top tip: For more ways to boost your home’s environmentally friendly credentials, take a look at these energy saving tips.
What’s the difference between new appliance energy ratings compared to old energy ratings?
Since energy labels were first introduced in 1994, there have been major advancements in energy-saving and energy-efficient technology. As a result, kitchen appliances are more efficient than the old scale could signal, so energy rating letters were updated to reflect this.
The old energy rating scale went from A+++ to G. Changing this scale from A-G simplifies the ratings and provides better standards to differentiate between energy efficiency levels, in line with appliances currently on the market. The new scale can also be extended if companies continue to innovate and develop appliances with more energy-efficient technology that exceeds the current scale.
New energy labels include QR codes that you can scan to learn more about the product. The information on each label depends on the type of kitchen appliance it’s for. Let’s have a look at energy ratings for different kitchen appliances and what you should be looking for…
Washing machine energy rating
Before the change in energy ratings, the majority of washing machines on the market were ranked in the highest category for energy efficiency. This made it hard to differentiate between them and work out which one was the most efficient.
On the new washing machine labels, there are numerous pieces of information, including:
- QR code
- Energy efficiency rating (from A-G)
- Weighted energy consumption in kWh per full cycle
- Duration of the Eco 40-60 cycle
- Maximum load capacity
- Weighted water consumption per full cycle
- Spin drying efficiency
- Noise emissions and noise emissions class
You can use all this information to gain a better understanding of the overall energy consumption of the washing machine, as well as useful information about load capacity and duration of the cycle, to help you choose a washing machine that best suits your needs.
There are also things you can do to maximize the energy efficiency of your washing machine. For example, only wash full loads, use Eco or Time Saver settings, and try washing at a lower temperature, such as 30° instead of 60°.
