Energy rating labels provide a lot of valuable information about a product. Let's take a closer look at what kind of information is on there and what they mean.
What's an energy rating label?
The Energy Rating Label is regulated by the Australian government. It has been around for over 30 years, and provides you with information so you can compare the energy efficiency and running costs of appliances before you buy – this will help you to reduce your electricity bill.
Australian energy labels use a standardised system of energy efficiency ratings for most major domestic appliances.
The main purpose of energy rating labels is to collectively cut the energy consumption of home appliances in Australia by doing two things:
- Giving consumers clear comparison criteria and help them choose more energy-efficient products, and
- Encouraging companies to invest in developing ever-more energy-efficient products.
What’s on a washing machine energy rating label?
Here is all the information on an energy rating label for washing machines:
01.
Star Rating
The star rating indicates the energy efficiency of the product – that is how efficient a model is relative to other models of the same size.
The more stars there are on the label, the more efficient that product is – when compared to other models of the same size.
Most products are given between 1 and 6 stars. But the good news is technology is constantly developing, and in turn the energy efficiency of products continues to improve too! Due to these improvements some products can have up to a 10 star rating.
energyrating.gov.au recommends : "Always choose which size (or capacity) model you need first, then use the star rating to compare them."
02.
Annual energy consumption (kWh/year)
Energy consumption indicates how much electricity a particular model product uses.
The energy consumption number is determined using standardised testing – required by law and conducted in line with the official Australian and New Zealand Standard.
This energy consumption number will enable you to compare any model – no matter the products size (capacities).
When it comes to energy consumption, the lower the number, the less a model will cost to run in your home, so you'll pay less on your electricity bill.
energyrating.gov.au recommends : "choosing an appliance with a lower energy consumption will save on your electricity bill"
Why should you care about energy efficiency?
For two basic reasons:
1. Your household budget and
2. The environment
It’s true that a washing machine with higher energy ratings tend to be a bit more expensive, but they cost less to power. That means, switching to an energy-efficient washing machine can reduce your energy bills by up to 50% and repay that initial investment in a few years.
You might be thinking “what difference will just one washing machine make?”. Well, it’s a cumulative effect. Energy-efficiency has never been more important than now where resources are running low and the effects of human life on nature is ever increasing.
For more information visit energyrating.gov.au
