Energy labels provide many 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 EU energy label?
EU energy labels are a standardised system of energy efficiency ratings issued by the European Union for most domestic appliances. The first EU energy label appeared on an appliance in 1994. Since then, more and more appliance categories have been included in EU Energy Regulations and the labels have been updated various times.
The main purpose of EU energy labels is to collectively cut the energy consumption of home appliances in Europe 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.
Energy labels include valuable information about an appliance such as the annual energy consumption, noise level or its capacity. In fact, it is like a little summary of all the things that you should consider when looking for a new washing machine.
What’s on a washing machine energy label?
Here is all the information on an EU energy label for washing machines:
Here is the meaning of each rating and number in more detail.
01.
Energy Class (A+++ to D)
Since December 2011, washing machines have been rated from A+++ (the most efficient) to D (the least efficient). An A+++ washing machine will be the cheapest-to-run, the most environment-friendly one among other washing machines.
02.
Annual energy consumption (kWh/year)
Annual estimated energy consumption is also given on washing machines energy efficiency labels. This is based on 220 cycles of a combination of full and partial cotton loads at 40 °C and 60 °C. That means the assumption is that the washing machine is run at least 4 times a week.
Your individual washing habits will make a big impact on the actual amount of power your washing machine uses. Still, multiplying the annual energy consumption of a washing machine with the cost of electricity per kWh in your region will give you a good estimate of how much it will cost to run that appliance year-round.
03.
Annual water consumption (L/year)
As with energy consumption, the annual estimated water consumption given on washing machine energy rating labels is based on 220 cycles of a combination of full and partial cotton loads at 40 °C and 60 °C. This will range from roughly 8 000 to 12 000 litres per year.
Same thing as with the annual energy consumption, annual water consumption depends largely on your laundry habits. Again, multiplying this number with the cost of a litre of water in your area will give you a good estimate of the yearly cost of running that washing machine.
04.
Capacity (kg)
This is how much load your washing machine can handle on a standard cotton washing cycle. Capacity changes depending on the selected programme.
Please check your user manual for the exact capacity of each programme. If you’re a Beko owner, you can download your user manual with your product number.
05.
Spin drying efficiency (A to G)
This number tells you how successful a washing machine is in removing moisture from laundry during spinning. The closer this letter is to A, the dryer your clothes will come out of the machine.
This also means the less time they will have to spend in the dryer, saving on washing and drying. Spinning faster is a much more efficient way of removing moisture from laundry then leaving it sitting in the tumble dryer.
06.
Noise levels during washing and spinning (dB)
The washing machine energy rating label will also provide two operating noise levels: one the washing cycle, and the other for the spinning cycle.
These levels can range from 40 dB (a quiet library) to 80 dB (a ringing house phone). Higher-end machines tend to be quieter as they incorporate brushless motors and anti-vibration systems, but of course these will be a little pricier than other models.
Why should you care about energy efficiency?
For two basic reasons:
1. Your household budget and
2. The environment
It’s true that 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 up to 50% and repay that initial investment in a few years. In fact, the European Commission says your savings could add up to 250 Euros over the lifetime of your appliance.
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.
If all of Europe would drop their old washing machines, a total of 1.5 TWh (that’s 1.500.000.000 kWh!) of electricity and 100 million m3 of water would be saved until 2020.