As we’ve stated previously in articles we don’t think that much of the current EU labels for energy use but there have been plans drawn up to change them. The sad thing is that, from what we can tell, this change will serve only to make it even more confusing than it already is.
The plans that have been unveiled involve the energy labels being changed from the current lettering system which has been with us since 1994 and runs from A to G with A being the one considered the most efficient, to a numerical system running from 1 to 9 with 9 being the most efficient.
Energy campaigers say it would be expensive and confusing as numbers would change all the time. They want to keep the A-G ratings but make them stricter as standards improve.
Energy Saving Trust chairman Edward Hyams said: “Our message is simple: If it ain’t broken don’t fix it.
“The A-G label should stay as it is but ‘A’ should be regularly updated and made tougher for manufacturers to achieve.
“Last year seven million white goods were sold in the UK alone and 70 per cent of those were A-rated.
“I would have thought the EU had enough on their plates at the moment without wasting time, money and effort changing something that nine out of ten people across Europe already understand and recognise.”
In 1999 A-rated fridges accounted for just four per cent of purchases. But by 2008 that had risen to 72 per cent.
‘A’ rated washing machines have risen from 12 per cent to 100 per cent over the same time.
The labelling changes could be approved as early as March.