How to check energy efficiency of appliances and keep bills down

Shoppers looking for a cheap fridge, washing machine or TV during this week’s Black Friday shopping event may want to check the energy efficiency of their appliances to save even more.

Most households are paying more for their energy and will continue to do so for some time if the latest forecasts are correct. If you want to keep bills as low as possible, it is wise to keep track of your energy consumption.

Many household items now come with labels explaining how energy efficient they are – but a third of consumers say they don’t understand them, according to research from comparison site Uswitch.

It doesn’t help that a new rating system was introduced last year, making it more difficult to compare older devices with newer ones.

Understanding energy efficiency labels can help consumers make serious savings in the long run, or avoid overspending on an “energy saving” appliance that never pays for itself.

We explain what these efficiency labels mean and how you can calculate what you can save in a few years.

What is an energy efficiency label?

According to Uswitch, four out of five consumers now look at energy efficiency labels when buying a new appliance.

Most people will have seen these stickers on appliances and white goods in their home. They provide a color-coded rating to tell users how energy efficient the device is.

Appliances are tested for how much energy they use at a ‘typical’ level of use and then rated on a scale from A to G, with A being the most efficient and G being the least efficient.

The label should also tell you how much energy your device will use in kilowatt hours, but this can vary by device.

A fridge-freezer indicates how much energy it uses over the course of a year, while a washing machine label indicates, for example, how much energy it uses for 100 washes.

What does the new energy efficiency label look like?

There has been a lot of confusion under the new A to G system introduced in March 2021.

It has been updated as the energy output of appliances has decreased since the old system was introduced, meaning that the old labeling system, which ranged from A+++ to G, became obsolete.

However, many stores still sell devices rated A+, A++, and A+++ under the old system, which may trip up some customers.

The most efficient products, previously labeled A+++, roughly correspond to class B or C under the new scheme.

The Energy Saving Trust says using multiple + signs reduced clarity and most modern products now occupy the top two or three classes.

The new energy labels according to the new rating system can be found on refrigerators, freezers, washing machines and dryers, TVs, lighting and dishwashers.

What the kWh power refers to depends on the type of device. It can refer to the energy consumption per 100 cycles, in the case of a dishwasher or washing machine, but it can also refer to the energy consumption per year, or per a certain number of hours.

The new label also has room for additional information, such as the noise level of an appliance, the amount of water used per use and the duration of a cycle or wash.

How much money do energy efficient appliances save?

When you are looking for a new energy-efficient appliance, it is wise to weigh the purchase costs in advance against how much the cheaper running costs can save you on your energy bill.

Ben Gallizzi, energy expert at Uswitch, said: ‘You might save yourself £100 by buying a budget appliance, but you could end up paying a hefty energy bill as some appliances cost five times as much to run as their more energy efficient alternatives. .

“How quickly a more energy-efficient device pays for itself depends on the product, but sometimes energy-efficient devices cost as much as gadgets that cost three times the energy bill.”

A typical A+ oven (under the old labeling system) could cost £85.83 to run for a year, according to Uswitch, £11.17 less than the £96.80 a user would pay for using a A-rated oven.

But the most efficient oven costs £110 more to buy, meaning it would take almost a decade for the more expensive appliance to pay for itself in energy savings at current unit prices.

There’s an even greater incentive to check the energy efficiency label when you’re comparing lower-rated appliances.

A brand that sold fridge-freezers offered an A-rated appliance and an F-rated appliance for the same price, according to Uswitch’s research.

However, the F-rated appliance could cost £97.92 a year, compared to £36.72 for the more efficient fridge-freezer.

A typical A++ tumble dryer would cost £35 a year to run, compared to almost £200 for a less efficient one, with the most efficient taking just 18 months to pay for itself.

To find the best options for devices, you can use websites like Top tenwhich provides energy efficiency lists for many electrical products.