Brussels 28/09/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 28 September, the European Commission proposed a new labelling system for household electrical goods, in particular for TVs. The existing energy label scheme for refrigerators, dishwashers and washing machines will simply be updated, but the Commission proposed energy labels for TVs for the very first time. Energy labels will help consumers choose the most energy efficient products and provide incentives for industry to develop and invest in energy efficient product design.
For televisions, which represent almost 10% of the average household's electricity bill, it will be the first time ever that manufacturers will have to declare the energy efficiency of their products, using an A to G scale. The label must be clearly shown on the TV set and in advertisements, if the price of TV is mentioned.
Energy labelling of fridge-freezers, dishwashers and washing machines has already been hugely successful since its introduction in 1992: today 90% of appliances sold in the EU are in class “A” - the best existing class. However, new technologies could see the energy consumption of an A-class product cut by half. The EU has therefore decided to extend the scale upwards with three new classes: “A+”, “A++”, and “A+++” for products with a better than A-performance.
The electricity consumed by the appliances covered by the new regulations represents one third of households' annual electricity bills. The regulations for these labels will now have to be agreed by the European Parliament and Council, and will come into force 12 months after publication in the Official Journal. (E.H./transl.rt)