Energy consumption – framework for labelling rules

KEY POINTS

Energy-related products display labels that enable customers to make informed choices about more energy-efficient and sustainable products, taking into account technological progress. The regulation provides for a new, updated and clearer scale, from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient), to be taken up by upcoming delegated regulations. There is also a requirement for a product information sheet.

Many of the labels already in use before 1 August 2017 have been ‘rescaled’ by the European Commission, i.e. recalibrated to conform with the new regulation with an A-to-G scale.

The Commission adopts a separate delegated act for each specific product group to supplement the regulation. This establishes detailed requirements for the labelling of specific product groups for which:

• the product group has significant potential for energy saving;
• equivalent models have significantly different levels of performance within the product group;
• there is no significant negative impact in terms of affordability or overall cost in the product group.

Delegated acts relating to specific product groups specify, among other things:

• the specific product group which is to be covered by the detailed labelling requirements;
• the design and content of the label, including a scale from A to G showing the product’s consumption of energy, which should have a uniform design across product groups;
• other information emphasising the energy efficiency of the product;
• the use of other resources and supplementary information concerning the product, where appropriate;
• a reference in the label identifying products that are energy smart, i.e. capable of adapting to and optimising consumption patterns, where appropriate;
• the measurement and calculation methods to be used to determine label and product information, including the definition of the energy efficiency index;
• the evaluation date and possible revision date of the delegated act;
• variations in energy performance in different climatic regions.

The supplier and dealer are responsible for:

• displaying the energy efficiency class of the product and the range of classes available on the label;
• cooperating with market surveillance authorities and taking immediate action to remedy any non-compliance;
• not displaying other information likely to mislead customers about energy consumption, for products covered by delegated acts;
• not displaying labels which mimic those under this regulation, for products not covered by delegated acts or for non-energy related products.

Dealers, including online dealers, must display the label provided by the supplier and make the product information sheet available to customers at the point of sale.

The Commission has established a product registration database called the European Product Registry for Energy Labelling:

• to support market surveillance authorities in carrying out their tasks, including enforcement;
• to provide the public with information about products and their energy labels and product information sheets;
• to provide the Commission with up-to-date energy efficiency information so it can review energy labelling.

The database allows the public to consult product labels and information sheets, making it easier to compare the energy efficiency of household appliances. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/994 lays down the operational details of the product database.

The regulation also requires manufacturers to inform consumers if updates to software or firmware (software that is embedded in a piece of hardware and serves as the interface between that hardware and the operating system, e.g. on a smartphone or computer) could reduce a product’s energy efficiency. It bans the use of ‘defeat devices’, which alter a product’s performance under test conditions.

By 2 August 2025, the Commission will assess the implementation of this regulation and submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.