Press Release from DEFRA


Ref: 278/09


Date: 30 November 2009


Research published today shows that some of the top selling household appliances may not be performing in accordance with claimed standards printed on the labels.

Many domestic appliances are required to be labelled showing their energy use, energy efficiency and other characteristics. Defra tested 24 of the best selling washing machines, 24 ovens and 265 different light bulbs. These tests are not full legal compliance testing, where four samples of each washer drier and oven; and 20 samples of each light bulb need to be tested but simply a snapshot, testing individual appliances against their energy labelling.

Test results included:

Environment Minister Dan Norris said:

“When people buy a new household appliance, they need to be confident that if it says it is energy efficient, it will live up to those standards.

“Many more people are now ensuring that the products they buy will use less energy and therefore will reduce both their carbon footprint and their fuel bill.

“Defra is pushing Europe to revise and extend the A-G energy efficiency labelling system for more products to greater promote high efficiency products and help consumers chose the best products on the market. This research highlights the need for these standards to be fully enforced. Defra have recently appointed a new market surveillance authority to ensure this happens.”


The full results can be found at:

http://efficient-products.defra.gov.uk/compliance

Download the PDFs:

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