Datasheet
The New Energy Label
Since 1995, the label has helped customers to make an informed choice when purchasing an appliance.
In 2003, the success of the labeling scheme, led the European Union to introduce two new classes for refrigerating
appliances, A+ and A++. These new categories were placed on top of the A class to respond to a market-led demand for
environmental-friendly products and to incentivise suppliers to develop even more efficient products in this category.
Revision of the label is now necessary to ensure continued transparency and clarity of information for consumers. The
label has been a driver of technological progress in appliances. Advances in product design now means that the energy
label must be updated to remain informative and relevant. It will also continue to stimulate innovative efficiency gains.
The European Union has now approved new labels to indicate energy
efficiency beyond A. The new framework Directive entered into force
on 19 June 2010. It introduces a new energy label layout which has
nonetheless kept its uniform and simple design characteristics across
the different product categories.
The basic elements of the new label are:
• The initial A to G classication scale
• Colours from dark green (high energy eciency) to red
(low energy efficiency);
• Size of the label.
Additional elements have been introduced:
• Depending on the product group up, to three additional classes (A+, A++, A+++) are added to the previous A-G
classification scale. But the seven-class structure of the old labeling system will be preserved: the introduction of new
classes above A will be accompanied by the removal of existing bottom classes, from G upward.
• The new label is language-neutral: this is achieved by replacing text with pictograms which inform consumers about
the characteristics and performance of the given product.
• Each single product will be supplied with the full new label. The current practice in some countries to provide the basic
label and the data strip separately will not be necessary any more.
• Where energy-related or price information is disclosed, any advertisement for a specic model will bear a reference to
the energy efficiency class of the product.