How to read the EU energy label

What is the EU energy label?

It is a mandatory label, defined in EU law, that every covered appliance must carry in the shop and next to the price online. The framework is Regulation (EU) 2017/1369; for each product group a separate delegated regulation fixes what the label shows, how the values are measured and where the class boundaries lie.

The supplier is responsible for the accuracy of the label and must hand it to the dealer free of charge. Advertising for a specific model has to state its class and the range of classes on the label, so “class B” never appears without “A to G”. Products designed to recognise a test and behave better during it are banned outright.

Why was the scale reset to A–G in 2021?

Because most models had crowded into the top classes and the plus signs had stopped telling buyers anything. The framework regulation itself notes that the top class could be anything from A to A+++ depending on the product group, which made labels hard to compare. It therefore returns every label to a single A–G scale with stricter requirements.

• 1 March 2021: fridges and freezers (including wine coolers), commercial fridges with a sales function, dishwashers, washing machines, washer-dryers, and TVs and monitors.
• 1 September 2021: light sources.
• 20 June 2025: a new label for smartphones and tablets.
• 1 July 2025: tumble dryers, under Regulation (EU) 2023/2534.

Old and new letters cannot be converted into each other. A model rated A+++ on the old label can carry a much lower letter on the new one without using a single extra kilowatt hour, because the test and the thresholds both changed. When a label is rescaled, shops have 14 working days after the switch-over date to replace the labels on display.

Why is class A often empty?

It is empty by design. The framework regulation requires that, when a label is introduced or rescaled, no products are expected to reach class A, and that a majority of models should take at least ten years to get there. Where technology is expected to move faster, classes A and B both start empty.

The same rules say when the next reset is due: the Commission reviews a label once 30 % of units sold reach class A, or 50 % reach A and B together. In practice this means that the best class available in a shop can be B, C or even D, and that is not a sign of a poor product range.

Where ecodesign rules have banned the bottom classes for new products, those letters stay on the label but are shown in grey.

Which products still use A+++ to D?

Products whose labels have not yet been rescaled still show the older scale with plus classes. On this site that applies to air conditioners (Regulation (EU) No 626/2011) and to ovens and range hoods (Regulation (EU) No 65/2014), and several heating products use similar older scales. The European Commission lists the revision of these labels as ongoing work.

An A+ oven and a class A fridge therefore sit on different rulers: on the old scale A+ is a middling result, on the new one A is the best possible. Compare classes only within one product group and one label generation.

What does the QR code open?

It opens the model’s entry in EPREL, the EU’s public product database for energy labelling. Since 1 January 2019 every supplier must register a new model there before the first unit goes on sale, with the full product information sheet behind the label. The public entries are not deleted when a model is discontinued.

EPREL shows more than the label: dimensions, standby power, the programme durations at partial load and other values listed in each product’s information sheet. The Commission warns that fake QR codes are used for phishing; a genuine one leads to an address on ec.europa.eu, and EPREL never asks for personal data or payment.

What do all A–G labels have in common?

Every A–G label is built from the same blocks, laid out so that it can be read without words in any EU language.

The energy efficiency index behind each class is a percentage: the measured consumption divided by a reference consumption for an appliance of the same type and size. That is why the class says how efficient a model is for its size, while the kWh figure says how much it actually uses.

What do the test conditions mean for everyday use?

They make models comparable, not predictable: every model of a group is measured the same way in a laboratory, which rarely matches a real home. Fridges are tested in rooms at 16 °C and 32 °C without anyone opening the door; washing machines on the eco 40-60 programme with a mix of full, half and quarter loads; dishwashers on the eco programme with a full load; tumble dryers on the eco programme drying cotton.

If you mostly use quick or hot programmes, or keep the fridge next to the oven, your consumption will differ from the label. The ranking between models usually holds, because the test is the same for all of them.

Market surveillance authorities check the declared values by testing units bought on the market. For fridges, for example, a unit passes if it uses no more than 10 % more energy than declared; suppliers are not allowed to use that margin to flatter the values they declare.

What does the label not tell you?

It says nothing about price, your own costs or, for most appliances, how long the product will last.

• Purchase price, and therefore whether the efficient model pays back within its life.
• Your electricity price, which varies widely between EU countries.
• How often you use the appliance and on which programmes.
• Repairability and durability: only the smartphone and tablet label carries a repairability class. For tumble dryers, the Commission was asked to assess a repairability score separately.
• Spare parts and repair information, which are set by separate ecodesign rules.

How does this site use label values?

We take the declared values from EPREL and turn the energy figure into a yearly cost. For fridges the label already gives kWh per year; for washing machines, dryers and dishwashers we multiply the figure per 100 cycles by the number of cycles you set. The result is multiplied by the household electricity price of your country, published by Eurostat including taxes and levies.

Our default numbers of cycles are 220 washes, 160 drying cycles and 280 dishwasher cycles a year. They are the figures the pre-2021 labels used for their yearly consumption; the current labels leave the number to you. Models are compared only within the same type and size band. The details are on our methodology page.

Each appliance label is explained line by line on its own page, starting with the fridge and freezer label and the washing machine label.

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