When it comes to buying energy efficient products, Europeans know their A’s from their G’s. The EU energy label first appeared on a selection of home appliances in the 1990s, starting with fridges in 1994. Since then, thanks to effective and responsive EU policy making, the label has grown in both scope and influence to support, together with other EU measures, the energy efficiency and ecodesign of products.

 

According to a 2024 Eurobarometer survey on energy, 93% of EU consumers recognised the label and 75% said it had influenced their choice when purchasing an appliance in the past 5 years.

 

Further enhancing its user-friendliness, the latest generation of the label, already appearing on a range of products across 5 product groups, features a simplified scale of energy classes from A-G, replacing the previous A+++ to D scale. A unique QR code has also been added to these labels, bringing you directly to the European Product Registry for Energy Labelling (EPREL), a comprehensive European Commission database which hosts detailed information on each individual product, with the possibility to compare different models on the market.

 

Energy and cost savings for EU households

 

Opting for home appliances and other products that are cheaper to run because they waste less energy can have a significant impact on bringing down overall energy consumption and reducing your household energy bills.

 

The 2024 Ecodesign Impact Accounting Overview Report showed that the total expense savings per household in 2020, thanks to EU ecodesign and energy labelling rules, were between €182 and €266 per household. By 2030, these savings are projected to increase to between €473 and €736 per household per year, benefiting not only private households but also the services and industry sectors. 

 

 

Innovation fostering EU competitiveness

 

Beyond the positive impacts at household level, consumers who use tools such as the EU energy label and EPREL, to make informed purchasing choices, send a strong and collective signal to manufacturers: that there is a demand for more energy efficient products. 

 

In turn, such market trends can drive innovation and investment in more sustainable technologies and practices in the EU, boosting our global competitiveness and making sure that growth and innovation can thrive in Europe; conditions which are essential to ensuring the EU’s continued prosperity and becoming the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050. 

 

What products are covered by the rules?

 

EU energy labelling and ecodesign requirements apply to a range of cooking and cleaning appliances, heating, cooling and ventilation units, electronics, lighting products, tyres and a variety of industrial products and machinery. All manufacturers - including those outside the EU - who want to sell such products on the EU market, must register their products in the database ‘EPREL’ before putting them on the Union market. 

 

EU energy label: know the basics

 

At a glance, most people can tell the energy class of a product from its energy label. But are you using the label to its full potential? 

 

Since 2021, the new simplified energy class scale from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) is being gradually introduced to reduce the label’s complexity, starting with 5 product groups: dishwashers, washing machines and washer-dryers, fridges and freezers, lamps and electronic displays. The revised classes are also more ambitious in their requirements, to encourage further innovation among manufacturers.

 

 

Each simplified energy label also includes information on the energy consumption of the product per annum and additional non-energy parameters, depending on the product, such as noise emissions, water consumption, capacity, repairability and reliability class.

 

For more in-depth information on a specific product, you can simply scan the label’s QR code on your smartphone and arrive directly to the product’s page on EPREL. Alternatively, for each product group on EPREL, you can search for a specific model or filter for all models fitting specific criteria. 

 

The latest generation of the energy label can be found on dishwashers, washing machines, refrigerators, electronic displays, light sources and tyres. From June 2025 and July 2025, respectively, the new label will also be required to appear on smartphones & tablets and tumble dryers.

 

More on energy efficiency: mark your calendar

 

European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW), Europe’s biggest annual renewables and energy efficiency event takes place between 10 - 12 June 2025, with the possibility to participate online or in Brussels. 

 

Be sure to stay tuned in the coming months for updates on the full programme, which promises to feature an array of engaging and timely policy sessions on the topic of energy efficiency, with high-level speakers and experts in the field. This year’s discussions will be framed by the title Powering a fair and competitive green transition.