What is TV Energy Labelling & How does it Work
How do I read the label?
The label provides two pieces of information:
- Star Rating - The more the better. The greater the number of stars, the more efficient the TV is compared to other models of the same screen area.
- kWh - this is the TV's energy consumption in KiloWatt hours, or the total electricity it uses over one year if it's used according to the Australian average. Use this figure to compare energy use between different models and models of different screen areas.
Should all TVs display labels?
From the 1st of October 2009, energy efficiency regulations have been introduced across Australia and all TVs imported after the 1st of October 2009 have to display an energy rating label.
What's the purpose of the Energy Rating labels?
The Energy Rating label on a TV is an efficiency indicator. It tells you how much electricity the TV uses to run, and how energy efficient it is. The stars allow a fair comparison between models of the same screen size.
By lowering the demand for electricity, we lower greenhouse gas emissions. So, people who buy a more energy efficient TV won't just reduce their energy bill, they'll help reduce carbon pollution as well.
How are star ratings calculated?
Star ratings have been developed to provide consumers with an easy way of comparing the energy efficiency of different models. In this context, energy efficiency is defined as the "energy service per unit of energy consumption". It is a simple and fair way of comparing the energy consumption of products that do a similar job.
If you think of an air conditioner, for example, a model's efficiency is the amount of cooling capacity per unit of energy it consumes. A similar way of measuring the "energy efficiency" has been developed for all labelled appliances. Looking at the energy alone is not all that helpful, as a big appliance will nearly always use more energy than a small one, because it is doing more work. A measure of energy efficiency means that you can directly compare a great range of products.
The star rating system has a minimum of 0.5 stars and a maximum of 10, shown in half star increments from 1-6 and in one star increments from 7-10.
If appliance energy efficiency in the market never changed, the stars could be adjusted so that the best products on the market now rated 10 stars. But we know from experience that manufacturers work hard to improve their products and over time, star ratings gradually improve. So when the stars were re-graded in 2000, it was necessary to leave some room for improvement. Hence under the current system, the most efficient products are generally only 3 or 4 stars (although there are some products that rate nearly 5 stars already for some appliance types).
The targeted electrical products of the energy star labelling
It is currently mandatory for all of the following electrical products offered for sale in Australia to carry an approved energy label:
- TVs
- refrigerators and freezers
- clothes washers
- clothes dryers
- dishwashers
- air conditioners (single phase mandatory, three phase voluntary)
source - www.energyrating.gov.au
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