Finally, the European Commission closed the long path of the energy label renovation. An agreement has been reached and the new Framework legislation is set to enter force later this year and will bring major changes to the existing and future energy labels, currently applied to many home appliances. Ceced foresees that new labels for the first home appliance products under the new legislation – Washing Machines, Dishwashers and Refrigerators – will be displayed in shops around 2020. «Now that the agreement has been reached between the EU institutions – says Paolo Falcioni, Ceced Europe general director – attention must turn to ensuring that practical implementation and enforcement of the label, on the ground, is successful. Appliances continue to have the potential to make a strong contribution to the EU’s energy efficiency target. Consumers can be further empowered to make a contribution: that also means that consumers need to understand what has changed and what the energy label is actually indicating. Communication about the revised energy label is, in fact, the key challenge now. Each rescaling creates the potential for confusion among consumers and market surveillance authorities. Future communication campaigns run by the EU and Member States must make clear that it is the label that has been rescaled and not the product that has become less efficient.»
