The UK government has committed to matching and even exceeding the EU's eco-design standards. Today the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published a summary of responses to a recent call for evidence on energy-related products.

For TVs it shows the energy rating and consumption when displaying HDR content (if it has this feature), as well as the screen size and height and width in pixels.The next section lists other measures that can improve the energy efficiency of the property. Although there is less information about potential costs and savings, these alternatives can be something to consider, if you have more time and financial resources available to you. As Eco Buys are based on our testing, you can be sure it's realistic to how you actually use your appliances. For example, our surveys have shown that most use their washing machine at 40u00baC, so we based our testing on that. The official A-G energy rating is mostly based on 60u00baC washes, so doesn't give as good an indication of how efficient it will actually be. This is a change from the old label, which was often based on an estimated usage over a year. Washing machines' energy consumption, for example, was based on 260 cycles (five washes per week for a whole year).

To decide if an appliance deserves an Eco Buy, we combine our rigorous testing with the results of our consumer surveys. Only the longest-lasting brands in our annual surveys and only the most efficient appliances, as measured in our independent energy and water use lab tests, make the grade. For refrigeration it has the capacity of chilled and/or frozen compartments in litres and the noise.This could help feed in more ambitious eco-design policy into the forthcoming energy-related products policy framework that the Prime Minister outlined in his 10 Point Plan . However, in accordance with the Northern Ireland Protocol, EU eco-design and energy labelling will have to continue to apply in Northern Ireland. For dishwashers it shows the number of place settings, water use per wash, duration of said wash, and noise level (both in dB and on a A to D rating scale). In November, Which? launched the first environmental appliance label in the UK. It's currently on dishwashers and washing machines, with plans to add Eco Buys to more appliances later this year. Consumption is presented either as kWh per year, kWh per 1,000 hours or kWh per 100 cycles, depending on the product group.

That means for tumble dryers, ovens and other electronics missing out on this label change, the UK has the freedom to either join the EU plans to update these in 2022, or make its own changes sooner, later or not at all. These costs are just for your heating, hot water and lighting. The EPC doesn’t include any additional energy costs from your home appliances (such as the cost of running your fridge, oven, TV) so in reality your energy bills will be a bit higher. However, the costs shown can help you compare properties and see which building could be cheaper to run.We support the government's ambition to meet or even exceed the current standards on sustainable design and better labelling, so look forward to its further announcements on the repairability, recyclability and durability of products. Tagged as: Our research has found electrical items are often thrown away and end up in landfill due to faults that are either costly or impossible to fix, so it is positive that manufacturers will now be required to ensure spare parts for some products are available. The next step is for the government to expand this to cover more appliances and ensure the parts are available throughout the lifespan of each product.