Isra-Mart srl:Ecodesign directive to clean up wasteful washing machines

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Household washing machines and dishwashers are the latest appliances to have to meet minimum levels of energy efficiency under the EU's Ecodesign directive, despite doubts from within the industry over whether the new rules will improve products' performance.

The European Commission estimates that the minimum energy efficiency standards imposed on a wide range of electrical equipment through the directive could help cut energy consumption by 10 per cent, putting the EU halfway towards its target of reducing energy usage 20 per cent by 2020.

The directive already applies to a number of electric goods, including TVs, fridges, set top boxes and battery chargers, but now washing machines and dishwashers will have to meet stringent rules on reducing energy and water consumption, after the new standards were formally adopted earlier this month.

From June next year, or 2012 for dishwashers, instruction booklets will have to list the most energy efficient programmes and detail water and energy consumption.

In addition, by December 2013 all household washing machines sold in the EU will also have to offer a cycle at 20°C.

Washer-dryers are currently excluded from the standards, but the EU Commission has said they will be brought under the directive "as soon as possible".

The legislation not only affects product manufacturers, but also importers and retailers who must avoid non-compliant products or face fines.

However, the White Goods Trade Association, whose membership includes independent retailers and repairers, claimed that many of the figures used by the commission are difficult to verify.

"The trouble is, a lot of the figures are disingenuous and what you get are meaningless percentages," a spokesman told BusinessGreen.

For example, he said that an apparent improvement in energy efficiency rarely took into account the energy cost of production and disposal of the old unit.

He also alleged that many manufacturers struggled to back up their figures around energy and water efficiency or employed methods to improve their performance, such as bringing in professional packers to improve load capacity results.

"Basically, it's what do you want the figures to mean or add up to. It makes no difference to the industry, they're just in the business of selling white boxes," he said.

The National Measurement Office (NMO), under the umbrella of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), is charged with monitoring manufacturers' claims and enforcement but was unavailable for comment at time of press, as were BIS and Defra.