Last spring, I wrote a blog entitled “Everyone Gets an A” where I discussed the dilemma the European Union was facing regarding appliance efficiency labeling. In the blog, I mentioned that in the years that the current A to G labeling system has been in place, products have become more efficient to the point where now almost everything gets an A. Well, the EU Energy Commission has responded to the problem by introducing an amended system wherein three new categories have been stacked on top of the A rating: A+, A++, and A+++.
This measure is being called a compromise by its proponents who originally argued for a more complex system where the higher energy savings percentage would have been denoted in the label itself (e.g., A-20%, A-30%, etc.). This compromise deal stipulates that the new scale will be revised once “a significant number of products” have reached the top two classes.
The new label has met with criticism from many who opposed the original proposition. The main arguments against the new system are that it’s confusing for consumers and that its real purpose is to forestall having to overhaul the labeling system as a whole. One critic remarked that the new labels are equivalent to replacing Olympic gold, silver and bronze medals with gold+, gold++ and gold+++.
So, the controversy continues. EU ministers must now formally approve the compromise agreement before the Parliament can sign it off at the beginning of next year.
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