Household Appliances

Domestic appliances currently consume around 25% of U.K. electricity, and choosing more energy-efficient appliances is one easy way to be more

environmentally friendly. We are not suggesting that you should dash straight out and replace all your existing appliances with A, A+ or even A++ models. Firstly, that would be very expensive and secondly, discarding a perfectly serviceable appliance and replacing it with a newly manufactured alternative would likely have created more emissions and environmental impact in its manufacture and transport than would be saved in the operation of the new more efficient model. Our objective is to help inform your decision when you decide to replace an appliance.

By law all refrigeration, laundry, dishwasher and electric oven appliances must carry an energy label, rating the machines from A to G for energy efficiency. In the case of refrigeration, the technology has improved very rapidly and A+ and A++ are now increasingly available, but for all appliances there are other factors that should be taken into consideration alongside the energy rating:

1. The manufacturing process: Not all manufacturers are equally when it comes to their attention to minimising energy consumption, wastage and resource conservation and maximisuing opportnuities to recycle. Gorenje have recently won European awards for their environmental performance, whilst the Indesit Group, Liebherr and Miele are also noted for their 'green production facilities and efforts to reduce their environmental impact. Sharp electronics are also award-winning pioneers amongst LCD TV manufacturers with their 'Super Green Factories' and use of recycled materials.

2.The products 'route-to-market'. The distance a washing machine or dishwasher has to travel from its place of manufacture to you as the eventual customer can generate a considerable amount of damaging greenhouse gas emissions. This is of course will depend to some extent of the method of transport, but in most cases appliances do not travel by air, so broadly it is safe to assume the further tha appliance has to travel the greater the emissions. With this in mind appliances manufactured in British or European factories ar elikely to make a more environmentally friendly choice for british customers than those coming from further afield. Another way of reducing transport related emissions is to look for 'direct-from-manufacturer' shipping which avoids the unnecessary movement of appliances from and between the retailer, central warehousing and distribution hubs.

3.The quality and lifespan of a product:Taken over its lifecycle an A+ rated machine that last 10-15 years will be considerable more enviromentally friendly than an A+ rated machine that only last 2-3 years, as the later will need to be manufactured 5 times (with all the asscoiated eco-costs) to provide the same service. A good indicator of the manufacturers confidence in the quality of their product is the length of standard warranty. Its usually worth ivestigating the manufacturers reoputation for quality and choosing the highest your budget will allow - it will not only be better for the environment, but will almost certainly end up saving you money in the long run.