15 August 2011

The domestic vacuum cleaner could soon suffer the same fate as that of the incandescent lightbulb and the plasma TV, with the EU tabling new eco-design proposals to phase out the most power-hungry appliances.  The move is part of the EU’s ambitious goal to cut energy use across the bloc by 20 % by 2020.   How will this effect the va-va-voom of the vacuum, and ultimately the cleanliness of our homes?  Will it lead to more innovation in eco-friendly devices?

Currently, there is no EU legislation dealing with the energy consumption of vacuum cleaners.  However, according to the consultation report, energy consumption of vacuum cleaners has doubled in the past 50 years, without any effect on cleaning performance.   Indeed, when we buy a vacuum cleaner, we usually consider that it’s best to select the highest wattage.  The higher the power, the better the cleaning performance, is what we are led to believe.   Sources suggest this to be false but many manufacturers continue to place on the market products with ever increasing wattages.   Last year the Telegraph conducted an experiment comparing five decades of vacuum cleaners.   A machine from the 1980's, using a third less wattage than the latest model,  came out on top.   Modern vacuum cleaners can have motors of more than 2,000 watts, but the EU wants to introduce a power limit in two steps, 1000 W by 2013 and of 750 W by 2015.  By making this concession, the EU believes it can save enough electricity to power 2.3 million homes. 

Engery labelling to accompany the eco-design rules is also in preparation.  The EU Energy Label includes a rainbow of coloured bars and an indicator showing how well that product performs.  The labels currently run from A-G, with A being the best and displayed as dark green, and G the worst and depicted as red.  The working document suggests an energy label in which energy consumption and cleaning efficiency appear separately.  It is hoped that this will ensure that models with high energy input will be rated with a low energy efficiency class even if their dust removal performance is outstanding.

The EU hopes the regulations will encourage industry to innovate and develop new technology to help increase the efficiency of appliances.  It appears that this has been happening for another household favourite, the TV.  A study by Sust-it, the energy efficiency site for electricals, shows that technology advances have driven down the energy use of all new TVs by 60% since 2006.   As for vacuum cleaners,  The Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances (AMDEA),  highlights that companies have already begun to introduce lower-energy products to their ranges.  Furthermore, Dyson, the industry leader in creating energy efficient technologies and machines, has acknowledged the opportunity to innovate and has been actively lobbying the EU for a cap on the size of vacuum motors.  The company already makes the 'Dyson DC24, which runs only on a 650 watt motor. 

Environmental groups have been generally supportive of the specific proposals, as steps in the right direction to reduce energy usage in the household.    However, they complain that overall the progess of the EU's eco-design directive has been less than impressive.  The directive was established to set mandatory environmental requirements for 41 energy-using and related products, which are responsible for around 40% of all EU greenhouse gas emissions.  However, only 12 products have been dealt with so far.  NGOs blame sustained lobbying from industrial associations and a cumbersome approvals process as reasons for the delays afflicting the directive.  According to The European Environmental Citizens' Organisation for Standardisation (ECOS),  the delay in implementing the energy efficiency savings is costing European consumers and business up to €120 million a day in extra fuel bills.  ECOS also argues that if all products currently covered under the policy were regulated,  the total electricity saved could be equivalent to the production of about 100 Fukushima-sized reactors.  

Why not sign up for the NGOs 'coolproducts' campaign, which is calling for policy makers to adopt more ambitious minimum requirements for energy efficiency.  

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