What does the energy label on a fridge or dishwasher actually mean?
The letter was rescaled in 2021 so old and new labels are not comparable, and the numbers below the letter are the ones that let you calculate your own running cost.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 15 min
- Read
- 4 min
Short answer
Ignore the letter when comparing against anything bought before 2021 — the scale was reset, so a machine that was A+++ became roughly a C or D without changing at all. Use the kWh figure instead: per year for a fridge or freezer, per 100 cycles for a dishwasher. That number times your unit rate is your running cost.
The old label had run out of room at the top, with almost everything sold rated A+, A++ or A+++, which told buyers nothing. The 2021 rescale removed the plus signs and reset A to a standard nothing on sale could yet meet, deliberately leaving headroom. The practical effect is that the letter on a new appliance looks alarming and means nothing without context, and the numbers underneath it became the useful part.
Step by step
- Check whether you are comparing labels from the same scale.Anything sold from March 2021 uses the rescaled A-G. Anything older uses the A+++ to D scale. A 2019 A+++ fridge is roughly equivalent to a 2022 C or D. Comparing the letters across the change is meaningless.
- Find the kWh figure and know which one it is.For a fridge, freezer or fridge freezer it is kWh per year, measured under standard conditions with the doors closed. For a dishwasher it is kWh per 100 cycles on the eco programme — divide by 100 for one cycle.
- Do the arithmetic against your own tariff.Annual kWh multiplied by your unit rate in pence, divided by 100, gives pounds per year. A fridge freezer rated 220kWh a year at 25p per kWh is 220 times 25 divided by 100, which is £55 a year. Substitute your own rate off your bill.
- Understand what the test conditions leave out.Cold appliances are tested at a fixed ambient with the door shut and no warm food going in. A real appliance in a warm kitchen, opened twenty times a day, uses more. Treat the figure as a comparison between appliances rather than a prediction of your bill.
- Read the capacity figures next to the kWh figure.The label shows fridge and freezer litres separately. A bigger appliance with a worse letter can easily use less energy per litre than a small one with a better letter, and litres are what you actually buy.
- Read the noise figure and its class.Given in dB and now also in a class from A to D. On an appliance that runs continuously this is one of the most useful things on the label and it costs nothing to check.
- Use the QR code.Every rescaled label carries a QR code linking to the official EPREL product database entry, which holds the full technical file — including figures such as temperature rise time that do not fit on the label.
- Weigh the payback before upgrading for efficiency alone.Subtract the new appliance's annual kWh from the old one's, multiply by your unit rate, and divide the purchase price by that saving. Replacing a working ten-year-old fridge often takes more than a decade to pay back, which is longer than the new appliance will last.
Tips
- A plug-in energy monitor left on a fridge for a week gives you the real annual consumption — multiply the week's kWh by 52. It is usually higher than the label and it is the honest number for your kitchen.
- For a dishwasher, the label figure is eco only. If you never use eco, the label tells you very little about your actual cost.
- The water consumption figure on a dishwasher label is litres per cycle and is directly comparable between machines. It matters if you are on a meter.
Common mistakes
- Assuming a new C-rated appliance is worse than an old A+++ one — The scale was reset in 2021. A modern C is typically much better than an old A+++, and the kWh figures prove it in either direction — which is why they are the number to compare.
- Replacing a working appliance to save energy — The energy saving on a modern appliance is real but modest, and it rarely pays back the purchase price within the life of the new machine. Manufacturing a new appliance also has a cost the label does not show.
Questions people ask
Why is nothing rated A any more?
Deliberately. The 2021 rescale set A at a level no product on sale could meet, so there is room for improvement without needing more plus signs. Most good appliances now sit between C and F.
Is the annual kWh figure what my fridge will actually use?
It is a standardised test figure, so it is a fair basis for comparing appliances and an optimistic prediction of your bill. A warm kitchen, frequent door openings and warm food going in all push the real figure up.