So we come back from our holidays and what do we read? Oh, no – yet another panicky story in the UK media about the Ecodesign Directive. But let’s give this a closer look. It appeared in the Sunday Telegraph on 12 September, written by Richard Gray, Science Correspondent.
The story itself was reasonably well written and the author had clearly made an effort to call a variety of people (not us, nor apparently any consumer organisations, we must say) to get opinions that were not just on one–side. Despite this, the first paragraph of the article – and the first thing one reads on the website – seems to suggest that most “experts” are pretty much saying one thing – that “Eurocrats” are threatening the cleanliness of British households, and threatening to make our allergies and asthma worse. Wow!
Yes, but read more closely. Who are these experts? Well, the only person to explicitly express concerns about people with these illnesses in quotation marks is a Conservative Member of the European Parliament, while the quote from Alex Martin of the federation of manufacturers of domestic appliances is actually more cautiously and vaguely worded.
Then, carry on reading....there are other quotes from experts – those relegated at the end of the article – that are actually reasonably supportive and positive, including from Dyson, which appears to contradict what the manufacturers association is saying. Basically Dyson is a company making energy efficient vacuum cleaners, and will probably have no problems meeting the new standards. And this is something other manufacturers could do. Hence the need for a European level playing field giving greater priority to energy efficiency in the design of vacuum cleaners. And Paul Pearce, technical director of the national carpet cleaning association, says very clearly: "The performance of a vacuum cleaner has more to do with airflow than with the power rating, so it should be possible to reduce the power without affecting the cleaning performance."
So what are the experts really saying?
This is the response we sent to the Telegraph. Let’s see if they publish it. (update 1 Nov 2010: the letter wasn''t published)
Dear Sir,
The idea that "Eurocrats" may be threatening the cleanliness of British homes and causing more allergies [“Europe to cut power of vacuum cleaners”, 12/09/2010] makes for a catchy story but is simply untrue. As part of broader attempts to reduce energy demand, fight climate change, reduce energy imports and ensure our energy security, discussions are taking place at both UK and EU level about minimum energy efficiency requirements for vacuum cleaners, as well as other energy using products sold in our shops.
This is to promote energy efficiency but also to ensure that manufacturers are subject to a single set of standards in a common market of 27 countries rather than many different ones. It is in the interest of manufacturers to have such common requirements. It is also in the interest of consumers, who will benefit from lower electricity bills and be given more accurate information about product performance thanks to a new energy label for these products. Also, energy efficiency is one of the cost-effective tools to meet climate change targets.
This is not something EU officials are dreaming up behind closed doors: a host of stakeholders, manufacturers and civil society representatives (both consumer and environment groups) are being consulted in both national and European forums, and are able to express and discuss concerns. The quotes at bottom of the article actually show that there is also support for the proposed measures. And as national governments – including the UK – will have a final say over what is decided, there is no need to alarm readers unnecessarily.
Yours sincerely,
(End of the letter)
The reality is that since the 1960s input power ratings of vacuum cleaners has been increasing and they have been consuming more and more electricity, while there is little evidence that this was necessary in order to increase these products effectiveness with cleaning. The main reason for this is the inaccurate belief among consumers (largely spread by some manufacturers themselves) that the higher the power rating the greater the cleaning will be. Experts agree that this is an inappropriate trend that needs be reversed – that’s the reality.
So there is a huge potential here to reduce energy waste while getting the same results in terms of cleanliness. And the best way to do this is at EU level, since vacuum cleaners as other home appliances are traded globally.
The most unhelpful thing to do at this stage is to spread exaggerated rumours, with the risk of unduly panicking the public and in turn EU decision-makers. This could result in a deadlock, while there is urgency to fight climate change and ensure our energy security. What would really be interesting is an investigation into the reasons why the power rating of vacuum cleaners has increased so much in the last 20 years without any correspondent increase in cleaning power.