Fridges and Freezers

Fridges are among the top sources of electricity consumption in our homes. Despite energy efficiency improvements in the last decade, Europeans still use 122 TWh of electricity yearly to power their fridges and freezers (equivalent to the residential consumption of the UK).

What does the coolproducts campaign want?
•    A rescaling of the outdated energy labelling for fridges, because the A class does not correspond anymore to the best of the market.
•    A ban in 2013 of fridges of current A and A+ levels.
•    A revision of the so-called ‘correction factors’ giving too many bonuses to the energy rating of fridges.
•    A ban of climate damaging refrigerant fluids used in fridges and freezers.

What’s the European Union doing and what’s our position?
After having presented a weak proposal in 2008, the European Commission has strengthened its Ecodesign regulation thanks to pressure from some of the cooproducts members. In the end, most of the A-rated fridges will be removed in 2012. But we miss a date for the ban of A+ fridges.
On top of that, the revision of the energy label for fridges has yielded a fierce opposition from industry. After more than a year of debates, the final decision is a disappointing addition of an A+++ class on top of current A++. This could jeopardize the clarity of the label and not solve current difficulties.

(Last update: May 2011)

Further reading:
- Read our blog entry (July 2010)
- The EU 'Atlete' field measurement campaign on fridges & freezers completed in 2011
- Find out more about the EU process on our expert pages
- Find out more about using your appliance more efficiently
- Chose your appliance on TopTen.