The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is urging consumers to check energy labels before purchasing products. This will ensure they make well-informed purchase decisions, reduce their energy consumption and save money.

  • SEAI reports results of 2023 energy labelling inspections
  • 83% of energy labelled products inspected in-store last year were compliant
  • More than a half of inspected websites were found to be non-compliant with energy labelling of products
  • Checking energy labels helps consumers purchase the most energy efficient products, save money and reduce energy consumption

SEAI, in its role as the Market Surveillance Authority (MSA) inspected over 17,000 products covered by energy labelling regulations in retail outlets in 2023 and 83% of products inspected were compliant. However, SEAI inspected 45 websites selling products to Irish consumers which are covered by energy labelling and found that more than half had poor levels of compliance.

Energy labels provide important information about the energy efficiency of a product and running costs usually on an A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) scale. It also displays the energy consumption either per annum (e.g. fridge-freezer) or per 100 cycles (e.g. washing machine).

Tim Stokes, Market Surveillance Programme Manager at SEAI said,

“Compliance with energy labelling ensures consumers get important information to help them choose the most energy efficient products, save money on their energy bills and reduce their carbon emissions. Compliance across in-store retailers is relatively high and in 2023 SEAI recorded the highest compliance rate since EU energy labels were rescaled in 2021. However, there is room for improvement. Non-compliance across online retailers is a cause for concern. SEAI has been taking steps to address this by providing guidance and support to retailers to help them to comply.” He added, “Retailer compliance is only half the battle. Consumers have a role to play too. They need to learn about the energy label to ensure they can make informed purchasing decisions and consider the running costs over the lifetime of a product.”
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