Electric room heaters are set to be exempted from standard energy labelling requirements under controversial European Commission plans, thereby making it more difficult for consumers to uncover the staggeringly high energy consumption rates of these appliances.

Unlike other technologies that use gas or wood fuels, electric room heaters would not be required to display the well-known energy label. This saves producers the embarrassment of seeing their products consistently labelled in the lowest classes of the scale compared with more energy- efficient technologies.

The cost of heating with electricity is a huge burden for many consumers already confronted by high energy bills. For Monique Goyens, Director General of BEUC, the European Consumers’ Organisation, “exempting electric heaters from the energy label requirement would deprive consumers of a key tool for comparing energy consumption rates between heating devices”.

European Commission Ecodesign and Energy labelling plans for room heaters aim to lead to savings of 30 Terrawatt hours (TWh) per year by 2020. But, according to Stephen Russell, Secretary- General of ANEC, “pulling the plug on labelling the most inefficient products would severely risk that goal being reached and keep consumers uninformed about cheaper options”.

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Contact Person: Angeliki Malizou, ANEC/BEUC Ecodesign Project Coordinator
+32 (0)2 743 24 70

About ANEC

ANEC is the European consumer voice in standardisation, defending consumer interests in the processes of technical standardisation and conformity assessment, as well as related legislation and public policies.
ANEC was established in 1995 as an international non-profit association under Belgian law and is open to the representation of national consumer organisations in 33 countries.
ANEC is funded by the European Union and EFTA, with national consumer organisations contributing in kind. Its Secretariat is based in Brussels.