The GB energy labels for Tumble Dryers are still in limbo with new Legislation, Energy Labelling and Ecodesign needed.
The Government’s December announcement of a GB energy labelling easement for household tumble dryers was intended to provide short‑term flexibility while we continue to wait for new legislation to be laid.
In practice, however, the easement risks creating a market in which multiple, non‑equivalent labels circulate simultaneously.
Because the easement is optional, manufacturers may take very different approaches. Some may apply the easement label across their full range; others may use it selectively – for example, only on models they intend to circulate between GB, NI and Ireland; others may decide not to use it at all.
Retailers may also vary in what they expect, accept or require, and manufacturers may feel compelled to follow retailer preferences under contractual arrangements.
This creates scope for disputes over what label should be provided, what should be displayed, and who carries the responsibility if inconsistent information appears online or in store.
The easement also changes how product performance is communicated.
- Under the existing GB label, condenser dryers typically achieve higher energy efficiency classes than air‑vented models, though both technologies can still fall into the same class.
- Under the easement label – because it applies the rescaled A-G scale – both vented and traditional condenser dryers appear in the same ‘G’ class, as their Energy Efficiency Index (EEI) values fall above the thresholds for higher classes.
- Applying the easement label across all product technologies therefore removes a distinction that, while imperfect, currently helps consumers understand relative performance.
- Applying the easement selectively creates a different problem: consumers are left comparing fundamentally incompatible labels, unable to make meaningful like‑for‑like assessments.
In practice, the easement does not provide clarity. It provides choice – yes – but with it comes increased variation. Multiple label formats, differing retailer expectations, and uncertain manufacturer compliance pathways combine to create inconsistency rather than stability.
The current experience with tumble dryers shows that easements are no substitute for legislation. Only a single, statutory, consistently applied label can ensure comparability, avoid confusion, and support the smooth functioning of the UK Internal Market, particularly the movement of goods between GB and NI.
With other product groups – such as water heaters and storage tanks – now nearing the end of energy labelling revisions at EU level, this episode highlights the need for the Government to bring forward timely, well sequenced UK legislation (applicable in GB) to avoid similar challenges arising in the future.
AMDEA will continue its endeavours for clarification.
