The European Commission has published an evaluation study assessing how a possible new EU energy label for computers would be understood and used by consumers to support more informed purchasing choices. Under EU energy labelling rules (Regulation (EU) 2017/1369) the Commission is required to test the design and content of energy labels for each new product group with representative samples of EU consumers, in order to ensure their clear understanding. This study will feed into the Commission work preparing a delegated act proposing an energy label for computers.
A key design decision concerns whether the energy performance of high-end computers should be displayed on a dedicated scale, or whether a simpler single-scale label would be sufficient. The study found that a majority of respondents preferred a label displaying energy performance by type of use. Accordingly, a double-scale label is recommended for high-end computers and a single-scale label for everyday-use devices. As regards the unit for energy consumption, a strong preference emerged for energy consumption per hour of use, expressed in Wh. Computing performance information is to be included on the label; however, this parameter should be accompanied by additional explanatory elements, as energy consumption, efficiency and workload are not generally well understood by lay users.
