UK Energy Labels A to G Explained and What Changed

The UK energy label was rescaled in March 2021: A+, A++ and A+++ were removed and the scale reset to A to G, with the A class left almost empty so manufacturers have headroom. A fridge freezer once rated A+++ typically now reads D or E without having changed.

If you are looking at two fridge freezers and neither is better than E: what happened to the label, what every field on it measures, and how to turn the consumption figure into a cost using your own unit rate.

What changed on the UK energy label in 2021?

The plus classes were abolished and the scale reset to a plain A to G. The change took effect in March 2021 for large appliances such as refrigeration, washing machines, washer-dryers, dishwashers and electronic displays including televisions, and from 1 October 2021 for light sources in Great Britain. Dealers had until 1 April 2023 to swap old labels on display stock.

The old scale had stopped discriminating: eco-design rules had driven the worst products off the market, so almost everything on sale clustered in the plus classes while the bottom sat empty. The thresholds were also recalculated using tougher test methods, which is why the letters moved so far. Great Britain labels carry the UK flag and English text only.

Why does a fridge freezer now read D or E?

Because the scale moved and the appliance did not. The rescale reset the class boundaries so the products that had all been sitting at the top were spread back across the middle of the range. A fridge freezer carrying the old top class commonly lands on D or E on the rescaled label while drawing exactly the same electricity it always did.

So a D-rated fridge freezer bought in 2026 is not a bad appliance, and not comparable to a D-rated appliance from 2019. Compare rescaled letters only with rescaled letters, and the consumption figure underneath them.

The A class was left near-empty on purpose

The top class was set at a level almost nothing could reach, so genuine improvements have somewhere to go. That is design intent, not accident: leave A empty, let the best products sit at B and C, and keep the label discriminating for a decade rather than two years.

Expecting an A is therefore the wrong instinct. Most freestanding fridge freezers sold in the UK sit between C and F, with D and E commonest; washing machines spread higher, with B and C typical of a well-specified machine.

What each field means, by product type

Not every field appears on every label, and the energy figure is measured in different units by product type. Light sources were rescaled too, to A to G with a kWh per 1,000 hours figure.

Two fields deserve more attention than they get. The spin-drying class, A to G, decides how wet a load is when it comes out — which matters if you dry indoors. The noise class, A to D, is the one to check if the machine lives in an open-plan room.

What does kWh per 100 cycles mean?

It is the electricity the appliance uses across 100 runs of its standard eco programme, in kilowatt hours; divide by 100 for one cycle. Washing machines, washer-dryers and dishwashers are declared this way. Refrigeration is declared in kWh per annum instead, because a fridge never stops.

The old kWh-per-year figure assumed a number of washes that rarely matched any real household; a per-100-cycles figure hands the arithmetic to you. One caveat: the eco programme is the one tested, and it is usually the longest on the machine, so a quick wash will not match the label figure.

How to turn a label figure into a cost you can check

Use your own unit rate, not a published average. Four steps, using nothing but the label and your last bill.

1. Take the label figure: kWh per 100 cycles for a washing machine, washer-dryer or dishwasher, or kWh per annum for a fridge or freezer.
2. Divide by 100 to get kWh for one eco cycle, then multiply by the cycles you genuinely run in a year. Three washes a week is 156; one a day is 365.
3. Multiply the annual kWh by your own unit rate in pence per kWh, from your bill, then divide by 100 for pounds: annual kWh × ____ p/kWh ÷ 100 = £ per year.
4. To judge two models, run both, subtract, and multiply the difference by the years you expect to keep the appliance. Compare that against the price gap.

Marqet deliberately publishes no pence-per-kWh figure here: rates differ by tariff, meter type and region and they move, so any number printed would be wrong within months.

Which products carry the rescaled label, and which do not?

The Energy Information Regulations cover around 20 product categories, but not all were rescaled. Refrigeration, washing machines, washer-dryers, dishwashers, electronic displays and light sources moved to A to G. Ovens and cooker hoods did not, and still carry the older plus classes.

Tumble dryers need reading carefully. The EU rescaled household tumble dryers to A to G under Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2534, permitting only the rescaled label in EU shops from 1 July 2025, but Great Britain has not confirmed the same change — so a GB tumble dryer label may still show the older scale. AMDEA, the Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances, is the clearest non-commercial UK source on which category carries which label.

What the QR code does, and what EPREL is

Scanning the QR code opens the official registered information for that exact model, which is how you check a listing against its source. On a Great Britain label it must link to the required model information on a publicly accessible website; on a Northern Ireland label it links to the model's EPREL record.

EPREL is the European Product Registry for Energy Labelling, the EU database energy-labelled models must be registered in; the label is generated from that data. Since 1 January 2021 suppliers selling only into Great Britain have not had to register there, and there is no GB equivalent, so the manufacturer's product information sheet is the document to find.

What counts as a good rating now?

Treat B or C as good and D as ordinary, then stop shopping on the letter. The class is an efficiency ratio calculated against the appliance's own capacity, so a 9kg washing machine rated C can use less electricity per kilogram of laundry than a 7kg machine rated B. The consumption figure is the comparable number; the letter is shorthand.

Marqet's position: buy the capacity you need first, then use the label to choose between two models that both fit. A live check on 11 September 2026 returned 166 products in large appliances with none out of stock — 39 in fridges and freezers, 22 in washing machines, 18 in dishwashers.

Then take it to the tape measure: buying large kitchen appliances.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my fridge freezer rated D now?

Because the scale moved, not the appliance. The UK energy label was rescaled in March 2021: the plus classes were removed and the scale reset to A to G, with the thresholds set much harder than before. A fridge freezer that carried the old top class typically lands on D or E on the rescaled label while using exactly the same electricity as it did before.

What is a good energy rating for a washing machine in the UK?

On the rescaled scale, B or C is a genuinely efficient washing machine and A is a small premium minority, because the A class was deliberately left near-empty in 2021. Rather than shop on the letter alone, compare the kWh per 100 cycles figure between two machines of the same rated drum capacity in kg, since the class is calculated against capacity.

What does kWh per 100 cycles mean?

It is the electricity a washing machine, washer-dryer or dishwasher uses across 100 runs of its standard eco programme, measured in kilowatt hours. Divide it by 100 to get one cycle. It replaced the old kWh per year figure because annual consumption depended on an assumed number of washes that rarely matched any real household.

What does the QR code on an energy label do?

Scanning it opens the official model information for that exact appliance. On a Great Britain label the QR code must link to the required model information on a publicly accessible website. On a Northern Ireland label it links to the model's entry in the EU EPREL database. Either way, it confirms a listing's claims against registered data.

Which products have to carry a UK energy label?

The Energy Information Regulations cover around 20 product categories. In a home those are fridges, freezers, wine coolers, washing machines, washer-dryers, dishwashers, tumble dryers, ovens, cooker hoods, televisions and other electronic displays, light sources, air conditioners and comfort fans, space heaters, water heaters and ventilation units. Second-hand goods are excluded.

Is an A rated appliance worth the extra cost?

Work it out rather than assume it. Take the consumption difference between the two models, multiply by the cycles or years you will run, then by your own pence-per-kWh rate from your bill. Compare that against the price gap. On a machine you replace every eight to ten years, a large price gap rarely pays back on energy alone.