Laundry energy ratings – the difference between A+ and A-x%

With certain washing and drying machines being rated as ‘A-40%’, for example, instead of the usual ‘A++’ there is some confusion. As of now, the actual Energy Label on washers and dryers has not yet changed, and you will still see only ‘B’, ‘A’, ‘A+’ and so on. But appliance brochures, web sites and point of sale cards nowadays often display the ‘A-x%’ rating, adopted by some but not all manufacturers. Many European manufacturers are still sticking to ‘A’, ‘A+’ or ‘A++’ while communicating with journalists and consumers. However, the efficiency is getting too efficient with all the technological advances, and once laundry appliances exceed ‘A+++’ there is no way of rating it as the Plus System stops just at it.


This is where the ‘A-x%’ kicks in. Each ‘+’ represents an efficiency of 10% greater than ‘A’. So ‘A++’ = ‘A-20%’ while ‘A+++’ = ‘A-30%’ and then of course, there is ‘A-40%’ which would have corresponded to ‘A++++’ had it existed, but next year we shall see improvements even beyond that. Two examples of super efficient washer and dryer are the tumble dryer AEG T59850 rated ‘A-40%’ and the AEG washing machine L84950A3 which is ‘A-30%’. Read more on energy ratings here.

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