Requirements on Consumer Information about Product ... - ANEC

Consumer Information about PCF
phases, they must be considered low for large household appliances. This is probably the
same for small household appliances.
Various studies show that the differences between product models are large concerning the
use phase (e.g. up to 45% less energy demand of class A++ cooling appliances in
comparison to class A cooling appliance), but only small concerning the production and endof-life
phase.
Specific usage behaviour can deviate from typical usage behaviour in the sense of use
frequency, program choice (e.g. temperature for washing machines and dishwashers), or
loading (e.g. full or only half). Therefore, depending on the specific usage behaviour, the
PCF of a household appliance in “real life” can differ significantly from the calculated value
based on a typical behaviour. Still, the result most probably will be right in the sense that the
comparison of different products will lead to the same conclusions, even if usage behaviour
is assumed for all products that is deviant from the typical one.
Even more important than the usage behaviour is the variation of greenhouse gas emissions
in the use phase connected to the electricity supply in different countries: depending on
where an appliance is used, the related greenhouse gas emissions can be very different. The
lower the greenhouse gas emissions, the higher the share of renewable energy or – which is
more probable – the higher the share of nuclear power can be.
Against that background, the additional benefit of a PCF covering the whole life cycle is
restricted: overall, it seems to be sufficient to determine PCF data for representative products
of the different household appliances (e.g. typical washing machines, dishwashers,
refrigerators etc.). But it is not of much additional help to ask the PCF for each single model.
As the electricity demand usually is directly connected to the greenhouse gas emissions of
the use phase, addressing energy efficiency also includes the issue of climate change.
Exceptions occur in connection to the electricity supply: depending on the offer, the greenhouse
gas emissions can vary between zero and several hundred grams of CO2e per
kilowatt-hour.
Additionally, one can address the greenhouse gas emissions due to the electricity supply.
Focus should be on the support of low CO2e offers with high share of renewable energies
and without nuclear power. The latter not addressing the climate change issue but other
environmental risks.
It is useful to have access to data on an in-depth PCF study of representative products of
one product group (e.g. washing machines) as one knowledge base for the development of
criteria for the type I label. But it is not necessary to have that data for each single model.
Which other environmental issues are relevant? From the point of view of resources, energy
efficiency can be added here. Depending on the device, other aspects can also play a role:
e.g. water demand during use phase, cooling agents, hazardous substances in production
and product.
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