Looking for a new appliance?

The Energy Rating Label makes it easy to compare energy efficiency and running costs of similar appliances when you’re deciding which to buy.

An appliance with more stars on the label is more energy efficient – meaning you can save money on running costs, and New Zealand can save energy and emissions.

WHICH PRODUCTS DISPLAY AN ENERGY RATING LABEL?

  • Household refrigerators

  • Household freezers

  • Heat pumps

  • Clothes washers

  • Clothes dryers

  • Dishwashers

  • Computer monitors

  • Televisions

  • Compare similar appliances

    Use the stars on the Energy Rating Label to compare appliances of the same size and type, such as two 8kg clothes dryers. More stars means less energy and fewer emissions.
  • Compare different appliances

    Use the Energy Rating Label's energy consumption figure to compare appliances of a different type or size, e.g. an 8 kg clothes dryer with a 6 kg clothes dryer. Lower annual energy consumption means lower annual emissions.

Avoid buying power hungry appliances

Use our Efficient appliance calculator to compare and find the most energy efficient appliance that meets your needs.

  • New label for heat pumps

    A new Zoned Energy Rating Label tells you how much electricity a heat pump/air conditioner uses per year for heating and cooling, and how loud the unit is.
  • Less water, more stars

    Look for water efficiency labels on dishwashers, washing machines, taps, toilets and showers. More stars means more water efficient – potentially saving thousands of litres a year.

Pulling the plug

Get maximum value out of your appliances by using them for their full lifetime. You can expect most major appliances to last about 10 years, or 8 years for television.

When it’s time to pull the plug, search for a disposal service that will extract any parts that can be recycled or need careful handling. This is especially important for fridges and freezers – they contain extremely potent greenhouse gases that need to be properly recovered.

Buying second hand

You can check the energy rating of many older products here.

Energy rating calculator(external link)

How efficient appliances make a difference

New Zealand generates 80% of its electricity from renewable sources like hydro and geothermal, but we have to top up the rest by generating electricity from coal and gas, which produces climate-changing carbon emissions. Using electricity more efficiently allows our renewable sources to go further, and also frees up capacity in the electricity system. This means more electricity is available at a cheaper cost, so it becomes more viable for businesses that use a lot of energy to switch from high-emissions fuels such as petrol and coal to electricity.

So when you choose energy efficient technology, you’re helping to reduce the cost of meeting New Zealand’s climate commitments and speed up the transition to a low-emissions economy.

Your checklist for smarter shopping

By making clever appliance purchases, you can lower your cost of living while reducing your household emissions (and new appliances look pretty good too) – it's a win-win-win!

Before you walk into the shop, it pays to consider costs beyond the price tag. We’ve crunched the numbers and developed a checklist for you – to help you buy smarter.