Energy Labels on Vacuums - Be Warned!

smufflemuppet

Hi
I wanted to share my experiences briefly since this new daft EU law has come in from September 2014 onwards where new vacuum cleaners sold have to have 1600 watts or less and the confusion caused by the energy labels themselves.

Buyers should be aware firstly that the EU labels that come with each new vacuum cleaner has not yet been regulated by an independent testing authority. Thus, energy labels are being made by each brand, which often means that the rating you are being listed isn't entirely correct.

For example when I bought my new Numatic Henry vacuum HVR200-A2 with 580 watts, the rating levels given on carpet, hard floor and exhaust emissions all rate at "C" where A is the best and F is the minimum requirement.

However, in my home I don't find that the Henry is poor on either hard floor or carpet, and based on the fact that the machine doesn't come with additional filters only relying on the dust bag for filtration, all the ratings are coming into question.

When I bought a Hoover stick vacuum with "A" rated claimed performance on hard floors, the actual hard floor tool that Hoover tested with use, is jolly difficult to move and a pain to clean with. Hoover have now sent me a far better proper tool for the machine in question but it took a few emails and complaints.

Another aspect to remember is that high price does not mean you are buying the best. Even with these new EU labels coming in, the best "A" rated performance, efficiency etc isn't going to reflect the same usage in an average UK home.

This is why, that despite the new law that means vacuums with 2000 watts or more are no longer being sold, a lot of sellers both on the high street and online are still selling off old "high power" stock of several brands and models. My advice is grab a bargain if you can, especially on high end brands and models that were perhaps out of reach for most. These new EU labels are a farce and until an impartial company test every brand and question the label, buyers are just not going to be honestly informed.

lstar337

smufflemuppet wrote: »

Another aspect to remember is that high price does not mean you are buying the best.

You just made it on to Dyson's list.

lstar337

I have a Henry and I can't praise it enough! The amount of suction you get for such a low power rating is phenomenal. It works great on all surfaces in our hours and is a huge upgrade from the 1800W Panasonic we used to have!