"True efficiency is about more than a good energy rating. To be truly efficient, a vacuum should also maintain high performance, produce no extra waste, and pass no hidden costs onto the user across its lifetime."
James Dyson
Introducing energy labels for vacuums.
1. The energy rating
Based primarily on energy consumption, with a penalty for low pick-up.
2. Annual energy usage
The amount of energy the vacuum will use over the course of a year.
3. Emissions
The amount of dust in air emitted from the machine's exhaust.
4. Noise
The noise level produced by the machine in decibels.
5. Pick-up - Carpets
The rating of how much dust the machine picks up from carpets.
6. Pick-up - Hard floor/crevices
The rating of how much dust the machine picks up from hard floors and crevices.
To be a truly efficient vacuum, look beyond the energy label.
1. Choose a vacuum that maintains performance.
The energy label tests vacuums before dust is loaded in the machine. In reality, dust causes many vacuums to lose suction. This means that a vacuum's energy label grade will not be accurate during actual use within the home.
2. Energy efficiency is important - but it won't save you much money...
If you choose to buy an A+++ grade vacuum over a D grade machine you might think that the running costs will be much lower. In fact, the difference to your energy bill could be as little as £3.81 per year (£19.05 over five years) - so selecting the highest-rated model may not make a real difference to your pocket.
... to make a real saving, get rid of hidden costs.
Some vacuums rely on disposable bags and filters to trap dust. The cost of regularly replacing these could be as much as £186.50 over a 5 year period.
Over this time, an A+++ rated vacuum might save you £11.40 in energy costs compared to an A rated vacuum. But you could still save over ten times more by choosing a vacuum with no hidden costs from consumables.
3. Consider the wider impact on the environment.
Vacuum cleaners that use consumables produce waste that cannot be recycled. In Europe alone, a large number of bags and filters end up in landfill or have to be incinerated each year. The energy label ignores this impact on the environment.
Doing more with less.
Dyson engineers design machines to solve problems. Then they find ways to make them do more with less - reducing our manufacturing waste, developing powerful digital motors that consume less energy, and eliminating consumables like bags and filters. At Dyson, true efficiency is defined by the way we engineer our machines.
