Power consumption
Energy consumption is an important parameter to consider when buying any electric home appliance - no matter if it's a blender, refridgerator or a television. This value indicates how much the appliance will consume, so for example how much energy it uses in normal use. So how do you find this information and what does it mean?
The indicator of energy consumption is different for every appliance
Energy consumption is given in two forms, depending on the type of product.
- Energy consumption (without other attributes) is used e.g. for washing maschines or dishwashers and is stated in kWh per 100 cycles. This means that the stated value does not refer to the consumption per hour, as is often stated for other electrical appliances, but to the consumption for a given number of washing cycles.
- Annual energy consumption is used for refridgerators and wine coolers, and is stated in kWh per annum. The term “per annum“ comes from Latin and means per year. This gives the user an idea of the power consumption of the device in normal use. However, the value is rather indicative and may not precisely correspond to the actual consumption.
Energy consumption for other appliances is given in watt hours (i.e. kilowatt hours (Wh × 1 000) or megawatt hours (kWh × 1 000).
The information about the energy consumption can be found either in parameters of the product or on the energy label, which should be attached to every device.
Energy consumption is one of the important parameters to consider when buying electrical appliances. It will tell you how energy the appliance needs and whether it would significantly increase your usual energy consumption. In any case, it always pays off to invest in equipment that has the energy consumption as low as possible.
