Survey: Appliance energy efficiency is becoming increasingly important to most Czechs

Appliance energy efficiency is important to 90 percent of Czechs. After price, it is the most important criterion when choosing an appliance. Households with appliances that are ten or more years old can pay thousands of crowns a year more than they would with today’s products. This is according to a survey conducted by Ipsos for energy company epet.

According to the survey, which was conducted among 1025 respondents, the price of an appliance remains the most important criterion when making a purchase. Nearly 79 percent of respondents ranked it among their main criteria. At almost 62 percent, the product’s energy rating comes next. A third of those surveyed look for the most energy-efficient model every time they buy an appliance. Criteria such as brand, reliability and features come after that.

The importance of products’ energy efficiency is gradually increasing. „Our survey data show that Czechs are aware of the potential savings offered by today’s modern appliances. Yet more than a tenth of households still have refrigerators, washing machines and freezers that are more than ten years old, no longer meet today’s standards and increase household energy costs,“ said epet’s commercial director, Roman Šmíd.

Despite this, he said, Czechs still have room to make energy savings. „When it comes to other ways of saving energy at home, we often encounter ingrained stereotypes and resort to quick, ineffective solutions. From a sustainability perspective, it is certainly a good idea to look for alternatives to constantly buying new appliances; on the other hand, these decisions also need to be made on a rational basis,“ Šmíd noted.

For example, as many as 14 percent of Czech households still use appliances that are 11 or more years old and often have significantly higher energy consumption. Epet noted that while the most efficient model from 2014, with an A+++ energy label, had to consume no more than 200 kWh, today’s refrigerators must consume no more than 110 kWh to qualify for the most efficient energy label. At current energy prices, owners of older models therefore pay around 455 Kč more per year, even when compared with the most efficient models.

The same applies to other appliances. For example, more than a tenth of respondents use freezers that are 11 or more years old, even though freezers are among the most energy-intensive appliances. Compared with the most efficient models, their owners spend 490 Kč more a year on electricity than owners of today’s most efficient freezers. Around ten percent of households also have a washing machine that is more than ten years old, paying around 315 Kč a year more because of its higher consumption. Dishwashers that are more than ten years old are used by over eight percent of households, which pay approximately 420 Kč more a year to run them than they would with today’s most efficient models.

„These figures show that even seemingly small differences in consumption can add up to thousands of crowns on energy bills over the long term. Our aim, however, is not to encourage consumers to buy new, more efficient appliances every year, but rather to highlight other ways to better optimise their consumption and spending,“ Šmíd added.