Today is Green Monday, and with climate change talks very recently behind us, energy consumption is a major talking point. With this in mind, we've turned our attention to one of the major energy-related topics in our industry: Dyson's recent legal battle against the European Union's vacuum cleaner energy labeling system.
In 2014, the European Union enacted a new energy law that restricts the motor size of vacuum cleaners to 1600 watts. This labeling system also includes energy ratings, ratings for dust-gathering performance on hard floors and carpeting, and ratings for noise output and allergen retention. The average vacuum cleaner has an energy rating of 1800 watts, though no vacuum cleaners with ratings above 1600 watts can be manufactured or sold in the European Union.
Although the company was largely unaffected by the changes (none of its vacuum cleaners have power ratings in excess of 1400 watts), Dyson has been attempting to fight this new labeling system for the past several weeks.
Dyson's main complaint against the system is the EU's practice of testing vacuum cleaners in a laboratory, which Dyson says does not reflect the conditions of an average home. Dyson claims that, if these vacuum cleaners were loaded with dust as they would be in the average home, they would better reflect average energy output. Dyson is also concerned that this current testing system favors the more traditional bagged vacuum cleaners, which do not lose suction power as quickly as their bagless counterparts, and that it does not account for Dyson's suction-preserving Cyclonic technology. Taking this into account, Dyson argues that the EU's energy labeling system does not provide accurate representations of vacuum performance or energy consumption, and is therefore misleading to consumers.
The General Court of the European Union acknowledges that suction performance and energy efficiency of vacuum cleaners with dust-loaded receptacles are reduced when dust accumulates inside, an admission that Dyson has called "deplorable." In November 2015, the Court dismissed Dyson's legal challenge, but the company says it's not ready to give up the fight for more accurate labeling and testing.
The United States does not currently have comparable regulations against vacuum cleaner energy ratings, and it is unlikely that Dyson's legal concerns will affect vacuum sales in North America.
eVacuumStore.com carries a vast selection of vacuum cleaners from Dyson and several other brands. For additional information about any of the products we carry, please call (866) 972-8227.
*Image taken from Telegraph.co.uk
