Public awareness about mandatory energy labelling will come to the fore when Energy Minister Jeff Radebe engages the public in Fourways on Friday.
Radebe is expected to conduct an Energy Saving Activation Campaign on residential appliance energy efficiency Standards and Labelling (S&L) programme at the Hirsch Appliance Store in Fourways.
“The objective of the campaign is to raise public awareness about the mandatory energy labelling requirements for new appliances sold in South Africa, as well as the importance of appliance manufacturers and retailers to comply with the regulations,” said the Department of Energy ahead of Friday’s campaign.
The S&L programme is an initiative by the Department of Energy in collaboration with the Department of Trade and Industry (dti), supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The initiative aims to ensure that selected appliance types comply with the new energy labelling requirements.
“Thus, these appliances must have a visible energy label affixed to them at the point of sale.”
The energy label provides consumers with accurate information about the product allowing them to compare energy efficiency performance of one appliance to another appliance. This enables consumers to make informed decisions when making appliance purchases.
Launch of app
“The activation will also give the Minister an opportunity to officially launch the Appliance Energy Calculator, a mobile application (App) designed to assist retail sales staff and consumers to estimate the running cots of various appliances.”
The project said the department forms an integral part of the measures geared towards reducing electricity consumption and the carbon footprint of the residential sector in South Africa.
Friday’s campaign is expected to get underway at 8am. - SAnews.gov.za
