EnerGuide Label for Major Household Appliances

Act: Energy Efficiency Act, S.C. 1992, c. 36
Regulation: Energy Efficiency Regulations, SOR/94-651, as amended 

To Whom Does This Apply?

Dealers who manufacture energy-using products in Canada, or import energy-using products into Canada, or sell or lease energy-using products, are required, by virtue of the Energy Efficiency Regulations, to affix an EnerGuide label on these products (see list below).

Who is a "dealer"?
A "dealer" is a person whose business:

• manufactures energy-using products in Canada; or
• imports energy-using products into Canada; or
• sells or leases energy-using products that are obtained, directly or indirectly, from a person who manufactures energy-using products in Canada or imports them into Canada.

Summary

The Energy Efficiency Act and the Energy Efficiency Regulations set minimum energy performance levels for specified energy-using products and deal with the responsibilities of dealers of these products. For major household appliances and room air conditioners, the Act and the Regulations also require dealers to attach an EnerGuide label to their product.

The following products must have an EnerGuide label:

• electric clothes dryers;
• clothes washers;
• dishwashers;
• electric ranges (ovens, cooktops);
• freezers;
• integrated over/under washer-dryers;
• refrigerators and combination refrigerator-freezer;
• room air-conditioners.

Products manufactured on or after February 3, 1995 (December 31, 1998 for compact clothes dryers), must be labelled with the black and white EnerGuide label.

Who must label and when?
A dealer who imports an appliance or who ships it from one province to another, must ensure the appliance is properly labelled. The label must remain on the product until it is sold to the consumer at the retail level.

Many dealers find it cost-efficient to label the appliance as part of the production line process, that is to say at the manufacturing level. Dealers must follow federal regulations when selling products that require the EnerGuide label. Dealers are also required to update the labelling scales on the EnerGuide label each year. For more information, please visit the EnerGuide Labelling Scales Web site.  

Purpose of the EnerGuide Label
The EnerGuide label shows the consumer the estimated annual energy consumption of the household appliance in kilowatt hours. Room air conditioner labels serve the same purpose by showing the energy efficiency ratio (EER) of the particular model. This information allows consumers to compare products and make choices that will save both money and energy, and thus encourage the sale and availability of energy-efficient products.

Size, Shape, Colour and Positioning of the EnerGuide Label
The Regulations specify the exact size, shape and colour of the EnerGuide label, the size of the print type on the label, the kind of label (adhesive, flap or hang tag) and how it is to be affixed to the product. The EnerGuide label must be easy to see when the appliance is viewed from the front.

Detailed specifications are also included in a labelling instructions package which is available from the EnerGuide Office, Natural Resources Canada, at the following Internet address: http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/equipment/english/toc.cfm?text=N&printview=N

DISCLAIMER
Information contained in this section is of a general nature only and is not intended to constitute advice for any specific fact situation. For particular questions, the users are invited to contact their lawyer. For additional information, see contact(s) listed below.

Manitoba Contact(s):
See National Contact. 

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National Contact(s):
Violet Horvath
Manager, Compliance Operations
Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE)
Natural Resources Canada
1 Observatory Crescent, 2nd floor
Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0Y3
Telephone: 613-995-6769
Fax: 613-947-5286
TTY (hearing impaired): 613-996-4397
E-mail: vhorvath@nrcan.gc.ca
Web site: http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/english
 

 

Housing, Buildings and
Regulations Division
Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE)
Natural Resources Canada
580 Booth Street, 18th floor
Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0E4
Telephone: 613-995-0947
Fax: 613-947-0373
TTY (hearing impaired): 613-996-4397
E-mail: webmaster@nrcan.gc.ca
Web site: http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/regulations