The short answer
Use an applicable EU label QR code or the official EPREL search to find the complete model identifier. Retain capacity, programme, energy unit and document version before comparing candidates. The registry supplies declared product information, while your electricity tariff, routine and confirmed purchase quote remain separate.
Use EPREL to check product information
EPREL is the European Product Registry for Energy Labelling. The European Commission’s consumer guidance links to the public product information available there. An applicable EU label QR code provides a route to its model record.
The record identifies the source and test basis of a figure. It does not measure an appliance running in your home or supply your local electricity tariff.
Find the exact model
Start with the Commission’s consumer page and follow its official EPREL link, or use the QR code on the appliance’s applicable EU label. When searching the registry, choose the appliance category and use the complete supplier/model identifier.
Check the model on the listing, label and information sheet. Similar names, suffixes or retailer variants can describe different products. Do not stop after matching the brand or a partial model-family name.
For Great Britain, use the GB/NI label guide: a GB QR destination is not automatically EPREL. A document for a reference model in one market does not establish registration or availability in another.
Use the registry’s similar-product comparison
The European Commission announced EPREL’s comparison feature on 20 July 2026. Its public registry can search, filter and sort products, then compare similar candidates. The announcement also describes exporting results for further analysis.
Use capacity and product category to narrow the task before reading efficiency differences. Retain the exact identifier, energy unit and programme for each candidate. A comparison screen can organize declared product information; it does not supply your household’s tariff, a confirmed purchase quote or measured use in your home.
The EU running-cost workflow adds those household inputs to two documented 9 kg dryer figures. Our source examples show how the original product-sheet quantity is passed to a calculator without changing its precision.
Copy the unit and programme with the number
| Information to retain | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Complete model identifier and source link | Keeps the calculation tied to the correct record |
| Appliance type and usable capacity | Helps establish whether the candidates meet the same need |
| Energy quantity and unit | Distinguishes annual, per-cycle and per-100-cycle figures |
| Test programme and load basis | Prevents eco or weighted energy being presented as every programme’s use |
| Document version and check date | Makes a changed label or source easier to investigate |
| Purchase quote and date, kept separately | The energy record is not a current retail price |
For a combined washer-dryer, also record whether the figure covers washing only or the complete wash-and-dry task. The complete quantity already includes its washing stage.
Choose the corresponding calculator field
An annual figure belongs in kWh/year. A figure per 100 cycles belongs in kWh/100 cycles. A product-sheet value already stated per cycle belongs in kWh/cycle.
The label reader helps retain those choices. Enter the energy figure and its unit from your exact model’s label or product information sheet, then follow the calculator link to estimate its running cost.
An efficiency letter, SEER/SCOP value or cooling capacity is a different quantity. Use the A–G guide or the relevant category guide before interpreting it as consumption.
Normalize units without assuming tests are equivalent
Suppose two illustrative candidates provide compatible eco-cycle quantities: 60 kWh/100 cycles and 0.45 kWh/cycle. At four cycles/week, their annualized values are 124.8 and 93.6 kWh.
At an illustrative €0.30/kWh, annual electricity is €37.44 and €28.08, a €9.36 difference. The unit conversion is straightforward. A different capacity, programme or energy boundary would remain a comparability problem after conversion.
Use the two-purchase comparison once those source checks are complete. Keep your tariff separate from the model record.
Investigate missing or conflicting information
If a QR destination is unexpected or a model cannot be matched, return to the official registry route and recheck the full identifier and category. Ask the supplier for the applicable label and product sheet instead of substituting a similar-looking model’s energy.
If a label and sheet differ, check their model, programme, version and units before assuming a mistake. A rounded label can differ slightly from a more precise sheet; the documented per-100-cycle example demonstrates that specific case.
Retain the source basis with any saved result. Then find your electricity unit price and apply your household routine.