How to Read the EnergyGuide Label When Shopping for Appliances

That yellow tag on a refrigerator, washer or air conditioner is not a promotional sticker. It is a federally mandated disclosure. The Federal Trade Commission requires the EnergyGuide label on many major appliances specifically so shoppers can compare energy use and estimated operating cost across different models before buying, the same way a nutrition label lets you compare food products.

What appliances carry the label

Not every appliance has one. According to the FTC, EnergyGuide labels appear on boilers, ceiling fans, central air conditioners, clothes washers, dishwashers, freezers, furnaces, heat pumps, pool heaters, refrigerators, televisions, room and portable air conditioners, and water heaters. Some categories, such as ranges and ovens, are exempt from the requirement. If you do not see a label on a covered appliance, the FTC suggests checking inside the unit itself, or the seller's or manufacturer's website.

Save

What the estimated cost actually means

The number on the label is not a personal prediction. The FTC states plainly that the estimated operating cost is only an estimate, based on typical use and a national average price for energy, and that your actual cost depends on how you use the appliance and your local energy price. Two households can buy the identical model and see different real-world bills, because usage patterns and local electricity or gas rates vary. Treat the number as a comparison tool between models, not a guarantee of what you personally will pay.

EnergyGuide versus ENERGY STAR: two different things

These are commonly confused, but they come from different programs with different purposes. The FTC's EnergyGuide label is a required disclosure covering all appliances in its covered categories, showing relative energy use. The ENERGY STAR label, by contrast, is a voluntary certification. The FTC explains that to qualify for ENERGY STAR, a product must meet energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and only qualifying models carry that additional logo, which may appear within the corner of an EnergyGuide label on a certified model.

• Every covered appliance category has an EnergyGuide label. Not every appliance has earned ENERGY STAR certification.
• EnergyGuide is about comparing this specific model with similar models on the market.
• ENERGY STAR is a threshold: a model either meets the EPA's efficiency bar or it does not.
• A model without the ENERGY STAR logo is not necessarily inefficient. It may simply not have pursued certification, or may fall just short of the threshold.

What changed with the 2023 label redesign

The label itself has been updated over time to stay useful as products change. A summary of the FTC's Appliance Labeling Rule notes that the Commission has periodically revised the label's design, including updates to how ranges of comparability are displayed and how the ENERGY STAR logo is positioned on the label, so a label you see on a new appliance today may look somewhat different from one you remember on an older purchase. The underlying purpose, disclosing energy use for comparison shopping, has stayed consistent even as the visual design has evolved.

A related but separate detail worth knowing: some categories, such as light bulbs, use a different disclosure format called the Lighting Facts label rather than the yellow EnergyGuide tag, since lighting products are regulated somewhat differently under the same broader labeling framework. If you are shopping for bulbs specifically, our guide to lumens and color temperature covers what to look for on that label format instead.

Using the label alongside your own numbers

Because the label's cost estimate uses a national average energy price, it is most useful for comparing models against each other, not for predicting your actual bill. To translate a specific appliance's energy use into your own real cost, using your actual electricity rate and expected hours of use, our energy cost calculator can help, and our utility cost calculator can put that single appliance into the context of a full monthly utility bill.

Your takeaway: next time you shop for a major appliance, compare the estimated yearly operating cost on the EnergyGuide labels of the models you are considering, not just the sticker price, and treat the ENERGY STAR logo as a separate, additional signal rather than assuming every appliance without it is inefficient.