Just as the energy tsunami of stratospheric bills is upsetting the national political scenario, dramatic declarations of surrender by industry and households arrive, on the one hand, and on the other, avalanches of articles crammed with advice for saving energy electricity and gas bills, especially in newspapers, often useless, copied, old, banal. One newspaper even wrote that increases in gas and electricity prices would cause a household's annual bill to increase by 300 percent to 2000 per thousand due to household appliances. A giant cretin. An average family of 4 with a basic set of refrigerator, washing machine, dishwasher, electric oven, iron, TV, PC, plus a few other small appliances, currently spends around 250-300 euros a year if it is efficient technology appliances (the new classification sees class A as the highest level).
The bale of millionaire electricity and gas bills for families
And since that newspaper, moreover not very credible when it deals with economic issues, would have envisaged a consequent, gigantic default of our country, it is worth noting that this too is a colossal lie, since, since the existence of themandatory energy labeli.e. since 1998, millions and millions of old electricity-consuming appliances have already been replaced by new ones which have led to a considerable reduction in consumption, a reduction which continues.
As he recently communicated Apply, the association that brings together companies in the household appliances sector – “a new class A washing machine consumes on average more than 60% less than a product with more than 10 years of life. The same goes for refrigerators and dishwashers, leading to possible bill savings of around €300 a year with current energy costs. Furthermore, contrary to a fairly widespread thought, using the dishwasher as an alternative to washing by hand allows you to save over 60% of energy and 80% of water (Report Applia Dishwashers4all)”.
Huge savings with Class A appliances when used right
If there is one sector that has contributed like no other to saving enormous amounts of energy and reducing electricity and gas bills in the past decades, it is the household appliances sector. Thanks to the efficiency of the equipment, in the last 10 years the savings - continues Applia Italia - have already exceeded 190 GWh/year at a national level and Applia Italia estimates possible further energy savings at a country level exceeding 280 GWh/year, indicatively the consumption energy of a city of about 90 inhabitants. Let us add that since energy labeling was introduced in Europe in 1998, only in the first 10-15 years, the replacement of millions of old appliances has made it possible to save the energy of 3 highly polluting medium-capacity thermoelectric plants.
But what is most surprising about the many nonsense disguised as saving advice is that no one has written that consumption depends above all on how the domestic "car fleet" is used and kept in shape. A class A refrigerator – the most efficient – if filled incorrectly, opened often and for a long time, set between furniture with no space to dissipate the heat, it can consume much, much more than what is stated on the label.
Una washing machine often used at very low temperatures and with so-called economic programs for reduced loads, it wastes a lot of electricity simply because it works with very very long times, that is, in any case energy-intensive. And with results, among other things, not excellent. Not only. Washing at 40 degrees as recommended is often contraindicated: dangerous bacteria and microorganisms are eliminated only with temperatures above 60 degrees. Worse for the dishwasher….The most frequent faults in washing appliances come from limescale encrustations of the heating elements, which work by consuming twice as much electricity. That is zero maintenance.
Reduced loads to save money? The boomerang of maxi washing machines
Reduced loads to save on electricity and gas bills? Bad, any appliance works with maximum efficiency only if it is charged, at the right temperature and in a short time. This is why the tendency imposed by Korean multinationals to impose the almost exclusive choice of on the market appears irrational 7-10 kg washing machine when families, all over the world, are increasingly "mini" and often made up of singles. Because then the shops now only have these mega devourers of detergent, water and electricity? A few well-informed experts have come up with a suspicion that is not even so far-fetched: i Korean chaebols (multinationals controlled by family clans) since the 70s they have been working as white goods contractors for American brands and as is known in the United States large appliances (or Majaps) are really "big", with capacities much higher than those of European appliances. With the innovations subsequently introduced in washing and storage facilitated by enormous state funding, Korean companies would have - some experts say - simply used the same production platforms by selling even in Europe, at extremely low prices, the mega fridges and huge washing machines destined a first period only to the US market. And often manufactured in outsourced factories. By imposing really excessive sizes that they consume even in class A.
Consumer Electronics and Home Appliances: Retailers Complain But…
For about two years, consumer electronics and appliance stores, which have remained open all the time, have recorded double-digit increases in sales. Two years of collections, profits, margins and exceptional dimensions. Is the package over? But go. It has simply scaled down in the sense that i recent balances of the first 5 months 2022 of the authoritative GFK, they are higher than those, however positive, of 2019 by almost 19 percent and by 0,7 percent on 2021, the year of unrepeatable absolute records. It is clear that that sales record could not continue. And that, also because of the usual and senseless price wars with continuous promotions and sales carried out by retail chains and groups, the margins have narrowed a little. As Andrea Scozzoli, president of Aires – the Italian Association that brings together the main companies and specialized distribution groups of household appliances and consumer electronics – hoped “that the government would take into consideration the fact that regardless of the amount of energy that is used in carrying out the business activity, it is also important to consider the incidence of new costs on the income statement of all companies. It is essential to remember that companies specializing in the distribution of essential goods such as electrical and electronic products are in particular difficulty: traditionally and due to various factors, our sector has, in fact, a extremely low margins which for some operators is even less than 2% of the volume of business. This inevitably leads to a particular suffering to the extent that theincrease in incompressible costs, like energy ones, increase uncontrollably. Bringing the incidence of the same not far from 3-4% of total company costs. Furthermore, having the responsibility of selling essential goods, our companies are particularly attentive to the issue ofprice increase: numbers in hand we are in fact among the sectors that have contributed least to the strong inflationary pressures recorded in recent months”.
The low margins to which Scozzari refers is actually a decades-long constant in the sector, deriving from non-exogenous but mainly hedogenic factors (price war between chains and groups, low quality entry level imports, etc.). And with a destruction of the value chains of quality European and Italian products that has led to the closure of many factories and wild relocations.
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