Our Super Efficiency Portfolio: Making energy savings visible 

In 2009, for the first time, we brought our most efficient appliances together into a Super Efficiency Portfolio on the basis of the European energy label with a view to making our energy efficiency progress visible and measurable. Since then, we have adjusted it annually and had the figures validated by external auditors. We are particularly keen to increase our sales in this segment, where the potential contribution to environmental and climate protection, in other words energy efficiency, is huge.
 
Lower energy
consumption BSH’s aim is to help households cut their electricity consumption through the use of super-efficient home appliances. We calculate our contribution according to clearly defined criteria. In the selected countries, we compare the electricity consumption of our super-efficient appliances with the average consumption of all appliances sold on the market in 2011. The resulting annual savings take effect over the appliance’s entire duration of use – twelve years on average – and are therefore aggregated.

Rising sales
Sales of super-efficient appliances in Europe rose from 3.1 million in the previous year to 3.5 million home appliances in 2011. Calculated over the appliances’ average duration of use, these sales result in an electricity saving of 1.87 billion kilowatt hours – equivalent to the average annual electricity consumption of 525,000 German households. Because it costs three times as much to generate and distribute one kilowatt Our Super Efficiency Portfolio: Making energy savings visible hour of electricity than to not use it, our energy-efficient appliances can make a substantial contribution to protecting the climate and transforming the energy market. The potential savings could be tapped easily and quickly if only consumers had sufficient incentives to exchange their old appliances for new: Europe’s households are still using far too many power guzzlers.

In other countries, too, we therefore support the national climate protection targets. After all, energy efficiency and climate protection have long been issues of international importance. In Germany and abroad – for example as a member of the European Committee of Domestic Equipment Manufacturers (CECED) – we are campaigning to consider the enormous contribution that efficient home appliances can make for the national energy efficiency plans.

Even better appliances
At the same time, our engineers are working constantly on improving our appliances. Their primary objective is always to cut energy consumption while enhancing performance and ease of use. BSH achieved a major breakthrough with its zeolite® drying system for dishwashers. The mineral zeolite absorbs humidity and simultaneously emits heat energy. As well as accelerating the drying process, this means that the dishwasher uses less electricity for heating. This innovation has won multiple accolades, including the “Innovation Prize for Climate and Environment” awarded by Germany’s Federal Environment Ministry.