Appliances "virtual gate" exposed industry unspoken rules

In recent days, home appliances have exposed scandals involving the use of energy-efficiency labels. This is not new. Earlier, there were media rushing to report incidents in which well-known home appliance suppliers defrauded state subsidies. However, the previous fraudulent subsidy was more or less a good thing for consumers as “the advantage outweighs the disadvantages”, so most consumers also closed their eyes with one eye, and the right was read by the news. The falsification of this energy efficiency label can no longer be done by the bystanders. It must be known that many households will still refer to the energy efficiency label when purchasing appliances. But what exactly is an energy efficiency label? How do you think? It is true that many people cannot answer.

Energy efficiency labeling, also known as energy efficiency labeling, is an information label attached to energy-consuming products or their minimum packaging to indicate performance metrics such as product energy efficiency rating. The purpose is to provide users and consumers with the necessary information for purchasing decisions. To guide and help consumers choose energy-efficient energy-saving products. At present, more than 100 countries around the world have implemented energy efficiency labeling systems. For the blue and white background, the color logo is divided into 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 levels. The grade 1 indicates that the product has reached the international advanced level, the most energy-saving, that is, the lowest energy consumption; level 2 indicates the comparative power saving; 3 indicates that the energy efficiency of the product is the average level of the Chinese market; level 4 indicates that the energy efficiency of the product is lower than the market average; level 5 is the market access index; products below this level are not allowed to produce and sell.

Energy-efficiency labeling culprit from the "National Energy-saving Project"

In 2009, the country introduced three major policies: air-conditioning appliances, rural energy-saving products, Huimin projects, and trade-in replacements. The core of these three major policies is to provide financial subsidies for home appliances sold in the market, especially energy-saving products. In other words, the more energy-saving products receive more subsidies. Some commodities, such as refrigerators, LCD TVs and other financial subsidies can account for 10% of the final price of the product. Subsidies can stimulate a large number of consumers while also encouraging home appliance retailers to "knock their brains."

In addition to the above-mentioned marketing methods of energy efficiency labeling, the use of energy efficiency labels to defraud financial subsidies, the labeling of energy efficiency labels on products also brings selling points to the products themselves. What “the most energy-efficient”, “ultra-quiet” and “energy-saving king” are all Businesses use energy efficiency labels to make big fuss and deceive consumers.

We can't help but ask: The reason why energy efficiency indicators can become an unspoken rule in an industry. Nowadays, where is the regulatory mechanism of the industry?

The author found that, in accordance with the provisions of the "Administrative Measures for Energy Efficiency Labeling," if any unscrupulous company uses this project as a tool for profiteering, the penalty once it is discovered is only "a local energy conservation administrative department or a local quality inspection department shall order a deadline. Correcting and stopping the use of energy efficiency labels; if the circumstances are serious, the local quality inspection department shall impose a fine of less than 10,000 yuan." Smart consumers will calculate the amount of this account. It's no wonder that so many companies use frauds to defraud financial subsidies and attract consumers. This is really a high-profit, low-risk behavior.

It is hoped that the relevant departments can realize from the energy-efficiency labeling false door incident: Enterprises do not discipline, and the responsibility to protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers depends on the relevant departments!