Energy Efficiency Important for Hungarians - Survey

Hungarian consumers believe it is important that their household appliances are energy efficient, and the majority are willing to pay a premium for appliances with a better energy rating, but many are not aware of the meaning of energy labels, according to a recent survey by Euronics, a chain of technical stores.

According to the survey, the results of which were sent to the state news agency MTI on Tuesday, nearly half of respondents would choose an energy efficient appliance if it met the criteria that were most important to them, and almost half (42%) said that it was an essential aspect for them. Only 12% said that energy saving had little or no influence on their decision.

Respondents ranked energy efficiency as a top priority for refrigerators (83%), washing machines (74%), freezers (67%) and boilers (63%), while it was least important for televisions (42%) and microwaves (37%).

The majority of respondents were also prepared to pay a premium to have the appliance they bought use less energy. 43% are willing to pay 5-7% more, a quarter of them 8-10% more and 8% even 10-20% more. However, about a quarter of those surveyed are reluctant to do so.

Only 20% of those surveyed said they look at all the details on the energy label, 33% browse through most of it, 40% spend less energy on this information and 7% do not pay attention to the label at all.

Euronics commissioned Opinio to carry out a representative national survey of 1,022 people aged 15-59.