Tucked away in a dust-free, tax-payer funded, but reassuringly hi-tech office in Brussels, the politicians have been getting their heads around vacuum cleaners. As is already the case with other home appliances, from next month vacuum cleaners will have a label slapped on their side supposedly to show energy efficiency. Unfortunately, I don’t think the people behind the decision were engineers. I know a little about vacuum cleaners and, quite frankly, I think the new label is flawed. It misleads shoppers, so much so that I’ve filed for judicial review at the European Courts. We all want high-performing, energy-efficient technology to tackle our dust, dirt, cereal and cat fur. But the boffin bureaucrats have been testing virgin vacuum cleaners in a sterile laboratory without any of these things. I don’t know about you, but my home certainly isn’t dust free (nor are our labs for that matter – we bought tons of rather expensive test dust last year). All this means that the grades on the labels are not representative of how the vacuum will work in the real world.

Imagine testing a washing machine’s energy efficiency without water, or a fridge’s without food. You wouldn’t do it – at least, an engineer certainly wouldn’t. From next month, you’ll be able to walk into a shop, pick up what you believe to be the most energy-efficient vacuum cleaner that money can buy, only to find that its performance starts to drop as soon as you use it. vacuum cleaners on ebay australiaYes, it’s low on energy, in the sense that it doesn’t even do the job.vacuum cleaners with washable filters That’s because many machines rely on old-fashioned technology and use vacuum bags and filters to do the hard work of separating dust from the air. 12 volt dc vacuum cleanerAs air is drawn into the machine, dust and dirt clogs the lining of the bag and suction falters because not all the air can pass through.

As suction drops, energy is wasted, either in repetitive passes on the same stretch of carpet or by simply expending energy that does nothing at all. Incidentally, 126 million bags and filters were binned last year, but the EU didn’t consider these environmental and financial costs relevant to an energy label. Without good suction, a vacuum cleaner clearly isn’t much use. You might as well opt for a dustpan and brush. We all want more suck for our buck. It’s easy to think that a larger motor gets you a superior vacuum but trust me – bigger isn’t always better. At Dyson we’ve never used a motor that draws more than 1600W of electricity, instead preferring high-speed electric motors that allow our machines to do more with less. We’ve invested £250 million in developing such motors over the past 16 years. Clever engineering, not lazy engineering – built on automated production lines to guarantee precision. Capping the size of the motor is an effective way of reducing energy consumption and need not reduce performance – but it is a harder engineering challenge.

Interestingly, we campaigned consistently for a lower cap – other manufacturers were not so keen. They would perhaps rather focus their attentions on earning an efficiency label that gives them a marketing advantage but leaves the shopper disadvantaged. Testing a machine clean, box fresh and without dust gives them higher scores, so they pushed for it when the regulation was being developed. They’d rather not do the hard work of making sure a machine never loses suction because the label doesn’t care. Gaming the system isn’t confined to the world of vacuum cleaners. Just look at carmakers: Sellotaping door joints, cutting out air con, and lobbing batteries out of the car is all part of the game when it comes to performance tests. Hardly representative of cars being driven on the streets, but the EU lets it happen. When box-ticking gains the upper hand, invention suffers and people lose out. Regulation is good when it directs companies and their engineers to develop new and better technology.

Not when it encourages the status quo. In this instance, we have found it to be the case that he who shouts the loudest wins. While we have a voice in the UK, Dyson is just David compared with Europe’s industrial Goliaths. The EU needs to rediscover its role in facilitating inventors – supporting business not harming it. Unfortunately, it seems we’re stuck with this regulation for the time being. You won’t be surprised to hear that it’ll be next year when we find out if our judicial review is successful – in the meantime the label reigns supreme. So if you are headed to the shops this weekend, think twice if you see the Energy Label. What you see, is not necessarily what you get.Smart Robotic Vacuum Cleaner Original CHUWI ILIFE V7 Bluetooth Mini Dry Cleaning Floor Conti Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner (CSVC-12S) - NW Appliances Karcher Multi Purpose Vacuum Cleaner WD 6 P Premium (1.348-270.0) - Karcher Black Series - Mulitfunction Wet & Dry Auto Vacuum Miele Complete C3 Cylinder Vacuum Cleaner - C3 Yellow

Bissell Healthy Home ProHeat Upright Deep Cleaner 5Pcs 3 Armed Replacement Side Brush For iRobot Roomba 500 600 700 Series ROBOT VACUUM CLEANER, DISINFECTS FLOORS UV LIGHT, MOPS & SWEEP - HIGH QUALITY 2PCS Side Brushes For CHUWI V3 V3+ V5 V5PRO iLife V3 Robot Vacuum Cleaner Robotic Vacuum Cleaner Karcher WD3 Multi-Purpose Vacuum Cleaner Hoover HSV40 Wet / Dry Handheld Cordless Portable Vacuum Cleaner — Powerful 14.4V~90W motor , Bosch Vacuum Cleaner Powerful 1700w Motor - Chilli Red (BSN1701RU) - BSH Pack of 6 Vorwerk FP135/136 vacuum filter bags Ryobi 1600W vacuum Cleaner 60L With Auto Start/ Stop Power Plug (VC-60HDA) - Ryobi Hoover Wet/Dry Handheld Cordless Portable Vacuum Cleaner Karcher ProNT 200 Multi-Purpose Vacuum Cleaner Karcher Multi Purpose Vacuum Cleaner WD 4 Premium (1.348-150.0) - Karcher Conti Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner Philips EasySpeed Steam iron GC1026/30 Steam 20g/min;90g steam boost Non-stick soleplate Anti-calc 2

Karcher Polishing Pads for Parquet Floors (Pack of 3) Black Series Car Vacuum 10Pcs HEPA Filter And Side Brush For Neato BotVac 70e 750 80 85 Robotic Cleaner 1900W Bagless Vacuum Cleaner HOOVER / SAMSUNG / LOGIK VACUUM CLEANER BAGS ( SEE PICTURES FOR VARIOUS MODEL NO'S ) HEPA Filter for CHUWI V3 iLife V3 Robot Vacuum Cleaner Robotic Vacuum Cleaner VACUUM CLEANER BAGS / TO FIT MAGIC LINE MAGI - VAC 43.360 - 365 ( 19 BAGS IN TOTAL ) Cheap ROBOT Vacuums - High Quality - Lower Price Roomba 500 600 700 Series Enhanced Brush Assembly Philips EasySpeed Steam iron-1600w with Non-stick soleplate-Steam 25g/min;80g steam boost, Anti-calc Dryer Lint Vac Attachment - Cleans Like Magic Dyson DC51ERP Satin Yellow Multi Floor (205561-01) - TTH Miele Cat & Dog Upright Vacuum Cleaner - U1 Bosch Vacuum Bag for ProAnimal SensorBagless Vacuum 3Pcs Microfiber Mopping Cloths Spare Part for iRobot Braava 380t 320 Mint 4200 5200 Robot Primary Filter for CHUWI V3 iLife V3 Robot Vacuum Cleaner Robotic Vacuum Cleaner for Home