How much will I save with a low-power vacuum cleaner?
Mythbuster: are soon-to-be-banned vacuums better at cleaning?
Banned: 10 most popular vacuums and which will go
Lower wattage cleaners can save around 12.48 a year over the most powerful machines in energy bills, according to calculations by The Telegraph.
But manufacturers argue that the new rules won't save householders money in energy consumption, because people will simply clean their homes for longer.
However, energy experts have dismissed this claim.
New vacuum rules: what's changed?
Manufacturers won't be able to produce any motors exceeding 1,600 watts or export them to the UK.
The maximum wattage will be lowered even further to 900 watts in 2017.
The current average on the market is about 1,800 watts.
Currently vacuum cleaners are the only products subject to the ban although next year the EU plans to scrutinise other household appliances.
When you buy a vacuum in shops and online, it will be labelled from A to G according to its energy efficiency and performance.
As customers rush to snap up the most powerful machines, retailers reported a 50pc rise in customers purchasing vacuums with motors above the 1,600 threshold.
Tesco reported a 44pc increase in sales, Currys said that it had sold out of its 2,000 to 2,300 watt Hoover Breeze and Pet models, and AO.com sold out of 2,000 watt models.
Dyson: 'Boffin bureaucrats are flawed'
Inventor Sir James Dyson is now seeking a judicial review on the matter, even though none of his vacuums exceed the new limit.
Writing for The Telegraph, Sir James criticised the "flawed" energy efficiency labels. "It misleads shoppers," he said.
"The boffin bureaucrats have been testing virgin vacuum cleaners in a sterile laboratory.
"All this means that the grades on the labels are not representative of how the vacuum will work in the real world."
Q. How much could I save by using a less powerful vacuum?
A. You could save an estimated 12.48 a year by switching from the most powerful to the least powerful vacuum.
This is based on the cost difference of using a 2,400 watt vacuum cleaner versus a 1,200 watt vacuum cleaner for 2 hours each week.
To work out the cost of using your vacuum cleaner, you need to know its energy consumption and the pence-per-kWh charged by your electricity provider.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Nt-cw37BU
A 1,200 watt vacuum cleaner left switched on for an hour is equal to 1.2 kWh (divide 1,200 watts by 1,000 to get the kWh) so you multiply 1.2 kWh by your provider's kWh price, to get the cost.
So using this vacuum would cost 12p for an hour, if you are with a provider that charges 10p per kWh or 12.48 to vacuum for 2 hours a week over the course of a year.
If you had a 2,400 watt vacuum cleaner, the same person would spend 24p for an hour's vacuuming or 24.96 for the same cleaning regime over the course of a year.
Q. But aren't higher power vacuums more effective?
A. Dr Kevin Lane, from Oxford University's Environmental Change Institute, said that this is a myth he argued that the least powerful models could be just as effective.
"Consumers will not have to use their new vacuum cleaners noticeably longer to compensate," he said.
Dr Lane said that manufacturers would redesign their high power products to be more efficient so that they perform just as well.
"They will also be able to make a more informed choice suppliers will be less able to put poorly performing products on to the market."
He said that it was a myth that a machine's power consumption meant more cleaning or suction power.
Sir James Dyson is sceptical of the new energy labels. "What you see, is not necessarily what you get," he said."Of course it's understandable and logical from consumer perspective, and some manufacturer marketing plays up to this giving the impression that bigger is better."
Matthew Leach, Professor of Energy Systems at the University of Surrey, said that there was no one-to-one relationship between power consumption and effectiveness.
He said: "Some of the highest performing models available on the market such as the Dysons are not the highest power rating, and so it is possible to clean well with lower power use.
Prof Leach predicted a rapid response by manufacturers to re-design the most power hungry machines. He said: "They will bring better designs forwards which manage to have similar suction power for the lower electricity consumption, as they now have to think directly about energy use, and not just suction power in their designs."
Q. So which vacuum is best to buy?
A. The vacuum cleaner market is a confusing mix of measurements including watts, air watts and litre capacity.
But these units are not as critical as you might think, according to Charles Gordon, founder of advice website whatvacuum.com.
He said: "A 1,500 watt motor, for example, is quite sufficient its how it picks up dirt and what it emits into the air that is important."
Mr Gordon added that the new A to G ratings would be a useful point of reference for customers.
"At last the consumer has the opportunity of actually reading what the product performance, whereas now we're perplexed by manufacturer-speak."
"Now we have a measure meant like togs for duvets that everyone can understand," he said.
Mr Gordon said that choosing the best vacuum depended on your home and any allergies you may have.
"Youve got to identify what your house needs are. If you have a lot of hard floors, then theres no point getting an upright cleaner, you need a cylinder or a tank.
"Likewise, if youve got lots of carpet an upright is by far the best way to clean your carpet.
"Weight is critical both for using less electricity, and for practical reasons, for example if an elderly person needs to carry it up the stairs."
BANNED: Six out of 10 bestsellers
Six out of ten best-selling vacuums, as listed by Amazon.co.uk, are soon to be extinct from the British high street and online.
The most powerful soon-to-be-abolished model is VonHaus' Cyclonic Bagless cylinder vacuum, which costs 100 and uses 2,400 watts.
Models from Vax, Panasonic, Sebo and Hoover will also be subject to the cap.
No Dyson vacuum will be banned although if the 2017 cap to 900 watts comes into effect, every one of these bestsellers would be prohibited.
Manufacturer
Model
Retail price
Power (watts)
Vax
Bagless Cylinder Vacuum
250
1,800
Russell Hobbs
Power Cyclonic
70
1,800
Hoover
Spirit SP2102
80
2,100
Dyson
DC41 Animal Ball
390
Under 1,600
Numatic
HVR200A Henry A1
155
1,200
Panasonic
Bagged Vacuum
100
1,900
Zanussi
AirSpeed Lite Multi-Cyclonic
70
1,600
Sebo
K1PRO Cylinder
200
2,100
VonHaus
Cyclonic Bagless cylinder vacuum
100
2,400
Bosch
Power Silence Bagless
250
1,200
Based on Amazon UK most popular vacuum cleaners
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