Makers Say TVs Will Suffer From Surfeit of Energy-Use Labels

Natural Resources Canada rejected a proposal by TV manufacturers to accept the FTC’s proposed energy use label for TVs instead of its own. Sets will resemble bulletin boards if countries and jurisdictions mandate their own energy use labels for the sets, TV makers told NRCan. The Canadian agency is proposing an EnerGuide label for TVs along the lines of the EnergyGuide label being considered by the FTC. Besides the FTC, California is requiring its own energy use label, the manufacturers said on a conference call. Since what Canada is proposing is similar to what the U.S. is considering, “we question the reason for having two labels,” a Sony representative said.

TV makers typically manufacture products that can be sold in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, he said. So a TV model made for those markets will have energy use information for all “three destinations,” he said. “So having a model with three different labels doesn’t make sense,” he said. If one label contains information that’s relevant to all the three countries, then one common label should be sufficient, the Sony official said. With labels from the FTC, Energy Star and California to contend with, “I can see our products ending up looking like bulletin boards,” said a Sanyo executive.

The Canadian label will require information in English and French, an NRCan official said. Since labels for U.S. and Mexico markets will have information in English and Spanish, a common North American label will have to carry information in three languages, she said: “There is no precedent” for such a label. TV makers were supportive of NRCan’s proposal to adopt the 12 categories of screen sizes that the CEA had proposed to the FTC for providing energy use information. Canada is giving TV makers the option of having physical labels or electronic labels. In the case of physical labels, it’s proposing different sizes depending on screen size, with the smallest 2x6 inches and the largest 4.3x12.9 inches.

In addition to the TV set, the label should also be affixed on the front side panel of the packaging, NRCan said. If TV makers choose the electronics label, they should ensure it comes on 10 seconds every minute, “anywhere on the screen but static.” The label must come on in both retail and home viewing modes and “can be removed by the end customer entering a product key.” Representatives of Toshiba, Mitsubishi and Sony questioned the need for different labels sizes based on screen size. The label is most useful when a customer views TVs in a “retail environment,” said the Toshiba executive. “When a customer is walking up and down rows of TVs, I don’t know that we really need a much larger label on a 70-inch TV than we do a 20-inch TV,” he said. Just as a small size TV, a 70-inch TV would be “on the floor right in front of you,” said the Mitsubishi official. “A label of any size is going to readable.” Having to deal with different label sizes will be a “burden” for manufacturing plants, said the Sony representative. “Our company would be inclined to think that a one-size-fits all type of label would be more appropriate."

A Panasonic executive suggested that NRCan consider requiring labeling only on “floor units” in retail outlets, exempting the “99 percent-plus models” that consumers take out of the box only at home. That will help save “considerable” resources, he said. “It seems wasteful to require every single TV to contain a label.” Manufacturers also raised concerns over the proposal to have consumers punch in a product key to remove the electronic labeling on the screen. TVs don’t work the same way as computers, said on TV maker, so a product key won’t be workable, he said.

The labeling law will take effect March 31, 2011, the NRCan official said, and the final rule will be published three to four months ahead of the effective date. Manufacturers need at least six months lead time, they said. “Typically manufacturers do not react to draft documents,” said the Sony representative: “We typically wait until the document is finalized” before making changes to products.