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Brit inventor Dyson challenges EU ruling on his hoover's energy efficiency ratings

Claims dust-free lab tests 'mislead consumers'

Brit inventor James Dyson is challenging the EU's labelling policy for hoovers in court, claiming that it doesn't do his vacuum cleaners justice.

Dyson said that the EU's energy efficiency rating system was based on dust-free lab conditions that were completely different to the way that hoovers performed in the home. The firm is launching a judicial review at the European General Court over the system, which will rate all vacuum cleaners sold in the EU from September 2014.

The EU wants to give hoovers an energy rating from A to G as part of its efforts to meet carbon emission cut targets. It reckons the rating will help customers to consider environmental concerns when buying household appliances.

But Dyson said that testing its vacuum cleaners in an empty lab wouldn't take into consideration their bagless design, which means they don't get clogged up with dust the way other hoovers do. The firm said the rating system also didn't factor in the cost of replacement bags and filters for more traditional vacuum models.

"Dyson fully supports the ambition to make the environmental impact of a machine easier to understand," the company said.

"However, we are challenging aspects of the label because it will mislead consumers - notably the fact that the machines are tested in lab conditions free of dust, and the fact that environmentally damaging and costly consumables are not considered." ®

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