Selling out! Super vacs hoovered up
SHOPPERS criticised the ban on powerful vacuum cleaners at the weekend as they hoovered up the last models on sale.
A European Union directive banning cleaners of more than 1,600 watts comes into force today in an attempt to reduce energy use.
It is a blow to families and pet owners who value powerful vacuums for making house cleaning quick and easy.
The EU also plans to target other highpowered devices from next spring. It has conducted a study which suggests there could be 30 per cent energy savings on hairdryers, smartphones and lawnmowers.
Hairdressers have come out against banning powerful hairdryers, saying it will upset clients and less powerful dryers would be used for longer – using more electricity.
Mark Coray, from the National Hairdressers Federation, told the BBC: ‘It’s ludicrous. If you’re reducing the power it’s taking longer so the client is unhappy, but if you’re reducing the power you’re holding the dryer for longer so they’re using the same amount of energy anyway.’
Kettle manufacturers could be told to make their products consume less energy by switching off ten seconds earlier, and by redesigning to reduce ‘surface heat loss’. The final decision on which products to target will be made next year.
The EU ruling bans the import or manufacture of vacuum cleaners over 1,600 watts from today, although stores will still be able to sell their remaining stock.
Popular models by Hoover, Samsung and Vax, which will be affected by the ban, had already sold out online last week at Currys and Tesco.
Tesco had exhausted stocks of the 2,300watt Hoover Breeze BR2306 and 2,000watt Hoover SM2018 Pets cleaners, while Currys had sold out of models including the 2,100-watt Cyclone Force Sensor.
At the weekend some shoppers said they had found out about the ruling only at the last minute. Nick Haydon, 30, who has just bought his first home in Cannock, Staffordshire, said: ‘I was just about to get the keys when I saw about the high-powered vacuums being banned. I panicked and wanted a powerful one so went to John Lewis to try to avoid disappointment.
‘I can’t believe they’re banning them, it doesn’t make any sense.’
June Clarke, 60, shopping in Birmingham city centre, said: ‘The powerful models are the only ones which can get the house properly clean. I’ve just bought a Samsung Cyclone Force Sensor. I think the new rules are ridiculous.’
Some stores were allowing shoppers to buy by phone to collect at a later date.
Other stores said weekend trading had been normal – but Tesco has reported an increase of nearly 44 per cent in sales of 2,000-watt cleaners in the past fortnight, while the Co-op’s sales rose by 38 per cent.
Today’s ban on cleaners over 1,600 watts will be followed by a further reduction to 900 watts from 2017. The average vacuum is currently 1,800 watts, and lower power has previously meant less suction.
But Sir James Dyson said the change could force firms to invest in more efficient technology. He said: ‘Dyson has never made a vacuum cleaner of more than 1,400 watts because it is intelligent engineering that leads to high cleaning performance, not energy-thirsty motors.’
Dyson has reported a 78 per cent increase in cleaner sales since the news over energy labelling broke.