The EU Publications Office records the final report, “Study assessing consumer understanding of a draft energy label for computers,” as released on 3 September 2026; the European Commission’s news announcement followed on 4 September. The evaluation assesses how consumers understand a possible label. Neither date marked the start of a binding computer energy-labelling obligation.
The Commission states that the study will feed into work preparing a delegated act that would propose an energy label for computers. Companies should therefore use the findings to prepare data and monitoring processes, not to claim compliance with a label that has not yet been legally defined.
What the study recommends
One of the main design questions was whether high-end computers should be displayed on a dedicated energy-performance scale or whether a single scale should cover all devices. The study found that a majority of respondents preferred a label that displayed performance by type of use. It therefore recommends a double scale for high-end computers and a single scale for everyday-use devices.
Respondents also showed a preference for energy consumption per hour of use, expressed in Wh. Computing-performance information is expected to be relevant, but the Commission noted that it needs additional explanation because energy consumption, efficiency and workload are not generally well understood by non-specialists.
These are study findings and recommendations. They do not yet establish the final product categories, scale boundaries, test methods, label artwork, database fields, supplier obligations, application date or transition period.
Why computer efficiency needs a workload context
An everyday office computer may be used for text editing, spreadsheets, browsing and video playback. A workstation or high-end computer may run numerical calculations, 3D modelling, virtual reality, artificial intelligence workloads or intensive gaming. Comparing only absolute energy consumption can penalise a device that completes substantially more work. Comparing only performance can hide the energy required to achieve it.
The Commission’s computers product page explains that the approach under investigation uses “worklets” to simulate real-use conditions for both average and professional users. A new metric would assess the ratio between performance and energy use.
The proposed double-scale concept is therefore an attempt to make different use contexts understandable. It is not simply a graphic choice.
What remains in force today
Personal computers and small-scale servers sold in the EU are currently covered by Ecodesign Regulation (EU) No 617/2013. The existing requirements include estimated annual energy consumption based on a mix of idle, sleep and off states, internal power-supply efficiency and power management.
The Commission states that the current regulation is under review and that a proposal for a new Energy Labelling Regulation is under preparation. Two opposite claims should therefore be avoided: that a new double-scale label is already mandatory, and that computers have no current energy-efficiency requirements because the new label is not yet in force.
What manufacturers can prepare now
The most useful early work is a traceable data foundation.
Product families should be linked to actual configurations, including the processor, graphics hardware, memory, storage, firmware, power-management settings and factory defaults. Test records should connect the sample, method, software or workload version, performance result, energy result, laboratory and date.
Companies should also separate three types of fields: those required under current rules, those suggested by the 2026 study, and those that cannot be confirmed until the delegated act is final. This prevents a provisional policy signal from entering packaging or product pages as a legal claim.
Version control matters because a future change to a worklet, calculation formula or category definition may determine whether historical data can be recalculated or whether a new test is required.
Marketing language should reflect the legal stage
Statements such as “complies with the new EU computer energy label”, “meets the official double-scale standard” or “already rated under the future label” would go beyond the current source. A precise statement would be that the Commission has published a consumer-understanding study and that specific obligations remain subject to the final delegated act.
The distinction between a study, a proposal and an adopted regulation is not administrative detail. It determines what a company may responsibly put on a product page or package.
Prepared by 绿色方舟（深圳）认证有限公司 (Greenark (Shenzhen) Certification Co., Ltd.) from primary materials checked on 27 September 2026. This article does not predict the final delegated act or promise that any product will meet future requirements.
Sources checked on 27 September 2026:
EU Publications Office: consumer-understanding study
European Commission: study announcement
European Commission: Computers product and policy page
EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) No 617/2013
Prepared by 绿色方舟（深圳）认证有限公司 (Greenark (Shenzhen) Certification Co., Ltd.). This article does not predict the final delegated act or promise that any product will meet future requirements.
