Australia, unlike Europe or the US, rates the energy efficiency of appliances such as fridges and dishwashers with stars. With an approximate 20-year history, there is now a 95 per cent recognition rate of the energy star labelling system.

So why is it that a number of sustainability experts are not prepared to award a gold star to our energy efficiency program?

It is estimated our energy consumption from residential electrical appliances, including hot water, lighting, cooling and heating will double by 2050, based on present trends.

Homes contribute about 13 per cent to overall greenhouse gases, the biggest culprits being water heating, space heating and cooling and refrigeration - with lighting, TV and air-conditioning growing rapidly.

The policy and research manager at the Clean Energy Council, Tristan Edis, says the Federal Government is overlooking the most cost-effective mechanism for reducing greenhouse gases by not directing sufficient funding to energy efficiency.

"Australia's energy efficiency performance is among the worst in the developed world," Edis says.

"From 1973 to 2002 Australia's energy intensity per unit of GDP fell by 21 per cent, while across the OECD as a whole it fell 35 per cent. In areas where the Australian Government has chosen to regulate the energy efficiency program it has been highly cost-effective, such as with refrigerators and their requirements. But the problem is that the program is too slow and just scratches the surface of what's possible."

Adjunct Professor Alan Pears, of Melbourne's RMIT University, who helped develop the original appliance energy labelling scheme in the 1980s, says the system's success is relative.

"It is a very cheap program, really," he says. "Indeed, it has been estimated that it delivers millions of tonnes of greenhouse gas abatement each year at a cost of minus $23 per tonne of CO2 avoided. Given that people are talking about paying $30 or more per tonne of CO2 for permits, we are silly if we do not invest more effort in appliance efficiency improvement.

"Why pay for carbon permits when you can make a profit from efficient appliances and equipment? The basic problem is that across the world the area has received limited attention and low budgets."

The Australian appliance and equipment energy efficiency program, which manages the energy rating labels, and the regulating of minimum energy performance standards, will deliver net savings to the consumer of $4.8 billion by 2020, it has been estimated.

The Ministerial Council on Energy says funding for this program runs at about $1.5 million a year.

Professor Pears and Tristan Edis believe there is a lack of government commitment to labelling through the inadequate policing of dubious claims, inadequate resources for testing, a lack of promotion and slow responses to improving technologies and efficiencies. They also say the labelling scheme should be expanded. Large-screen TVs, computers and halogen lights, for example, are energy-sapping products that are not required to have energy labelling or meet a minimum standard.

The Federal Government's Australian Greenhouse Office is assessing the impact of plasma and LCD televisions and considering much stricter mandatory energy requirements.

New labelling is expected between 2009 and 2010.

Electric hot water systems, a large contributor to greenhouse gases, do have to meet a minimum energy performance standard but Professor Pears argues for a comparative label across all energy sources so people can compare electric, gas and solar.

He estimates household emissions could be cut by about one-third by 2030 through effective labelling, technology development, appropriate regulation across appliances, effective hot water systems and improved buildings.

A report by ABC TV's Four Corners in June rang alarm bells about poorly performing appliances that failed minimum energy performance standards and had misleading labelling.

"There are a number of very large no-name Chinese appliance manufacturers making a wide range of electrical equipment that are known to have poor performance and misleading labels," Edis says. "These products are being imported into Australia under a variety of different brand names via small-time distributors. The problem is that the Australian Government can only hold distributors liable. It's as if some manufacturers are above the law."

Professor Pears believes leading brands can be, on the whole, trusted. However, he says there are serious concerns about cheap, non-compliant air-conditioners being imported.

"Each company is allowed to use its testing facilities and it seems that some are prepared to submit incorrect data in the hope that they will not be caught. Given the limited amount of testing that is done, it is hard to know if it is a big problem. Generally, the major appliance manufacturers comply as the loss of reputation is an issue. But obviously much more testing of imported products is necessary, along with tougher penalties, to protect the integrity of our labelling scheme."

With improving technologies, the star systems have to be periodically "shifted" so top performers can compare favourably with those that are less efficient.

The energy label was revised in late 2000 so many products that had previously scored five stars scored around three stars.

Professor Pears says progress to update labels and performance standards is very slow "so some products rate 'off the scale' and no ratings exist for others" (six stars signifies the best on the scale).

For example, he says, the best home air-conditioners score over the equivalent of 10 stars.

Making sense of the labels

air-conditioners may carry an energy label if suppliers choose to apply for one.

The label has two main features: the star rating, which gives a quick comparative assessment of energy efficiency, and the comparative energy consumption (usually in kilowatt hours a year).

MEPS: Certain products are also regulated on the basis of minimum energy performance standards, which means they have regulated minimum energy efficiency levels that give a baseline energy use or exclude products whose energy efficiency is below a benchmark.

TESAW: The Top Energy Saver Award label was started in 2004 to supplement the star rating. It is awarded to the most energy-efficient models in their product type in a specific year. The criteria are reviewed each year.

Assess energy ratings, including MEPS and TESAW labels, at www.energyrating.gov.au.

Energy Star is an international standard for energy-efficient electronic equipment. It is not mandatory in Australia.

Energy Star reduces the amount of energy consumed by a product by automatically switching it into a "sleep" mode when it is not being used and/or reducing the amount of power used in stand-by mode.

In Australia, Energy Star can be found on some computers. See www.energystar.gov.au.

WELS: Water ratings are determined by the WELS Scheme. WELS stands for water efficiency labelling and standards. Each label shows a star rating out of six. It also shows a water consumption figure based on laboratory tests.

WELS became mandatory for major water-consuming appliances and plumbing fittings from July last year. For details see www.waterrating.gov.au.

WaterMark: The Smart Approved WaterMark is Australia's outdoor water-saving labelling program for products and services that help cut domestic water use. See www.smartwatermark.org.