Selling electrical appliances online: EnergyGuide labels, safety marks and state rules

Most rules for appliances are about the product: its wiring, its safety mark, its efficiency. One is about the web page. US rules ask a website selling refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, clothes washers, water heaters, televisions, room air conditioners and other covered products to show a legible image of each model's EnergyGuide label, clearly and close to the price. It is one of the few rules that tells a seller exactly what must appear on the listing.

This page covers the EnergyGuide rule, Amazon's fields for it, Walmart's home goods rules, and the marks Canada and the EU expect.

What this page covers: kitchen and household appliances, heaters, fans, refrigerators and freezers, washers and dishwashers, water heaters and televisions.

The short version

• A website selling a covered appliance must show a legible image of its EnergyGuide label for each model, close to the price. A linked icon is allowed.
• Amazon's templates for tools, home, lighting and consumer electronics have Energy Labeling Rule fields for the label image.
• Walmart asks sellers delivering unvented fuel heaters to follow state law, and bars products a regulator has found unsafe.
• Canada expects a recognised certification mark before sale.
• The EU needs CE marking and, for labelled groups, the energy label shown online.

Does an appliance listing need the EnergyGuide label?

Yes, for covered products. The rule is plain: for each model of a covered product, a website must show a legible image of the EnergyGuide label, clearly and close to the price. Instead of the full image, a linked icon that opens it is allowed.

Covered products include refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, clothes washers, water heaters, televisions and room air conditioners, among others. If you sell several models, each needs a label image of its model.

On Amazon, the templates for tools, home, lighting and consumer electronics carry Energy Labeling Rule fields where the label image goes. On your Shopify store, place the label image or its icon beside the price.

What does Walmart ask of appliance sellers?

Walmart asks sellers delivering unvented fuel heaters to follow the law of the state they deliver to, and bars products a regulator has found unsafe.

What should appliance images show?

Appliance images should show the EnergyGuide label, the rating plate and the appliance's real size:

• A scan or straight photo of each model's EnergyGuide label, sharp enough to read every figure.
• The rating plate or safety mark on the appliance, readable.
• The appliance at its real size in a room, so a buyer can judge the space it needs.

Do appliances sold in Canada need a certification mark?

Yes. Electrical products sold in Canada must carry a recognised certification mark before sale. Check which marks are recognised where your buyers live before you list on Amazon.ca.

What do appliances need in the EU?

Appliances sold in the EU need CE marking under the Low Voltage Directive. Products in groups with an EU energy label must show that label in online listings too.

How Commicorn helps

• Your label, as printed. On the Untouched product route your photo's pixels are never redrawn, so the rating plate and safety marks stay exactly as printed.
• Real size, from your measurements. The Dimensions image shows the measurements you give us.
• One thing to add yourself. Upload each model's EnergyGuide label image to the marketplace's field, or beside the price on your store. We do not make or edit that label.

Questions sellers ask

Which appliances need an EnergyGuide label online?

Refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, clothes washers, water heaters, televisions and room air conditioners, among other covered products.

Can I use a link instead of the EnergyGuide label image?

Yes. Instead of the full image, a linked icon that opens the label is allowed.

Where does the EnergyGuide label go on Amazon?

In the Energy Labeling Rule fields of Amazon's templates for tools, home, lighting and consumer electronics.

Does every appliance model need its EnergyGuide label image?

Yes. If you sell several models, each needs the label image for that model.

Do appliances sold in the EU need an energy label online?

Products in groups with an EU energy label must show that label in online listings, and appliances need CE marking under the Low Voltage Directive.

Before you list

Have each model's EnergyGuide label image, a readable photo of the rating plate and safety mark and, for Canada, a recognised certification mark ready before the listing goes live. On a borderline appliance, 16 CFR 305.27 decides whether the EnergyGuide label must sit beside the price; in the EU, the energy labelling regulation decides whether its label must show online, and the Low Voltage Directive sets the CE marking.