Walk into any electronics store in Korea and you’ll see it on every fridge, washer, and air conditioner: a big rainbow sticker on the front. Five arrows sweep from green to red, one of them stamped with a large number, and below that a column of Korean text and figures you’ve never seen before. You’ll spot the same sticker on the side of the wall-mounted air conditioner in your hotel or Airbnb.
It isn’t decoration and it isn’t advertising — it’s a government label required by law. Learn to read it and you can compare two products in 30 seconds at the store; live in Korea and it also explains why your summer electricity bill came out the way it did.
The Short Answer
- The 1–5 grade sticker is called the Energy Efficiency Rating Label (에너지소비효율등급 라벨). It's a mandatory program running since 1992, and the smaller the number, the less electricity it uses.
- The colors are fixed: Grade 1 green · Grade 2 light green · Grade 3 yellow · Grade 4 orange · Grade 5 red. This color system has been in place since 2008.
- A Grade 1 model uses roughly 30–40% less energy than a Grade 5 one — for some products, over 50%.
- It applies to 42 product categories (excluding cars). Of those, 23 carry the 1–5 grade label, while 17 others — fans, electric stoves, and similar, where efficiency can't really be graded — get a different-shaped label.
- The grade is a relative ranking, not an absolute performance measure. The criteria are tightened periodically, so yesterday's Grade 1 can become today's Grade 3. That's why it's more accurate to compare the monthly energy consumption figure (kWh) than the grade number itself.
What exactly is written on this sticker?
The label is a semicircle-plus-rectangle, 7 cm wide by 9.5 cm tall. It took its current shape in July 2016, in a redesign that made it bigger to put the thing shoppers care about most — money — front and center.
The top semicircle holds five arrows running from green to red, and only the arrow for the product’s grade carries a large number. The rectangle below lists the following, in order.
🏷️ What's printed on the Energy Efficiency Rating Label
| Field | Korean wording | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Efficiency grade | 1~5등급 | Color + number. 1 is the most efficient |
| Energy consumption | 월소비전력량 (kWh/month) or cooling efficiency | The single most useful number for comparing products |
| Annual energy cost | 연간에너지비용 ○○○원 | Estimated one-year electricity cost under standard conditions |
| CO₂ emissions | CO₂ 배출량 g/hour, etc. | Mandatory worldwide-first disclosure since 2009 |
| Product details | capacity, cooling capacity, etc. | So you compare products of the same size class |
| Legal basis & effective date | 에너지이용합리화법 (Energy Use Rationalization Act) | Which standard it was measured against |
How to compare in 30 seconds at the store
- First, line up products with similar capacity / cooling capacity from the product-details field. Comparing a 400L fridge's grade against an 800L fridge's is meaningless.
- Then look only at the monthly energy consumption (kWh) figure. Even two Grade 1 products differ on this number.
- Treat the annual energy cost as a rough reference. Korea's electricity pricing is progressive, so the real bill depends on your usage tier.
Is buying Grade 1 always a win?
No. This is the point Koreans themselves get confused about every summer.
Take air conditioners. Market data suggests that for a typical 18-pyeong (about 60 m²) model, the annual electricity-bill difference between Grade 1 and Grade 2 is roughly ₩50,000–60,000 — while the retail price gap between comparable units often runs into the hundreds of thousands of won. Do the simple math and recovering that difference through lower bills takes about 10 years.
In short:
⚖️ By product — is Grade 1 worth paying more for?
| Product | Usage pattern | Grade 1 premium |
|---|---|---|
| Refrigerators & kimchi fridges | 24/7 year-round | Big. The surest investment |
| Clothes dryers | 3–5×/week, heavy per-use draw | Big |
| Air conditioners | Concentrated over 2–3 summer months | Depends on your usage hours |
| Washing machines | 3–5×/week | Medium |
| TVs | 2–4 hours/day | Small. Screen size matters more |
| Air purifiers & dehumidifiers | Highly seasonal/variable | Medium |
Why are Grade 1 air conditioners so hard to find lately?
Every few years, Korean news runs a story along the lines of “not a single Grade 1 model among the 100+ air conditioners released this year.” The products didn’t get worse — the measurement standard changed.
The system is designed like this: as technology improves and the Grade 1 share climbs toward half the market, the government re-tightens the grading criteria to shrink the Grade 1 share back to around 10%. Overnight, yesterday’s Grade 2 performance becomes today’s Grade 3. Confusing for shoppers, but it’s a device to keep manufacturers competing on technology.
So keep this in mind
The grade label is a set of relative coordinates telling you "where this product sits in the Korean market right now." A Grade 1 air conditioner bought in 2019 and a Grade 1 bought in 2026 passed different test standards. That's why, when buying a used appliance, you should check the manufacture date and the grade together.
This relative grading has its critics. Because the Grade 1 share varies wildly by category, some argue it’s unfair. Air purifiers and refrigerators, for instance, had very different Grade 1 shares, and there were stretches when large TVs had no Grade 1 models at all. Critics also point to blind spots: power-hungry products like desktop computers and servers sat entirely outside the system.
Which products carry it — and why do fans have no grade?
There are 42 legally covered product categories. But not all of them get the 1–5 grade label. Only 23 carry the grade label; the rest get a separate, grade-less label.
📋 Which products get the 1–5 grade label vs. not
| Group | Representative products |
|---|---|
| 23 with the grade label (1–5) | Refrigerators, kimchi refrigerators, air conditioners, heat-pump (cooling/heating) units, washing machines, clothes dryers, dishwashers, dehumidifiers, air purifiers, electric rice cookers, vacuum cleaners, televisions, electric ranges, home gas boilers, gas water heaters, window sets, multi-type electric heat-pump systems, commercial refrigerators, and more |
| 17 with a separate, grade-less label | Electric fans, incandescent bulbs, fluorescent lamps, self-ballasted lamps, three-phase induction motors, adapters/chargers, transformers, electric fan heaters, electric stoves, set-top boxes, monitors, computers, freezers, air compressors, pumps, signage displays, garment care machines |
Why space heaters have no grade
Devices that make heat by electrical resistance — electric stoves, fan heaters — turn almost all their power draw into heat. Efficiency converges on essentially 100%, so you can't rank them on a scale. Instead, only the minimum efficiency standard applies. By contrast, heat-pump devices (air conditioners, reverse-cycle units) put 1 unit of electricity in and move 3–5 units of heat, so efficiency gaps widen dramatically — which is why they carry a grade.
Why does a traveler see this sticker?
On a trip around Korea you’ll meet this label in three places.
1. Your room’s air conditioner. Stuck to the side of the wall unit or the outdoor unit in hotels, guesthouses, and Airbnbs. If the number is 4–5 (orange/red) and the manufacture date is old, it’s generally safe to assume the room takes a while to cool down in summer. On a long stay — a month or more — where electricity is billed separately, it becomes genuinely useful information.
2. Appliance stores. Hi-mart, ET Land, department-store appliance corners, Yongsan Electronics Market — it’s mandatory on every product everywhere. It’s a more honest comparison tool than the price tag on the shelf.
3. Apartment and officetel sales ads, and real-estate listings. Because window sets are a covered product, “Grade 1 windows” gets used as a marketing phrase. If you’re house-hunting in Korea, window grades tie directly to your winter heating bill.
If you're thinking of taking an appliance overseas
- Korea runs on 220V 60Hz. Even in 220V 50Hz countries, products with motors or compressors (fridges, washers, air conditioners) can have problems from the frequency difference.
- In 110V countries, big appliances are basically not recommended even with a transformer.
- The grade label is efficiency information under Korean test standards only — it doesn't guarantee overseas compatibility or after-sales service.
- For small appliances (hair dryers, rice cookers, beauty devices), check the rated voltage and frequency printed on the back before buying.
If you live in Korea — read it together with the progressive tariff
You can’t predict an electricity bill from the grade label alone, because Korea’s residential pricing is progressive: the more you use, the higher the unit rate.
⚡ Residential low-voltage energy rates (Korea Electric Power Corporation)
| Tier | Standard months | Jul–Aug summer | Approx. unit rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | up to 200kWh | up to 300kWh | ≈ ₩120/kWh |
| Tier 2 | 201–400kWh | 301–450kWh | ≈ ₩214/kWh |
| Tier 3 | over 400kWh | over 450kWh | ≈ ₩307/kWh |
| Super-user | — | over 1,000kWh | ≈ ₩736/kWh |
Adding the same 100kWh costs about ₩12,000 inside Tier 1 but over ₩30,000 once you cross into Tier 3. The moment the energy grade’s value shows up most is exactly at these tier boundaries — whether a Grade 5 air conditioner pushes you into Tier 3, or a Grade 1 keeps you in Tier 2, multiplies your savings several times over.
Telling it apart from the other similar-looking marks
Korean appliances carry several labels. Here are the three people most often mix up.
🔖 Three energy-related marks on Korean appliances
| Mark | Official name | Type | What it certifies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow arrows + number | Energy Efficiency Rating Label | Mandatory | The product’s efficiency rank within its category (1–5) |
| Blue energy-saving mark | Standby Power Reduction program (Energy-Saving Mark) | Voluntary | Low standby power drain when switched off |
| High-efficiency equipment mark | High-Efficiency Energy Equipment Certification | Voluntary | Government-certified efficiency above ordinary products (mostly industrial/building) |
The KC mark is a safety certification, unrelated to energy — that’s a separate story. Electrical goods sold in Korea carry the KC mark independently.
Grade 1 purchases have sometimes come with cash back
The Korean government has periodically run cash-rebate programs for Grade 1 appliances. The most recent large-scale one was the Best-Efficiency Home Appliance Rebate Program.
A 2025 supplementary budget of ₩267.1 billion funded rebates of 10% of the purchase price for the top-efficiency-grade products in 11 categories — TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, and more — bought between July 4 and December 31, 2025, with applications closing on January 16, 2026. A notable feature this round was that appliance rentals (subscriptions) were also eligible.
Can I still apply now?
That program has ended. Separate tracks for vulnerable households and small-business high-efficiency equipment support are sometimes run with their own budgets, and the government tends to reshuffle and reopen similar programs every year. The accurate move at purchase time is to check Korea Energy Agency notices and KEPCO's efficiency-improvement program pages. Most programs target Korean residents and businesses — short-term visitors are not eligible.
The whole thing on one page
How to read the label, in order
- Color and number → green Grade 1 is the most efficient, red Grade 5 is the least
- Capacity / cooling capacity → check you're comparing the same size class first. Comparing grades across size classes is meaningless
- Monthly energy consumption (kWh) → this is the number to actually compare. Even two Grade 1s differ
- Annual energy cost → reference only. Progressive pricing means it can differ from your real bill
- Manufacture date → the standard changes, so an old Grade 1 is not today's Grade 1
Sources
- Korea Energy Agency, Efficiency Management System — Grade Labeling Program overview (Korean) (42 product categories, 23 grade-label categories, minimum efficiency standards, ₩20 million fine)
- Korea Energy Agency — Energy Consumption Efficiency Grade Labeling Program (Korean)
- Korea Energy Agency — Standby Power Reduction program (Energy-Saving Mark) (Korean)
- ZDNet Korea, "Best-Efficiency Home Appliance Rebate Program ends" (2026-01-20) (Korean) — 1.85 million claims, ₩234.8 billion, 48.3 GWh saved, applications closed Jan 16
- Easy-to-Find Practical Law — Checking and using energy efficiency grades (Korean)
- Energy Use Rationalization Act, Articles 15 & 16 (Korean)
- Label color scheme & history: Namu Wiki, "Energy Consumption Efficiency Grade Labeling" (Korean) — color coding introduced 2008, label spec changed to 7×9.5 cm in 2016