When purchasing a new appliance, in addition to the product price and the connected load, the energy consumption over the entire service life must be taken into account. The operating costs of the product life cycle are far higher than the purchase price. Equipment-specific standards specify the methods for determining the energy consumption of commercial catering equipment and define the energy consumption value measurements. This makes it possible to compare the energy consumption of different groups of appliances from different manufacturers under defined test conditions.

There are a number of national standards that cover this topic. In addition, there are more and more European harmonized standards. Examples include commercial refrigeration appliances and ongoing projects for combi steamers or commercial coffee machines.