How to Read the Philippine Aircon Energy Label: CSPF, Stars and Monthly kWh

The yellow Philippine energy label tells you two things you can trust across every aircon: the rated power input in watts and the Energy Efficiency Rating, which is the CSPF. Higher CSPF means more cooling per kWh. The stars and the “monthly energy consumption” figure are useful too, but only when you compare labels issued in the same year, because the formula and star bands changed between older and newer labels.

Where the label is and why it matters

The Department of Energy’s labelling program covers window and split aircons, both fixed-speed and inverter, up to 14 kW of cooling. The label must be stuck on the front grille or the outside of the indoor unit. It is issued under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act (Republic Act No. 11285), and removing or altering it is a violation.

In a household survey cited by CLASP, only about 9.2% of households could understand the older, pre-star label. You don’t need to memorise it, but a few numbers do matter.

What each part of the label means

CSPF: the number to compare

CSPF stands for Cooling Seasonal Performance Factor. It is the total heat an aircon removes from a room over a standard year, divided by the electricity it uses for cooling over that year. Because it covers a whole season, including part-load running, it shows inverter savings better than a single full-load test.

The DOE’s guidelines behind the older labels set minimum CSPFs of 3.08 for units below 3.33 kW and 2.81 for 3.33 to 9.99 kW. A later DOE draft proposed separate minimums for fixed-speed (3.19) and inverter (3.70) units, with separate star bands for each.

Stars: compare only within one label version

One star is the lowest CSPF band and five the highest, but the bands moved. Real examples from labels we checked:

• TCL TAC-09CWI/UB2, older label: CSPF 5.12 = 5 stars
• Kolin KA-100GQAIINV32, newer label: CSPF 5.60 = 4 stars
• LG LA080ENT, newer label: CSPF 4.70 = 3 stars

So a newer 4-star unit can be more efficient than an older 5-star one. Some listings still advertise the higher star count; the Kolin Quad AI listings say 5 stars, but the label shows 4. Go by the label.

Monthly kWh: older vs newer labels

Older labels use this formula:

Monthly kWh = power input (kW) × 9 hours × 30 days × F, where F = 0.8 for fixed-speed and 0.5 for inverter units.

You can check it yourself:

• Samsung AR60H13D1FWNTC (inverter split): 1.03 kW × 9 × 30 × 0.5 = 139.05 kWh, exactly what the label prints.
• Everest ETA07WDR3-HF (fixed-speed window): 0.565 kW × 9 × 30 × 0.8 = 122.04 kWh, also exactly on the label.

Newer labels print lower monthly figures that don’t follow that formula. The LG LA080ENT (800 W) shows 57 kWh, while the older formula would give 108 kWh. The Kolin KA-100GQAIINV32 (740 W) shows 57.15 kWh. That doesn’t mean newer aircons use half the electricity. The figure is just calculated differently, so don’t compare monthly kWh across label versions.

To turn a label figure into pesos, multiply by your rate. At an example rate of ₱12 per kWh (use your own bill’s rate, from our electricity rates page), the Samsung’s 139.05 kWh comes to about ₱1,669 a month on the label’s 9-hours-a-day basis. For your own hours, use the aircon electricity cost calculator or our guide on how to calculate aircon electricity cost.

EER: watch the units

Some brands also publish an EER (energy efficiency ratio), a single-point figure. Two units are in use:

• kJ/h per W: e.g. Fujidenzo HIS-103AG, 11.85
• W/W: e.g. Samsung AW40F09D0ATNTC, 3.1

To compare, multiply W/W by 3.6. Samsung’s 3.1 W/W ≈ 11.2 kJ/h per W. EER is not the same as CSPF, so don’t compare an EER with another unit’s CSPF.

When the listing and label disagree

We found several cases where a listing’s numbers didn’t match the label:

• A TCL TAC-09CWI/UB2 listing says 1,450 watts. The label says 850 W; 1,450 W is the top of its power range.
• A TCL TAC-12CWI/UB2 listing says 1,550 watts. The label says 1,100 W.
• Kolin Quad AI listings say 5 stars. The labels show 4 stars.

Ask the seller for a photo of the label, and check it again when the unit arrives. Make sure the model code matches. Market suffixes such as “TC” are common, but the base code should be the same.

Shopping checklist

1. Write down the power input (W) and CSPF from each label.
2. Compare CSPF within the same HP size.
3. Compare stars and monthly kWh only if the labels share an issuance year.
4. Ignore savings percentages in ads; the label carries no savings percentage.
5. Check whether it is fixed-speed or inverter. Our guide to “inverter class” and “inverter grade” explains the marketing terms.

Verified examples with both numbers, such as the TCL TAC-09CWI/UB2 on Lazada (Shopee) and the Kolin KA-100GQAIINV32 on Lazada, are compared in our 1HP window ranking.

Bottom line

Read the label for watts and CSPF first, and treat stars and monthly kWh as same-year comparisons only. If an ad and the label disagree, go by the label.