What is verified here
The worked examples on Wattwise are arithmetic demonstrations, not measurements of a particular model or a promise about a household bill. A preset is a starting assumption. The calculator changes when you replace that assumption with a value from your appliance, meter or supplier.
An official label explains which field is energy use, capacity or efficiency. It does not supply the price you pay. We do not treat a government label's standardized annual-use figure as a measurement of your actual home, and we do not present a planning tariff as a current supplier quote.
Source hierarchy
The strongest source depends on the field. A recent measured kWh session can be best for real household behavior. An official energy label is strong for annual consumption or energy per cycle. Manufacturer documentation is useful for rated input and operating modes.
- Government database or official energy-label value
- Manufacturer documentation
- User measurement with duration and source
- Reviewed community submission
- Representative typical estimate
- Unverified or archived record
Representative preset policy
The catalogue covers household categories across cooling, heating, kitchen, laundry, entertainment, computing, water systems, pumps, EV charging, outdoor equipment, and standby devices. Presets are not associated with a brand or model unless a verifiable source is stored.
A typical estimate must display its status, review date, market where relevant, and uncertainty. Users can replace it with their own measured or labeled value without losing the original comparison.
Official label and bill references
For India, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency room-AC label specification distinguishes annual electricity consumption from cooling capacity and efficiency. Wattwise’s marked AC example uses those fields to show which value belongs in the calculator.
The US Federal Trade Commission’s EnergyGuide explanation, the Canadian EnerGuide guide, and the Australian Energy Rating guide explain the annual kWh figures and comparison context on their respective labels. Use the reference for the market and product you actually have.
For a bill-reading example, Ofgem explains UK unit rates and standing charges. Your own supplier’s current tariff and bill remain the authoritative sources for your price.
Tariff verification
Tariff versions store provider, region, effective dates, source, taxes-included status, fixed components, slabs, time periods, and last verification date. Expired versions remain available for historical calculations but are flagged as stale for new estimates.
Corrections and conflicts
Conflicting values are not silently averaged. The record keeps source, verification state, market, effective or release date, notes, and version history. Administrators review unusual wattage, duplicates, missing sources, reported errors, and stale records.