Poll: do energy ratings sway your purchasing habits?

With this year's Earth Hour bearing down on us like a stampede of light bulbs heading for the off switch, we'd like to take your pulse on Energy Rating labels: do they affect your purchasing decisions and for which products do they matter to you?

Currently, the Federal Government's Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts measures the energy use of a number of common household appliances and affixes an Energy Rating label on them. Headlining this label is the prominent star rating, where more stars equals greater efficiency.

Appliances that are currently covered by the Energy Rating system are air-cons, clothes washers and dryers, dishwashers, fridges and freezers, and televisions. The Energy Rating website allows you to search items in each category based on specifications and each product's rating.

Vote for each applicable appliance in our poll on the right. Unfortunately, you'll have to reload the page to get the options to reappear. If you have any further thoughts regarding energy use, ratings and their affect on your purchasing habits please share them with us in the comments section below.