New year, new rules – Ecodesign & Energy labelling
January 1st 2016 marks the entry into force of a new energy efficiency regime for residential and non-residential ventilation units which is expected to deliver energy savings of 35 Mtoe annually by 2030.
“The savings triggered by the new Ecodesign requirements for ventilation units, combined with the new Energy Label on residential ventilation units, are equivalent to the energy needed to cover the residential electricity consumption of Germany and Belgium,” says ECOS Policy Officer Chloé Fayole.
These savings are enough to offset the energy consumed by 30 Fukushima-type nuclear reactors or 220 medium-sized coal power plants (100MW). Ventilation units control air circulation and room temperatures in individual homes, as well as larger residential structures and commercial units such as offices and shops.
As of 2016, maximum energy consumption thresholds will also be tightened for computers and computer servers. The maximum annual energy consumption will now be 40% lower than in 2014 for desktop and integrated desktop computers, and 30% lower for notebook computers. The Ecodesign regulation will remove the worst performing products from the market while being flexible enough to still allow a wide range of computers without affecting their performance or speed. The European Commission estimates this will save Europeans €2 billion per year from 2020, a conservative figure based on 2008 domestic electricity prices of 0.16€/KWh. This translates to €10 off the electricity bill of every EU household each year.
This new year also sets out stricter Energy Labelling rules for domestic range hoods. From now on, the tolerated energy classes range from A+ to F, meaning class G products will be excluded from the Energy label. Progressively stricter labels are due on 1st January 2018 and on 1st January 2020.
The aim of EU Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Directives is to increase the environmental performance of products and to ensure clear labelling of the energy efficiency performance, allowing consumers to make more sustainable choices. There are currently 28 Ecodesign measures and 15 Energy labels, leading to energy savings of 175 Mtoe per year, which is equivalent to the annual energy consumption of Italy.
