On 28 September 2010 the European Commission proposed the first labelling regulations for televisions and revised "better than A" labels for refrigerating appliances (including fridges, freezers, wine coolers etc), dishwashers and washing machines to reflect improvements in appliances' efficiency. According to the EU, these appliances when taken together, are responsible for one third of an average household's annual electricity.
Background
Energy labels are adopted by the European Commission on a product by product basis within the framework laid down by (recast) Directive 2010/30/EU which has the rather lengthy name of "indication by labelling and standard product information of the consumption of energy and other resources by energy-related products".
The proposed energy labels are to include the following information:
- Continued ranking of the energy-related products according to their energy efficiency consumption on an A to G scale.
- This will include televisions for the first time.
- Once a "significant proportion" of products in a certain category reaches class A (this is to be determined on a case-by-case basis), up to three further classes (A+/A++/A+++) may be added on the top level. When this occurs the colouring of the labels will also change ("A" becoming yellow and the higher levels becoming greener by degree). Refrigerating appliances , dishwashers and washing machines have been displaying the energy label A to G for more than 10 years. As a result of the success of the labelling, 90% of these products currently reach class A. The "better than A" labels will allow differentiation and allow alignment with technological improvements.
- Annual energy consumption or energy consumption per cycle.
- Other information which relates to the use of energy or other resources: e.g. water, volume of the appliance, etc.
[Images of proposed labels for fridges, dishwashers, washing machines and televisions are available here]
Proposed Regulations
The proposed four Regulations are subject to a right of objection by the European Parliament and Council. If there are no objections, the Regulations are expected to enter into force any time between December 2010 and February 2011. [There will be a 12 month transition period. Following the expiry of this 12 month transition period, all relevant appliances first put on the market in the EU must comply with the labelling requirements. Notably, these legal instruments are EU Regulations and therefore (unlike EU Directives) are directly applicable on all legal persons (including corporate bodies). They do not require domestic legislation in order to be enforceable (albeit there may be some domestic legislation in order to make the Regulations work smoothly within some Member States)].
The Regulations can be accessed by clicking on the following links:
Differentiation
The actual amount of energy saved would depend on the size and features of each product. A refrigerator-freezer in class A+++ is expected to consume on average 60% less than a refrigerator-freezer in class A. A dishwasher or a washing machine in class A+++ is expected to consume on average 30% less than a dishwasher or a washing machine in class A.
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
The original publication date for this article was 14/10/2010.
