Commission Regulation (EC) No 278/2009 of 6 April 2009 implementing Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for no-load condition electric power consumption and average active efficiency of external power supplies (Text with EEA relevance )

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2005 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-using products and amending Council Directive 92/42/EEC and Directives 96/57/EC and 2000/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council⁽¹⁾ and in particular Article 15(1) thereof,

After consulting the Ecodesign Consultation Forum,

Whereas:

1. Under Directive 2005/32/EC ecodesign requirements are to be set by the Commission for energy-using products representing significant volumes of sales and trade, having a significant environmental impact and presenting significant potential for improvement in terms of their environmental impact without entailing excessive costs.

2. Article 16(2) of Directive 2005/32/EC provides that in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 19(3) and the criteria set out in Article 15(2), and after consulting the consultation forum, the Commission will as appropriate introduce an implementing measure for office equipment and consumer electronics.

3. Office equipment and consumer electronics are often powered by external power supplies (EPS) which convert electricity from the mains power source. The power conversion efficiency of external power supplies is an important aspect of the energy performance of such products, and thus external power supplies are one of the priority product groups for which ecodesign requirements should be established.

4. The Commission has carried out a preparatory study to analyse the technical, environmental and economic aspects of external power supplies. The study has been carried out together with stakeholders and interested parties from the Community and third countries, and the results have been made publicly available.

5. It is stated in the preparatory study that external power supplies are placed on the Community market in large quantities, with their annual energy consumption in all lifecycle stages being the most significant environmental aspect, and their annual electricity consumption due to losses for power conversion and no-load amounting to 17 TWh, corresponding to 6,8 Mt of CO2 emissions. In the absence of measures this consumption is predicted to increase to 31 TWh in 2020. It has been concluded that the lifecycle energy consumption and the use-phase electricity consumption can be improved significantly.

6. Improvements in the electricity consumption of external power supplies should be achieved by applying existing non-proprietary cost-effective technologies that can reduce the total costs of purchasing and operating external power supplies.

7. Ecodesign requirements should harmonise electricity consumption requirements for no-load condition power consumption and average active efficiency of external power supplies throughout the Community, thus contributing to the functioning of the internal market and to the improvement of the environmental performance of these products.

8. The ecodesign requirements should not have negative impact on the functionality of the product and should not affect negatively health, safety and the environment. In particular, the benefits of reducing electricity consumption during the use phase should more than offset potential additional environmental impacts during the production phase.

9. The two-staged entry into force of the ecodesign requirements should provide an appropriate time-frame for manufacturers to redesign products. The timing of the stages should be such that negative impacts on the functionalities of equipment on the market are avoided, and cost impacts for manufacturers, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, are taken into account, while ensuring timely achievement of the objectives of the Regulation. Measurements of the power consumption should be performed taking into account the generally recognised state of the art. Manufacturers may use harmonised standards established in accordance with Article 10 of Directive 2005/32/EC.

10. This Regulation should increase the market penetration of technologies that improve the lifecycle environmental impact of external power supplies, leading to estimated lifecycle energy savings of 118 PJ and electricity savings of 9 TWh by 2020, respectively, compared to the situation without taking any measures.

11. In conformity with Article 8 of Directive 2005/32/EC, this Regulation should specify that the applicable conformity assessment procedures are the internal design control set out in Annex IV of Directive 2005/32/EC and the management system set out in Annex V of Directive 2005/32/EC.

12. In order to facilitate compliance checks manufacturers should be requested to provide information in the technical documentation referred to in Annexes IV and V of Directive 2005/32/EC on average active efficiency and no-load electric power consumption.

13. Benchmarks for currently available technologies with high active efficiency and low no-load power consumption should be identified. This will help to ensure the wide availability and easy accessibility of information, in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises and very small firms, which will further facilitate the integration of best design technologies for reducing energy consumption.

14. Ecodesign requirements for the no-load condition of low voltage external power supplies address the same environmental impact parameter as ecodesign requirements for the off-mode condition of electrical and electronic household and office equipment placed on the market with a low voltage external power supply. As ecodesign requirements for the no-load condition of low voltage external power supplies should be more demanding than ecodesign requirements for off-mode condition of electrical and electronic household and office equipment placed on the market with a low voltage external power supply, the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 1275/2008 of 17 December 2008 implementing Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for standby and off-mode power consumption of electrical and electronic household and office equipment⁽²⁾, should not apply to electrical and electronic household and office equipment which is placed on the market with a low voltage external power supply. Regulation (EC) No 1275/2008 should therefore be amended accordingly.

15. The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 19(1) of Directive 2005/32/EC,

HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING REGULATION: