Commission identifies next ecodesign targets

The approval of individual product standards under the ecodesign directive has taken longer than anticipated. Twelve standards relating to the first list of product groups prioritised in 2005 are still in development and none of the ten product groups on the commission's 2009-11 work programme have standards yet.

The commission will focus on completing this work and on implementation of the ecodesign regime over the next two years, anticipating the approval of 22 new standards by the end of 2014 and nine related energy labelling requirements.

This would be a significant advance on the 17 standards adopted so far - 11 of which may also be updated in the next two years. The commission also expects to approve at least two voluntary agreements developed by industry representatives.

At the same time, research will begin on nine new product groups to assess the potential for standards. Five of these will be prioritised, while work on the remainder will depend on the outcome of other regulatory reviews and studies.

The new list is based in part on a consultancy study completed last year but some of its recommended targets, including taps and showerheads, do not appear in the draft plan. There are also some additions, including power cables and smart meters.

The five prioritised products and the potential energy savings expected by 2030 are - building windows (785 petajoules per year); steam boilers under 50 megawatts (177PJ/year); power cables (182PJ/year); IT servers and storage equipment (135PJ/year) and smart meters and appliances (802PJ/year).

The four other product categories that may be considered in the next three years are - positive displacement pumps (270PJ/year); fractional horsepower motors (258PJ/year); lighting controls (610PJ/year) and heating controls (319PJ/year).

The draft work plan was discussed at a consultation meeting in Brussels on 20 January. The EU executive hopes to adopt the plan in mid-April.

Source - EndsEurope