Energy efficiency requirements for household electric refrigerators, freezers and combinations

OBJECTIVE: establishing European standards for the energy efficiency of household refrigerators and freezers, with a view to ensuring the implementation of the internal market, but also to reducing CO2 emissions and electricity consumption.

COMMUNITY MEASURE: Directive 96/57/EC of the European Parliament and the Council, on energy efficiency requirements for household electric refrigerators, freezers and their combinations.

SUBSTANCE: the Directive, based on the 'new approach' to standardization, falls within the framework of the SAVE programme. It sets energy efficiency standards as a function of the volume of the appliance, with different equations defined for each of the ten categories of appliance listed in Annex I.

In order to give the appliance manufacturing industry time to adapt whilst ensuring progress to a satisfactory level of efficiencies, two levels of minimum efficiency standards are envisaged:

- the first will take effect three years after the adoption of the Directive and will lead to an average improvement in efficiency of about 15%;
- before the expiry of a period of four years from the adoption of the Directive, the Commission will make an assessment of the results obtained during the first stage. It will then consider, in consultation with the interested parties, the need to lay down a second set of measures.

These measures will be based, in all cases, on energy efficiency levels which can be economically and technically justified at the time. Where neither the manufacturer nor his authorized representative is established within the Community, the Directive provides for the possibility of the importers being liable for the conformity of the refrigeration appliances.

DATE OF ENTRY INTO FORCE: 8 October 1996.

DEADLINE FOR TRANSPOSITION INTO NATIONAL LEGISLATION: 3 September 1997.