European Commission (EC)

On behalf of the European Commission (DG CLIMA), Öko-Recherche is working on a series of analysis evaluating the implementation of the F-Gas Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 since 2015. This includes, among others, monitoring of the refrigerant prices. The Q2/2019 report has been recently shared with Eurovent.

The European Commission has released the 2019 pocketbook with data up to 2017. Whereas the first pocketbooks elaborated mainly on energy figures, the 2019 version also covers socio-economic indicators and the impact of the energy sector on the environment.

The month of September has seen the release of a few documents. Of these, the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling review study for space and water heaters will interest manufacturers of heat pumps. The methodology to forecast and promote efficiency in heating and cooling has been improved, this will mainly affect the development of the national forecasts (including threats and opportunities for technologies). Lastly, the EEPLIANT3 activities have started. 

On behalf of the European Commission (DG CLIMA), Öko-Recherche is, monitoring of the refrigerant prices. The Q1/2019 report was shared with GEN – 1043.00. The year 2021 will see the third step in the phase-down. 2021 will also see the introduction of a carbon tax in France. 

Within the context of the EU-China Industrial Policy Dialogue, a 15-month cooperation project on Ecodesign has been set up. The project aims to get a better understanding of the European and Chinese views and is supported by a common EU-China website.

In October 2018, the ‘scoping study’ regarding BACS ended. It resulted in identifying BACS as a candidate for a full Ecodesign preparatory study that may result in a Regulation. The ‘preparatory study’ started in July 2019. Together with Ms Charlotte van de Water, Expert Energy & Climate for Buildings of the member association Agoria, we have summarised the outcome of the scoping study and outlined the challenges for BACS and products that integrate control.

On 30 August 2019 Eurovent was invited to attend the kick-off meeting on 4 September. Due to the tight deadline it was not possible for Eurovent to be present. The EEPLIANT meetings are open for the participating Market Surveillance Authorities (MSAs)that for specific meetings invite stakeholders. The minutes of the first meeting on RVU will be shared with Eurovent and the consortium is looking for input from industry by 30 October.

Within Agoria, Member Association of Eurovent, its Expert Energy & Climate for Buildings, Ms Charlotte van de Water, has drafted an introduction and overview on EPREL to guide manufacturers. Her document is concise and provides in simple terms the basic know-how for manufacturers. Within Eurovent, the manufacturers of air conditioners, space and water heater (including heat pumps), local space heaters, professional refrigeration equipment, residential ventilation units and, when the Regulation is published refrigerated display cabinets have to register their products in EPREL.

This new version includes fixes to minor issues signalled by suppliers when uploading their product models in the database manually or using system-to-system communication. It also adds some new functionalities and cosmetic changes.

Eurovent offers the Legislation Database as one of the many features of the restricted section of its website. It collects all EU legislation of relevance for the HVACR industry in one place, including not only the regulatory texts, but also preparatory studies, impact assessments, review studies, references to harmonised standards, and European Commission guidelines and FAQ documents.