European Commission (EC)

The EMC Directive applies to almost all equipment that contains electrical and/or electronic components. It states that the generation of electromagnetic disturbances of appliances must be limited to such level that other appliances can function in accordance with their intended use. At the end of January 2019, the Commission published the 2018 update of its Guide to the EMC Directive.

The Montreal Protocol decision XXX/10 revises the reporting forms to be prepared by its Parties, including EU and its Member States. The revised forms require, inter alia, detailed data on HFC-23 production/by-production and emissions, as well as on imports and exports of polyols containing hydrofluorocarbons. To ensure compliance with that Montreal Protocol decision it is necessary to revise the Implementing Regulation 1191/2014 and add the new elements.

On a monthly basis, the Eurovent Team compiles a global overview of the latest developments concerning new standardisation activities and technical regulations of relevance for the HVACR industry. Our Notifications allow members to be prepared for developments that can have an impact on them and their products.

Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, Luxembourg, Poland, Sweden and Norway timely provided their 2019 programmes to the Commission. An initial review of these seven programmes indicates that a few to none surveillance activities with regards to Ecodesign will take place in 2019. Some countries classify their participation in the European programme EEPLIANT as Market Surveillance. Some major countries involving Italy, Spain and the Netherlands even failed to draft a programme in the past years.

To facilitate the comparison of different technologies with the same application, the consultant for the Review Studies proposes introducing the same Energy Efficiency classes for the appliances in the scope of Regulation (EU) 2015/1186 and Regulation (EU) 626/2011.

Earlier efforts towards DG Clima and in member states failed to get equipment that is pre-charged with F-Gases out of the quota. In a joint effort, industry associations will try to raise the issue anew.

In addition to the new Energy Label designs, the European Commission has also initiated a consumer study on the icons that would be used. At present, the consultant CentERdata is developing icons for the revised Energy Labelling Regulation for air conditioners.

The European Commission has started work on updating the Machinery Directive to improve safety levels further and to take account of the latest IT developments. The proposed revision aligns the Directive with EU harmonised legislation on product health and safety and tackles the challenges that may arise from technical progress in digitisation. The adoption of the revised Machinery Directive is scheduled for early to mid-2021.

The INTAS project has started in March 2016. It should provide policy options that could support European Market Surveillance Authorities (MSAs) when checking compliance with Ecodesign requirements for large industrial products, specifically transformers and fans. The project is coming to an end with an event on 12 February.

The revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2018/884 introduces a "Smart Readiness Indicator". The SRI will measure the buildings' capacity to use new technologies and electronic systems to adapt to the needs of the consumer, optimise its operation and interact with the grid. The European Commission has asked a consortium to develop the SRI. A first report was published in 2018.  The second study should prepare for the adoption of a delegated act by the end of 2019.