News

The Ozone Regulation is transposing the obligations of the Montreal Protocol at European level regarding ozone depleting substances. It is responsible for reducing the use substances such as hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) like R22. R410a was a common alternative for R22 because it had no impact on ozone. Due to its high Global Warming Potential of 2088, alternatives are being developed for R410a.

Initiated in 2015 by ESTIF, the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation, and funded by the European Commission, an online tool for calculating solar devices using the SOLCAL method is under development. The test version allows users to try it out and provide feedback about the tool to the LabelPack A+ consortium. This consortium includes Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and the United Kingdom, where national pilot projects have been developed. The main aim is to provide a tool to calculate the energy label heating packages containing various components, such as boilers, heat pumps, water heaters, storage tanks and solar panels.

The draft of the Energy Labelling requirements for refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function Regulation has just been published for the European ‘4-week feedback mechanism’ and is open for comments until mid-December.

Multiple industry associations including Eurovent have shared concerns with the European Commission over the approach taken to the integration of multifunctional units within the EU’s framework for Energy Related Products (ERP).

The updated FAQ on the Ecodesign Directive now runs up to 107 pages covering all implementing Regulations. Of note are the new FAQ on motors, fans, air conditioners (wine cellars), space heaters (heat pumps) and regulation 2016/2281 (Air to Water heat pumps, driven by an electric motor above 400kW). The interpretation of the FAQ is not legally binding.

On 13 November 2018, IEA issued its World Energy Outlook. The agency is worried about geopolitical factors influencing the energy markets. The outlook publication was preceded in October by two other publications. The one on energy efficiency notes that the efforts to improve efficiency are slowing down. The other addressed cooling and predicts an increase with 10 air conditioners being sold every second until 2050. Improving energy and environmental efficiency for this product will be a significant challenge. 

Your feedback matters to us. The Eurovent Team is constantly working on the further development of the Eurovent online portal. The latest, recently launched feature allows members to properly prepare for their meetings by downloading all meeting documents at one click as a ZIP file – instead of one by one.

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.

The European Commission is developing its ‘Circular Economy’ policy. In the first instance, it addresses consumer goods, but it is planned to be extended to other goods. The revision of the Methodology for Ecodesign of Energy-related Products (MEErP) will start in 2019 and will be modified to contain elements of the ‘Circular Economy’, including reparability. 

During the 5th meeting of the Standardisation Market Relevance Roundtable (SMARRT) it was indicated that the standardisation mandate M 129 from 1999 may need to be redrafted to be in line with the Construction Products Regulation 305/2011. Because there are harmonised standards under the Ecodesign Regulations, the need for a standardisation request for the same products under the Construction Products could be questioned.