COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) 2023/826 of 17 April 2023 laying down ecodesign requirements for off mode, standby mode, and networked standby energy consumption of electrical and electronic household and office equipment pursuant to Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Commission Regulations (EC) No 1275/2008 and (EC) No 107/2009 (Text with EEA relevance)

(1)

Under Directive 2009/125/EC the Commission is to set ecodesign requirements for energy-related products which account for significant volumes of sales and trade in the EU, have a significant environmental impact and present significant potential for improvement through design in terms of their environmental impact, without entailing excessive costs.

(2)

Communication COM(2016)773 (2) sets out the working priorities under the ecodesign and energy labelling framework for 2016-2019. The 2016 ecodesign working plan sets out the energy-related product groups to be considered as priorities for undertaking preparatory studies and possibly adopting implementing measures, and provides for a review of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1275/2008 (3).

(3)

The energy consumption of electrical and electronic household and office equipment in off mode, standby mode and networked standby is one of the measures listed in the Communication, with an estimated 4 TWh of annual final energy savings by 2030, corresponding to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 1,36 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

(4)

The Commission established ecodesign requirements for off mode and standby mode energy consumption of electrical and electronic household and office equipment in Regulation (EC) No 1275/2008 and added requirements for networked standby energy consumption in Commission Regulation (EU) No 801/2013 (4). Under those Regulations the Commission is to review the ecodesign requirements in the light of technological progress.

(5)

The Commission has reviewed Regulation (EC) No 1275/2008 and analysed the technical, environmental and economic aspects of energy consumption of electrical and electronic household and office equipment in off mode, standby mode, and networked standby, as well as real-life user behaviour. The review was carried out in close cooperation with stakeholders and interested parties from the Union and third countries. The results of the review were made public and presented to the Consultation Forum established by Article 18 of Directive 2009/125/EC.

(6)

The review shows the benefit of continued and improved requirements, adapted to technological progress, regarding the energy consumption of electrical and electronic household and office equipment in off mode, standby mode, and networked standby.

(7)

The annual energy consumption in off mode, standby mode and networked standby of products subject to this Regulation in the EU was estimated in the review at 59,4 TWh in 2015, corresponding to 23,8 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gas emissions. In a business-as-usual scenario, that energy consumption is projected to decrease by 2030, mostly because of the gradual application of ecodesign requirements introduced by Regulation (EU) No 801/2013. However, that decrease is expected to slow down unless the applicable ecodesign requirements are updated.

(8)

The application of this Regulation should be limited to products corresponding to household and office equipment intended for use in the domestic environment, which, for information technology equipment, corresponds to class B equipment as set out in the EN 55022:2010 standard.

(9)

Operating modes not covered by this Regulation, such as the ACPI S3 mode of computers, should be considered in product-specific implementing measures under Directive 2009/125/EC.

(10)

Requirements on off mode, standby mode, and networked standby should be set out in product-specific implementing measures under Directive 2009/125/EC where possible, taking into account the specificities of each product group and the possibility to deliver additional energy and greenhouse gas emission savings.

(11)

Products equipped with low voltage external power supplies, which were exempted from the scope of Regulation (EC) No 1275/2008 by Commission Regulation (EC) No 278/2009 (5), are rapidly evolving in terms of their functionalities and are being placed on the EU market in increasing numbers. They should therefore be included in scope of this Regulation to ensure further energy savings and provide a level playing field for manufacturers.

(12)

Portable battery-operated products with a recharging circuit that have to be plugged in to recharge should be covered by this regulation, because they depend on energy input from the mains.

(13)

Products containing a recharging circuit, where the power is consumed in off mode and standby mode while the battery is not being charged, should be included in the scope of this regulation to ensure energy savings.

(14)

Printing equipment that generates printed output from electronic input on paper or other media should be covered by this Regulation to ensure energy savings, while three-dimensional printing equipment should be excluded for the time being from this Regulation.

(15)

Simple set-top boxes covered by Commission Regulation (EC) No 107/2009 (6) are no longer significant part of the market and their remaining standby and off mode power consumption should be covered by this Regulation. Regulation (EC) No 107/2009 should therefore be repealed.

(16)

Motor-operated adjustable furniture operated by electric means and motor-operated building elements spend extensive amounts of time in off mode, standby mode, and networked standby and so offer significant potential for improved energy consumption while in those modes. Therefore, they should also be included in scope of this Regulation.

(17)

Ecodesign requirements should align across the EU, levels of the energy consumption by electrical and electronic household and office equipment in off mode, standby mode, and networked standby. This will contribute to the functioning of the single market. It should also improve the environmental performance of electrical and electronic household and office equipment.

(18)

The relevant product parameters should be measured using reliable, accurate and reproducible methods. Those methods should take into account recognised state-of-the-art measurement methods including, where available, harmonised standards adopted by the European standardisation organisations, listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7).

(19)

In accordance with Article 8 of Directive 2009/125/EC, this Regulation should specify the applicable conformity assessment procedures.

(20)

In order to improve the effectiveness and credibility of this Regulation and protect consumers, products that automatically alter their performance in test conditions with the objective of reaching a more favourable level for any of the parameters specified in this Regulation should not be allowed to be placed on the market.

(21)

In addition to the requirements laid down in this Regulation, benchmarks for best available technologies should be identified to make information on products’ environmental performance over their life cycle subject to this Regulation widely available and easily accessible, in accordance with point 2 of Part 3 of Annex I to Directive 2009/125/EC.

(22)

A review of this Regulation should assess the appropriateness and effectiveness of its provisions in achieving its goals.

(23)

In view of the scope of new and modified ecodesign requirements set out in this Regulation and in order to ensure better clarity, Regulation (EC) No 1275/2008 should be repealed.

(24)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 19(1) of Directive 2009/125/EC,

(1)

‘electrical and electronic household and office equipment’ or ‘equipment’ means any energy-related product listed in Annex II which fulfils the following conditions:

(2)

‘mains’ means the electricity supply from the grid of 230 (± 10 %) volts of alternating current at 50 Hz;

(3)

‘standby mode’ means a condition where the equipment is connected to the mains power source, depends on energy input from the mains power source to work as intended and provides only one or more of the following functions, which may persist for an indefinite time:

(4)

‘reactivation function’ means a function that via a remote switch, a remote control, an internal sensor or timer provides a switch from standby mode to another mode, including active mode, providing additional functions;

(5)

‘main function’ means a function delivering the main service(s) for which the equipment is designed, tested and marketed, and which corresponds to the intended use of the equipment;

(6)

‘information or status display’ means a continuous function providing information or indicating the status of the equipment on a display, including clocks. A simple light indicator is not considered a status display;

(7)

‘active mode’ means a condition in which the equipment is connected to the mains power source and at least one of the main functions has been activated;

(8)

‘off mode’ means a condition in which the equipment is connected to the mains power source and is not providing any function, or it is in a condition providing only:

(9)

‘network’ means a communication infrastructure with a topology of links, an architecture, including the physical components, organisational principles, communication procedures and formats (protocols);

(10)

‘networked standby’ means a condition in which the equipment is able to resume a function by way of a remotely initiated trigger from a network connection;

(11)

‘remotely initiated trigger’ means a signal that comes from outside the equipment via a network;

(12)

‘model identifier’ means a code, usually alphanumeric, which distinguishes a specific equipment model from other models with the same trade mark or the same manufacturer’s, importer’s or authorised representative’s name;

(13)

‘equivalent model’ means an equipment model which has the same technical characteristics relevant for the technical information to be provided in accordance with Annex II, but which is placed on the market or put into service by the same manufacturer, importer or authorised representative as another equipment model with a different model identifier;

(14)

‘declared values’ means the values provided by the manufacturer, importer or authorised representative for the stated, calculated or measured technical parameters in accordance with Article 4, for the verification of compliance by the Member State authorities.

(a)

the requirements for standby, off mode and networked standby;

(b)

the requirements for networked standby for HiNA equipment and equipment with HiNA functionality and their distinction with non-HiNA equipment;

(c)

including in the scope of this Regulation other relevant product groups, including products used in the services sector;

(d)

setting requirements for the battery maintenance mode of battery chargers.