EN   EN 
 
 
 EUROPEAN  
COMMISSION   
Brussels, XXX   
[…](2018) XXX  draft  
 
COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) …/…  
of XXX  
laying down ecodesign requirements for external power supplies pursuant to  
Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council  
 
and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 278/2009  
(Text with EEA relevance)    
EN 1  EN COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) …/…  
of XXX  
laying down ecodesign requirements for external power supplies pursuant to  
Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council  
 
and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 278/2009  
(Text with EEA relevance)  
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,  
Having regard to  Article  114 of  the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,  
Having regard to Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parl iament and of the Council of 
21 October 2009 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for 
energy -related products1, and in particular Article  15(1)  thereof,  
Whereas:  
(1) Pursuant to Directive 2009/125/E C the Commission should  set ecodesign 
requirements for energy -related products  which account for  significant volumes of 
sales and trade  in the Union and which have  a significant environmental impact and 
present significant potential for improvement through design in terms of their 
environmental impact, without entailing excessive costs.  
(2) The Ecodesign Working Plan 2016 -2019 established by the Commission in applicatio n 
of Article 16(1) of Directive 2009/125/EC sets out the working priorities under the 
ecodesign and energy labelling framework for the period 2016 -2019. The Working 
Plan identifies the energy -related product groups to be considered as priorities for the 
undertaking of preparatory studies and eventual adoption of implementing measures, 
as well as the review of the current regulations.  
(3) Measures from the Working Plan have an estimated potential to deliver  by 2030 
annual final energy savings  in excess of 260 TW h, which is equivalent to reducing 
greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 100 million tonnes. External power 
supplies are one of the product groups listed in the Working Plan .  
(4) The Commission established ecodesign requirements for external power supplie s in 
Commission Regulation (EC ) No 278/20092. Pursuant to this  Regulation the 
Commission  should review it in the light of technological progress.  
(5) The Commission has reviewed Regulation  (EC) No 278/2009  and analysed the 
technical, environmental and economic  aspects of  external power supplies  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 
                                                 
1 OJ L 285, 31.10.2009, p. 10.  
2 Commission Regulation (EC) No 278/2009 of 6 April 2009 implementing Directive 2005/32/EC of the 
European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for no -load condition 
electric power consumption and average active efficiency of e xternal power supplies (OJ L 93, 
7.4.2009, p.  3).   
EN 2  EN the review were made public and presented t o the Consultation Forum established by 
Article  18 of Directive 2009/125/EC.  
(6) The review study shows  that external power supplies are placed on the U nion market 
in large quantities,  and outlines  the benefit s of updating the  ecodesign  requirements  
and adapt ing them to the technological progress . 
(7) Multiple voltage output external power supplies, which are not covered by Regulation 
(EC) No  278/2009,  are being  placed on the U nion market in increasing numbers. They 
should  therefore  be included in the scope of the Regulation to ensure  further energy 
savings and provid e a level playing field.  
(8) Ecodesign requirements should harmonise the energy consumption of external power 
supplies, thus contributing to the functioning of the internal market . They  should  also 
improve the environmental performance of external power supplies . Potential a nnual  
final energy savings  of 4,3 TWh  by 2030 , corresponding to  1,45 million tonnes of 
CO2 equivalent,  were estimated compared with the situation where no  further 
measures are taken . 
(9) The relevant product parameters should be measured using  reliable, accurate and 
reproducible methods . Tho se methods  should  take into account recognised state -of-
the-art measurement methods including, where available, harmonised standards 
adopted by the European standardisation organisations , as listed in Annex  I to 
Regulation (EU) No  1025/2012  of the European Parliament and o f the Council3. 
(10) In accordance with Article  8 of Directive 2009/125/EC, this Regulation should specify 
the applicable conformity assessment procedures.  
(11) To facilitate compliance checks, manufacturers should provide information in the 
technical docum entation referred to in Annexes  IV and V to Directive 2009/125/EC in 
so far as that information relates to the requirements laid down in this Regulation .  
(12) In addition to the legally binding requirements laid down in this Regulation, indicative 
benchmarks for  best a vailable 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 Directive 2009/125/EC , 
Annex  1, part  3, point  (2). 
(13) A review of this Regulation should assess the appropriateness and effectiveness of its 
provisions in achieving its goals. The timing of the review should be sufficient for all 
provisions to be implemented and show an effect on the market . 
(14) Regulation  (EC) No 278/2009  should  therefore  be repealed.  
(15) 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 , 
                                                 
3 Regulation (EU) No  1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25  October 2012 on 
European standardisation, amending Council Directives 89/686/EEC and 93/15/EEC and Directives 
94/9/EC, 94/ 25/EC, 95/16/EC, 97/23/EC, 98/34/EC, 2004/22/EC, 2007/23/EC, 2009/23/EC and 
2009/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Decision 
87/95/EEC and Decision No  1673/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 316, 
14.11.2012, p. 12).   
EN 3  EN HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:  
Article 1  
Subject matter and scope  
1. This Regulation establishes ecodesign requirements for placing  external power 
supplies  on the market and putting  them  into service . 
2. This Regulation shall not apply to:  
(a) voltage converters;  
(b) uninterruptible power supplies;  
(c) battery chargers;  
(d) lighting converters;  
(e) external power supplies for medical devices;  
(f) active power over Ethernet  injectors ; 
(g) external power supplies placed on the market by 30 June 2025  as a service part 
or spare part for an identical external power supply placed on the market by 
1 April  2021  at the latest , under the condition that the service part or spare part, 
or its packaging, clearly indicates the primary load product(s) the spare part or 
service part is intended to be used with.  
Article 2 
Definitions  
For the purpose of this R egulation the following definitions shall apply . 
(1) ‘external power supply ’ means a device which meets all of the following criteria:  
(a) it is designed to convert alternating current (AC) power input from the mains 
power source input into lower voltage direct cu rrent (DC) or AC output;  
(b) it is intended to be used with one or more  separate device s that constitute  the 
primary load;  
(c) it is contained in a physical enclosure separate from the device  or devices that 
constitute  the primary load;  
(d) it is connected to the devi ce or devices that constitute  the primary load with 
removable or hard -wired male/female electrical connection s, cable s, cord s or 
other wiring s; 
(e) it has nameplate output power  not exceeding 250  watts; and 
(f) it is intended for use with electrical and electronic  household and office 
equipment . 
(2) ‘low voltage external power supply’ means an external power supply with a 
nameplat e output voltage of less than 6  volts and a nameplate output curre nt greater 
than or equal to 550  milliamperes . 
(3) ‘multiple voltage output exte rnal power supply’ means an external power supply able 
to convert AC power input from the mains power source into  more than one  
simultaneous output at lower DC or AC voltage .  
EN 4  EN (4) ‘voltage converter ’ means a device converting 230  volts  mains power source input  to 
110 volts  power output with characteristics similar to mains power source input 
characteristics . 
(5) ‘uninterruptible power supply’ means a device  that automatically  provid es backup 
power when the electrical power from the mains power source drops to an 
unacceptable voltage level . 
(6) ‘battery charger’ means a device that connects directly to a removable battery at its 
output interface . 
(7) ‘lighting converter’ means an external power supply used with extra low voltage 
light sources . 
(8) ‘active power over Ethernet injector ’ means a device that  converts the 230  volts  
mains power source input to a lower DC voltage output, has one or more Ethernet 
input and  one or more  Ethernet  output ports, delivers power to one or several devices 
connected to the Ethernet output port (s), and provide s the rated voltage at the  output  
ports (s) only when compatible devices are detected  following  a standardised process .  
(9) ‘nameplate output power’ (P O) means the output power as specified by the 
manufacturer . 
(10) ‘no-load condition’ means the con dition in which the input of an external power 
supply is connected to the mains power source, but the output is not connected to any 
primary load . 
(11) ‘active mode’ means a condition in which the input of an external power supply is 
connected to the mains powe r source and the output is connected to a load . 
(12) ‘active mode efficiency’ means the ratio of the power produced by an external power 
supply in active mode to the input power required to produce it . 
(13) ‘average active efficiency’ means the average of the active  mode efficiencies at 
25 %, 50  %, 75  % and 100  % of the nameplate output power.  
Article 3 
Ecodesign requirements  
External power supplies  shall comply with the e codesign requirements set out  in Annex  I. 
Article 4  
Conformity assessment  
1. The conformity assessment p rocedure referred to in Article  8 of Directive 
2009/125/EC shall be the internal design control system set out in Annex  IV to that 
Directive or the man agement system set out in Annex  V to that Directive.  
2. Where the information included in the te chnical documentation for a particular 
model has been obtained by calculation on the basis of design, or extrapolation from 
another model , or both, the documentation shall include details of such calculations 
or extrapolations, or both, and of tests carrie d out  by manufacturers to verify the 
accuracy of the calculations undertaken.    
EN 5  EN Article 5 
Verification procedure for market surveillance purposes  
Member States ’ authorities  shall apply the verificatio n procedure set out in Annex II to this 
Regulation when performing the market surveillanc e checks referred to in Article  3(2) of 
Directive 2009/125/EC.  
Article 6 
Indicative benchmarks  
The indicative benchmarks for the best -performing products and technologies available on the 
market at the time of adopting this Regulation are set out  in Annex  III. 
Article 7 
Review  
The Commission shall review  this Regulation  in the light of technological progress  and 
present the results  of this review , including , if appropriate, a draft revision proposal , to the 
Consultation Forum  no later than  [OP – please insert date - four years after its entry into 
force ].  
The review  shall assess  in particular : the feasibility  of setting a requirement regarding 
minimum energy efficiency at 10  % load ; options for inclu ding wireless chargers  and active  
power over Ethernet injectors  within the scope  of the Regulation;  and options  for including  
requirements in support of circular economy objectives.  
Article 8 
Repeal  
Regulation (EC) No  278/2009 shall be repealed with effect  from  1 April  2020. 
Article 9 
Entry into force  and application  
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in  
the Official Journal of the European Union . 
It shall apply  from 1 April  2020 .  
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.  
Done at Brussels,  
 For the Commission  
 Jean-Claude JUNCKER  
 The President