EN   EN 
 
 
 EUROPEAN  
COMMISSION   
Brussels, XXX   
[…](2018) XXX  draft  
 
COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) …/…  
of XXX  
laying down ecodesign requirements for refrigerating appliances pursuant to  
Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council  
 
and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 643/2009  
(Text with EEA relevance)    
EN 1  EN COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) …/…  
of XXX  
laying down ecodesign requirements for refrigerating appliances pursuant to  
Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council  
 
and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 643/2009  
(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/ EC 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 
presenting significant potential for improvement th rough design in terms of their 
environmental impact, without entailing excessive costs.  
(2) The Ecodesign Working Plan 2016 -2019 established by the Commission in application 
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 we ll as the review of the current regulations .  
(3) Measures from the Working Plan have an estimated potential to deliver a total in 
excess of 260 TWh of annual final energy savings in 2030, which is equivalent to 
reducing greenhouse gas emissions by approximate ly 100 million tonnes per year in 
2030. Refrigerating appliances  is one of the product groups listed in the Working Plan, 
with an estimated 10 TWh of annual final energy savings in 2030 . 
(4) The Commission established ecodesign requirements for household refri gerating 
appliances  in Commission Regulation (EU) No 643/20092 and pursuant to that 
Regulation, the Commission should regularly review the Regulation in the light of 
technological progress.  
                                                 
1 Directive 2009/125/EC of The European Parliament And Of The Council of 21 October 2009 
establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy -related products (OJ L 
285, 31.10.2009, p. 10).  
2 Commission Regulation (EU) No  643/2009  of 22 July 2009 implementing Directive 2009/125/EC of 
the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for household 
refrigerating appliances ( OJ L 193, 23.07.2009, p. 53 ).  
EN 2  EN (5) The Commission has reviewed (EU) No 643/2009 and analysed the technical, 
environmental and economic aspects of refrigerating appliances  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 revie w 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 the 
technological progress of refrigerating appliances . Specifically , it shows that energy 
efficiency requirements for wine storage appliances can be introduced and that 
correction factors can be eliminated or significantly reduced.  
(7) The annual energy  consumption of products subject to this Regulation in the Union 
was estimated at  86 TWh in 2015 , corresponding to 34 million tonnes of CO 2 
equivalent  greenhouse gas emissions . The projected energy consumption of 
refrigerating appliances in a business -as-usual scenario is projected to  decrease by 
2030 . However , this reduction is expected to slow down u nless the existing ecodesign 
requirements  are updated . 
(8) The environmental aspects of the refrigerating appliances in the scope of this 
Regulation that have been identified as significant for the purposes of this Regulati on 
are energy consumption in the use phase, increased energy use over the product life 
due to leaking door gaskets , poor reparability  and suboptimal food preservation 
options resulting in  avoidable food waste . 
(9) The Commission Communications  on the circular economy3 and the Communication 
on the ecodesign working plan4 underline the importance of using the ecodesign 
framework to support the move towards a more resource efficient and circular 
economy. Directive 2012/19/EU  of the European Parliament and of the C ouncil5 refers 
to Directive 2009/125/EC which indicates that ecodesign requirements should 
facilitate the re -use, dismantling and recovery of waste electrical and electronic 
equipment (WEEE ) by tackling the issues upstream. This Regulation should therefore  
lay down appropriate requirements for this. 
(10) Refrigerating  appliances with a direct sales function will be subject to  a separate 
ecodesign regulation which is under preparation at the time of publication of this 
Regulation.  
(11) Chest freezers, including professional chest freezers, should be in the scope of this 
Regulation, as they are out of the scope of the Commission Regulation (EU) 
2015/10956 and can be used in other environments than professional environments.  
(12) Wine storage a ppliances and low noise refrigerating appliances ( such as  minibars), 
including those with transparent doors , do not have a direct sales function. Wine bars 
                                                 
3 Communication From The Commission To Th e European Parliament, The Council, The European 
Economic And Social Committee And The Committee Of The Regions Closing The Loop - An EU 
Action Plan For The Circular Economy (COM/2015/0614 final of 02.12/2015)  
4 Communication from the Commission Ecodesign Working Plan. COM(2016) 773 final, Brussels, 
30 November 2016.  (COM(2016) 773 final of 30.11.2016)  
5 Directive 2012/19/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4  July 2012 on waste 
electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) (OJ L 197, 24.7.2012, p. 38 ) 
6 Commission Reg ulation (EU) 2015/1095 of 5 May 2015 implementing Directive 2009/125/EC of 
the  European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for 
professional refrigerated storage cabinets, blast cabinets, condensing units and process chille rs. (OJ 
L 177, 8.7.2015, p. 19).   
EN 3  EN are usually either used in household environments or in restaurants , whereas  mini bars 
are usually u sed in hotel rooms. Therefore, wine storage appliances and mini bars, 
including those with transparent doors should covered by  this Regulation.  
(13) The relevant product parameters should be measured using  reliable, accurate and 
reproducible methods . Those meth ods should  take into account recognised state -of-
the-art measurement methods including, where available, harmonised standards 
adopted by the European standardisation bodies , as listed in Annex  I to Regulation 
(EU) No  1025/2012  of the European Parliament an d of the Council7. 
(14) In accordance with Article  8 of Directive 2009/125/EC, this Regulation should specify 
the applicable conformity assessment procedures.  
(15) To facilitate compliance checks, manufacturers should provide information in the 
technical documentati on 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 .  
(16) For market surveillance purpose s, manufacturers should be allowed to refer to the 
product database if the technical documentation  as per Regulation [OP – please enter 
the Regulation number of the Energy Labelling Regulation  for refrigerating 
appliance s] contains the same information.  
(17) To improve the effectiveness of th is Regulation  and to protect consumers , products 
that automatically alter  their performance in test conditions to improve the declared 
parameters should be prohibited . 
(18) In addition to the legally binding requirements laid down in this Regulation, indicative 
benchmarks for best available technologies should be identified to make information 
on the 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). 
(19) A review of this Regulation should assess the appropriateness and effectiveness of its 
provisions in achieving its goals. The timing of t he review should allow  for all 
provisions to be implemented and show an effect on the market . 
(20) Regulation (EU) No  643/2009 should therefore be repealed . 
(21) 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,  
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:  
Article 1  
Subject matter and scope  
1. This Regulation establishes ecodesign requirements for the placing on the market of 
and the putting into service of  electric mains -operated refrigerating appliances  with a 
volume of more  than 10 litres and less than or equal to 1500 litres . 
2. This Regulation does not apply to:  
                                                 
7 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 4  EN (a) products covered by Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/1095 with regard to 
ecodesign requirements for professional refrigerated storage cabinets, blast 
cabinets, condensing units and process chillers ; 
(b) refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function;  
(c) mobile refrigerating appliances.  
Article 2  
Definitions  
For the purpose of this Regulation,  the following definitions shall apply:  
(1) ʻmains ’ or ‘electric mains’ means the electricity supply from the grid of 230 (±10  %) 
volt of alternating current at 50  Hz; 
(2) ‘refrigerating appliance’ means an insulated cabinet with one or more compartments 
that are contr olled at specific temperatures, cooled by natural or forced convection 
whereby the cooling is obtained by one or more  energy consuming means ; 
(3) ‘compartment’ means an enclosed space within a refrigerating appliance, which is 
directly accessible through one o r more external doors and may itself be divided into 
sub-compartments. For the purpose of this Regulation, unless specified otherwise, 
‘compartment’ refers to both compartments and sub -compartments;  
(4) ‘external door’ is the part of a cabinet that can be move d or removed to at least allow 
the load to be moved from the exterior to the interior or from the interior to the 
exterior of the cabinet;  
(5) ‘sub-compartment’ means a permanent enclosed space in a compartment having a 
different operating temperature range from the compartment in which it is located ; 
(6) ‘volume’ (V) means the volume of the space within the inside liner of the 
refrigerating appliance , equal to the sum of the compartment volumes, in dm³ or 
litres ; 
(7) ‘compartment volume’ ( Vc) means the volume of the  space within the inside liner of 
the compartment, expressed in dm³ or litres;  
(8) ‘refrigerating appliance with a direct sales function ’ means an refrigerating appliance 
used for the functions of  displaying and selling  items at specified temperatures below 
the ambient temperature to customers, accessible directly through open sides or via 
one or more doors  or drawers , or both , including cabinets with areas used for storage 
or assisted serving of items not accessible by the customers;  
(9) ‘mobile refrigerating appliance’ means a refrigerating appliance used in vehicles or 
any other means of transport  where there is no acces s to the mains electricity grid, 
that: 
(a) can operate reliably and safely when exposed to mechanical v ibrations and a 
tilted position ; and 
(b) uses extra low -voltage electricity (<120V DC) or fossil fuel or both as the 
energy source for the refrigeration functionality , including a refrigerating 
appliance  that, in addition to extra low voltage electricity or fossil fuel , or both, 
can be electric mains operated.   
EN 5  EN (10) ‘energy efficiency index’ (EEI) means an index number for the relative energy 
efficiency of a refrigeration appliance expressed in percentage, calculated according 
to point  5 of Annex  III; 
(11) ‘low noise refrigerating appliance’  means  a refrigerating appliance with  airborne 
acoustical noise emission  lower than 2 3 dB(A);  
(12) ‘airborne acoustical noise emission’ means the sound power level of the refrigerating 
appliance, expressed in dB(A) re 1  pW (A -weighted);  
(13) ‘wine storage appliance’ means a dedicated refrigerating appliance for the storage of 
wine, with precision temperature control for the storage conditions and target 
temperature, and equipped with anti -vibration measures ; 
(14) ‘dedicated refrigerating appliance’ means a refri gerating appliance with only one 
type of compartment;  
(15) ‘target temperature’ ( Tc) means the reference temperature inside a compartment c 
during testing and relates to the maximum temperature for testing energy 
consumption expressed as the average over  time a nd over a set of sensors;  
(16) ‘refrigerator -freezer’ means a combi appliance that has at least one freezer 
compartment and at least one fresh food compartment;  
(17) ‘fresh food compartment’ means a compartment with a target temperature of 4  °C 
and storage condition s ranging from 0  °C and 8  °C; 
(18) 'freezer compartment' o r ‘4-star compartment’ means a compartment with a target 
temperature and storage conditions of -18 °C and which fulfils the requirements for 
the specific fre ezing capacity ; 
(19) ‘combi  appliance’ means a refrigerating appliance that has more than one 
compartment type. An appliance with a 3 - or 4-star compartment with a 2 -star 
section or sub -compartment is not a combi appliance;  
(20) ‘compartment type’ means the declared compartment type in a ccordance with the 
refrigerating performance parameters Tmin, Tmax, Tc and others ; 
(21) ‘minimum temperature’ ( Tmin) means the minimum temperature inside a 
compartment during storage testing;  
(22) ‘maximum temperature’ ( Tmax) means the maximum temperature inside a 
compartment during storage testing;  
(23) ‘3-star compartment’ means a compartment with a target temperature and storage 
conditions of -18 °C; 
(24) ‘2-star section’ means part of a 3 -star of 4 -star compartment which does not have its 
own individual access door or lid and in which the temperature is not warmer than -
12 °C; 
(25) ‘2-star compartment’ means a compartment with a target temperature and storage 
conditions of -12 °C; 
(26) ‘specific freezing capacity ’ (x) means the rate of heat extraction by an appropriately 
loaded compa rtment  to bring the temperature of the light load from +25 to −18 °C at 
an ambient temperature of 25 °C , expressed in kg/12h ;  
EN 6  EN (27) ‘ambient controlled anti -condensation heater’ means a heater which prevent 
condensation on the refrigeration appliance and where the heating capacity depend s 
on either the ambient temperature or the ambient humidity or both;  
(28) ‘anti-condensation heater’ means a heater which prevents condensation  on the 
refrigeration appliance;  
(29) ‘auxiliary energy’ ( Eaux) means the energy used by auxilia ry devices or functions  that 
affect the energy consumption of a refrigerating appliance and where the actual 
energy consumption of the auxiliary device or function depends on the conditions of 
use or operation in kWh/a . 
For the purposes of the Annexes, add itional definitions are set out in Annex  I. 
Article 3  
Ecodesign requirements  
Refrigerating appliances shall comply with the ecodesign requirements set out in Annex  II 
from the dates indicated therein . 
Article 4  
Conformity assessment  
1. The conformity assessment procedure 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 management system set out in Annex  V to that Directive.  
2. For the purposes of conformity assessmen t pursuant to Article  8 of Directive 
2009/125/EC, the technical documentation file shall contain a copy of the product 
information provided in accordance with Annex  II, point 2, and the results of the 
calculations set out in Annex  III to this Regulation.  
3. Where the information included in the technical 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 extra polations, or both, and of tests carried out  by manufacturers to verify the 
accuracy of the calculations.   
Article 5  
Verification procedure for market surveillance purposes  
Member States shall apply the verification procedure laid down in Annex IV when 
performing the market surveillance checks referred to in Article 3(2) of Directive 
2009/125/EC.  
Article 6  
Circumvention  
The manufacturer or importer shall not place on the market products designed in such a way 
that a model’s performance is automatically altered under  test conditions with the aim of 
reaching a more favourable level for any of the parameters declared by the manufacturer in 
the technical documentation or included in any of the documentation provide d with the 
product.   
EN 7  EN Where applicable, the energy consumption of the product shall not increase after a software or 
firmware update when measured with the same test standard originally used for the 
declaration of conformity, except with explicit consent of the end -user prior to update . 
Article 7 
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  V. 
Article 8 
Review  
The Commissio n shall review  this Regulation in the light of technological progress  and 
present the results of this assessment , including , if appropriate, a draft revision proposal , to 
the Consultation Forum  [OP please insert date – 5 years after its entry into force] .  
This review shall in particular assess : 
(a) the energy efficiency index requirements  for low noise refrigerating appliances and 
for wine storage appliances ; 
(b) the appropriateness to set energy efficiency index requirements for low noise 
refrigerator -freezers ; 
(c) the tolerances for energy use and specific freezing capacity , the appropriateness of a 
mandatory sound signal for long door openings ; 
(d) the compensation factors  and the modelling parameters;  
(e) the appropriateness to set additional resource efficiency requireme nts for products in 
accordance with the principles of the circular economy ; 
(f) the appropriateness of including other auxiliary devices or functions than the ambient 
controlled anti -condensation heater in the determination of the auxiliary energy .  
Article 9  
Repeal  
Commission Regulation (EC) No  643/2009 shall be repealed with effect  from 1 April  2021 . 
Article 10 
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  2021.  
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.   
EN 8  EN Done at Brussels,  
 For the Commission  
 Jean-Claude JUNCKER  
 The President