EN   EN 
 
 
 EUROPEAN  
COMMISSION   
Brussels, XXX   
[…](2018) XXX  draft  
 
COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) …/…  
of XXX  
laying down ecodesign requirements for refrigerating appliances with a direct sales 
function pursuant to Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the 
Council  
 
 
(Text with EEA relevance)    
EN 1  EN COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) …/…  
of XXX  
laying down ecodesign  requirements for refrigerating appliances with a direct sales 
function pursuant to Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the 
Council  
 
 
(Text with EEA relevance)  
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,  
Having regard to  Article 114 of  the Treaty on the F unctioning of the European Union,  
Having regard to 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 products1, and in particular point 1 of Article 15 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 through design in terms of their 
environmental impact, without entailing excessive costs.  
(2) The Communication from the Commission COM(2016)77 3 final2 (ecodesign working 
plan) establish ed by the Commission in application of point 1 of Article 16 of 
Directive 2009/125/EC sets out the working priorities under the ecodesign and energy 
labelling framework for the period 2016 -2019. Refrigerating appliances with a direct 
sales function are amo ng the energy -related product groups to be considered as 
priorities for the undertaking of preparatory studies and eventual adoption of 
measures . 
(3) Measures from the ecodesign w orking plan have an estimated potential to deliver a 
total in excess of 260 TWh o f annual final energy savings in 2030, which is equivalent 
to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 100 million tonnes per year in 
2030. Refrigerating appliances  with a direct sales function is one of the product groups 
listed in the Working P lan, with an estimated  48 TWh of annual final energy savings 
in 2030 . 
(4) The Commission has carried out two preparatory studies covering the technical, 
environmental and economic characteristics  of refrigerating appliances with a direct 
sales function typically used in the U nion. The studies  were carried out  in close 
cooperation with stakeholders and interested parties from the Union and third 
                                                 
1 OJ L 285, 31.10.2009 , p. 10. 
2 Communication from the Commission. Ecodesign  working plan 2016 -2019  (COM(2016) 773 final , 
Brussels, 30.11.2016) .  
EN 2  EN countries. The results of the studies were made public and presented to the 
Consultation Forum established by A rticle 18 of Directive 2009/125/EC.  
(5) This Regulation should apply to the following refrigerating appliances with a direct 
sales function : supermarket refrigerating (freezer or refriger ator) cabinets, beverage 
coolers, small ice -cream freezers, gelato -scoopi ng cabinets and refrigerated vending 
machines.  
(6) The environmental aspect of refrigerating  appliances with a direct  sales function that 
has been identified as most significant for the purposes of this Regulation is energy 
consumption in the use phase . This energy consumption could  be reduced , without 
increasing  the combined costs of purchasing and operating these products , using  cost-
effective non -proprietary technologies . Direct emissions from refrigerants were also 
identified as relevant.  
(7) As refrigerants are subject to  Regulation (EU) No  517/2014 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council3, no specific requirements on refrigerants are set in this 
Regulation.  Furthermore , an increasing use  of low  global warming potential 
refrigerants in t he last decade in the Union market indicates that the manufacturers are 
already undertaking a gradual substitution towards refrigerants with reduced impact on 
the environment, without the need of additional policy intervention by means of 
ecodesign . 
(8) The an nual energy  consumption of products subject to this Regulation in the Union  
was estimated at 65 TWh in 201 5, corresponding to 26 million tonnes of CO 2 
equivalent. The energy consumption of refrigerating appliances  with a direct sales 
function  in a business -as-usual scenario is projected to decrease by 2030 . However, 
this decrease  is expected to slow down u nless ecodesign requirements  are set. 
(9) This Regulation applies to  products with varying  technical characteristics  and 
functionalities . For this reason ener gy efficiency requirements are set according to the 
functionality of the appliances. In this functionality approach, a minimum breakdown 
of refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function  categories is proposed, this will 
bring clear signals to the m arkets about more/less energy efficient refrigerating 
appliances with a direct sales function  types with the same function. Inefficient 
refrigerating appliances with a direct sales  types will have more difficulties to reach a  
certain energy labell ing class  or may even not meet the minimum energy requirements.  
(10) The Communication  from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, 
the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 
COM(2015)0614  final4 (circular economy action plan) and on the ecodesign working 
plan 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 the C ouncil5 refers to Directive 2009/125/EC which 
indica tes that ecodesign requirements should facilitate the re -use, dismantling and 
recovery of waste electrical and electronic equipment ( WEEE ) by tackling the issues 
                                                 
3 Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 on 
certain fluorinated greenhouse gases (OJ L 161, 14.6.2006, p. 1 ). 
4 Communication from the Com mission to the 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 , Brussels, 02.12/2015) . 
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) .  
EN 3  EN upstream. This Regulation should therefore  lay down appropriate requirements for 
this. 
(11) 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 avail able, harmonised standards 
adopted by the European standardisation bodies , as listed in Annex  I to Regulation 
(EU) No  1025/2012  of the European Parliament and of the Council6. 
(12) In accordance with Article 8 of Directive 2009/125/EC, this Regulation should specify 
the applicable conformity assessment procedures.  
(13) To facilitate compliance checks, manufacturers should provide information in the 
technical documentation referred to in A nnexes  IV and V to Directive 2009/125/EC in 
so far as that information relates to the requirements laid down in this Regulation . 
(14) The terminology and testing methods of this Regulation  are consistent with the 
terminology and testing methods adopted in EN 16 901, EN 16902 , EN 50597  and EN 
ISO 23953 -2. 
(15) For market surveillance purpose s, manufacturers should be allowed to refer to the 
product database if the technical documentation  as per Commission Delegated 
Regulation  (EU)  [OP – please enter the references of the Regulation of the E nergy 
Labelling Regulation  for refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function ] 
contains the same information.  
(16) To improve the effectiveness of this Regulation  and to protect consumers , products 
that automatically alter their performance in test conditions to improve the declared 
parameters should be prohibited . 
(17) 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 lifecycle subject to this 
Regulation widely available and easily accessible , in accordance with Directive 
2009/125/EC, point  3(2) of Annex  I. 
(18) A review of this Regulation should assess the appropriateness and effectiveness of its 
provisions in achieving its goals. The timing of the review should allow  for all 
provisions to be implemented and show an effect on the market . 
(19) The measures provided for  in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the 
Committee established by point  1 of Article  19 of Directive 2009/125/EC.  
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:  
Article 1  
Subject matter and scope  
1. This Regulation establishes ecodesign require ments for placing on the market  or 
putting into service of electric mains -operated refrigerated appliances  with a direct 
                                                 
6 Regulation (EU) No  1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25  October 2012 on 
European stand ardisation, 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 sales function , including remote and integral cabinets , and including appliances  sold 
for refrigeration  of items other than foodstuff.  
2. This Regulation does not apply to:  
(a) refrigerated appliances with a direct sales function  that are only powered by 
energy  sources other than electricity ; 
(b) refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function other than compression -
type refrigerating applianc es, such as absorption -type and thermoelectric -type 
refrigerating appliances ; 
(c) the part of the refrigeration system, typically the condensing unit, placed 
outside the refrigerated cabinets with direct sales function in remote cabinets;  
(d) refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function specifically tested and 
approved  for carrying out food processing such as ice -cream makers or 
micro wave -equipped refrigerated vending machines , and excluding  
refrigerating appliances with a direct sales  function equipped with one 
compartment specifically designed for carrying out food processing which is 
equivalent to less than 20  % of the net volume ; 
(e) refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function specifically tested and 
approved for the storage o f medicines and scientific samples;  
(f) refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function for the sale and display of 
live foodstuff, such as refrigerating appliances for the sale and display of  living 
fish and shellfish, refrigerated aquaria and water tan ks; 
(g) custom -made refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function made on a 
one-off basis according to individual customer specification and not equivalent 
to other refrigerating appliances with direct sales function  as defined  in 
Annex  I; 
(h) built-in cabinets ; 
(i) vertical static -air cabinets ; 
(j) saladettes;  
(k) chilled horizontal serve -over counters with integrated chilled storage;  
(l) back -wall cabinets in assisted service, placed behind the serving personnel, 
with added back storage;  
(m) refrigerating appliances  with a direct sales function that have no integrated system 
for producing cooling and function by ducting chilled air that is produced by an 
external air chiller unit;  
(n) corner cabinets ; 
(o) products covered by Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/10957; 
(p) refrigerated drum vending machines;  
(q) wine storage appliances  and low noise appliances . 
                                                 
7 Commission Regulation (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 chillers  (OJ L 177, 8.7.2015, 
p. 19 ).  
EN 5  EN Article 2  
Definitions  
For the purpose of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:  
1. ‘electric mains’ means the electricity supply from the grid of 230 (±10  %) volt (V) of 
alternating current at 50 hertz ( Hz); 
2. ‘refrigerat ing appliance  with a direct sales function’ means a n insulated cabinet with 
one or more compartments  that are controlled at specific temperatures, cooled by 
natural or forced convection through  one or mor e energy consuming means and is 
intended for displaying and  selling items to customers , accessible directly through 
open sides or through  one or more doors, and/or drawers , including refrigerating 
appliance s with a direct sales function  with areas used for storage or assisted serving 
of items not accessible by the customers ; 
3. ‘remote  cabinet’ means a refrigerating appliance with a direct sales function  which 
consists of a factory -made assembly of components  that in order to function as a 
refrigerating appliance , needs : 
(a) input of electricity ; and  
(b) to be connected additionally to remote components (condensing unit and/or 
compressor  and/or water condensed unit ) which are not an integral part of the 
cabinet ; 
4. ‘integral cabinet ’ means a refrigera ting appliance with a direct sales function  that 
does not need to be connected to remote components  in order to function as a 
refrigerator or freezer , because it has an integral refrigeration system  (i.e. 
incorporating a compressor and condensing unit);  
5. ‘refrigerator’ means a refrigerating appliance with a direct sales function  that 
maintains the temperature of the products stored in  the cabinet at chilled operating 
temperature;  
6. ‘chilled operating temperature’ means that the temperature of products stored  in the 
compartment or cabinet is continuously maintained between -3,5 degrees celcius ( °C) 
and 15  degrees celcius ( °C) for appliances equipped with energy management 
systems for saving energy (EMD or EMS) and between -3,5 degrees celcius ( °C) and 
10 degre es celcius ( °C) for appliances not equipped with EMD or EMS ; 
7. ‘freezer’ means a refrigerating appliance with a direct sales function  that maintains 
the temperature of the products stored in the cabinet at frozen operating temperature;  
8. ‘frozen operating temp erature’ means that the temperature of products stored in the 
compartment or cabinet is continuously maintained below -12 degrees celcius ( °C); 
9. ‘foodstuff’ means food, ingredients, beverages, and other items primarily intended 
for consumption which require  refrigeration at specified temperatures;  
10. ‘compression -type refrigerating appliance ’ means a refrigerating  appliance  with a 
direct sales function  in which refrigeration is effected by means of a motor -driven 
compressor;  
11. ‘absorption -type refrigerating appli ance’ means a refrigerating appliance with a 
direct sales function in which refrigeration is effected by means of an absorption 
process using heat as the energy source;   
EN 6  EN 12. ‘thermoelectric -type refrigerating appliance ’ means a refrigerating appliance  with a 
direct sales function  in which refrigeration is effected by means of a thermoelectric 
process;  
13. ‘condensing unit’ means a product integrating at least one electrically driven 
compressor and one condenser , capable of cooling down and continuously 
maintaining l ow or medium temperature inside a refrigerated appliance or system, 
using a vapour compression cycle once connected to an evaporator and an expansion 
device , as defined in Regulation (EU) 2015/1095 ; 
14. ‘specifically tested and approved’ means that the product  complies with all the 
following requirements:  
(1) it has been specifically tested for the mentioned operating condition or 
application, according to the European legislation mentioned or related acts, 
relevant Member State legislation, and/or relevant Europea n or international 
standards;  
(2) it is accompanied by evidence, in the form of a certificate, a type approval 
mark, a test report or other documentation, that the product has been 
specifically approved for the mentioned operating condition or applicati on; 
(3) it is placed on the market specifically for the mentioned operating condition or 
application, as evidenced at least by the technical documentation, information 
on the packaging and any advertising or marketing materials;  
15. ‘net volume’ means the part of the gro ss volume of any compartment which is left  
after deduction of the volume of components and spaces unusable for the storage and 
display of items , in cubic decimetre ( dm³) or litre  (l);  
16. ‘gross volume’ means the volume within the inside liner of the compartment with an 
external door, without internal fittings and with doors or lids closed , in dm³ or litres ; 
17. ‘built -in cabinet ’ means a refrigerating appliance with a direct sales function  that is 
designed, tested and marketed exclusively  to be :  
(a) installe d in cabinetry or encased (top, bottom and sides) by panels ;  
(b) securely fastened to the sides, top or floor of the cabinetry or panels ; and 
(c) equipped with an integral factory -finished face or to be fitted with a custom 
front panel;  
18. ‘vertical static -air cabinet’ means a vertical cabinet  without internal forced -air 
circulation; a single static -air compartment within the cabinet is not sufficient to 
designate the refrigerating appliance with a direct sales function as a static -air 
cabin et; 
19. ‘vertical cabinet’ means a refrigerating appliance with a direct sales function  with a 
vertical display opening from the front;  
20. ‘saladette’ means a refrigerating appliance with a direct sales function  with one or 
more doors or drawer fronts in the vertical plane that has cut -outs in the top surface 
into which temporary storage bins can be inserted for easy -access storage  of 
foodstuff (e.g. pizza toppings and salad items ); 
21. ‘horizontal serve -over counter ’ means a horizontal cabinet  for assisted servic e; 
22. ‘horizontal cabinet’ means a refrigerating appliance with a direct sales function  with 
horizontal display opening on its top and accessible from above;   
EN 7  EN 23. ‘corner cabinet’ means a refrigerating appliance with a direct sales function  used to 
achieve geometr ical continuity between two linear cabinets that are at an angle to 
each other and/or that form a curve. A corner cabinet does not have a recognisable 
longitudinal axis or length since it consists only of a filling shape (wedge or similar) 
and is not desig ned to function as a stand -alone refrigerated unit. The two ends of the 
corner cabinet are inclined at an angle between 30  ° and 90  °; 
24. ‘refrigerated drum vending machines’ means a refrigerated vending machine with 
rotating drums each divided in partitions,  in which the products are placed 
horizontally, and where the products are retrieved through individual delivery doors;  
25. ‘refrigerated vending machine’ means a refrigerating appliance with a direct sales 
function  designed to accept consumer payments or toke ns to dispense chilled items 
without on -site labour intervention;  
26. ‘wine storage appliance’ means refrigerating appliance with only one type of 
compartment  for the storage of wine, with precision temperature control for the 
storage conditions and target tem perature, and equipped with anti -vibration 
measures , as defined in Commission Regulation (EU) [OP – please insert the 
references of the E codesign Regulation  for refrigerating appliances ]8; 
27. ‘compartment’ means an enclosed space within a cabinet , which is directly 
accessible through one or more external doors  or drawers  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;  
28. ‘external doo r’ is the part of a cabinet that can be moved or removed to at least allow 
inserting the load from the exterior to the interior or extracting the load from the 
interior to the exterior of the cabinet;  
29. ‘sub-compartment’ means a permanent enclosed space with in a compartment having 
a different operating temperature range from the compartment within which it is 
located ; 
30. ‘low noise refrigerating appliance’ means  a refrigerating appliance with airborne 
acoustical noise emission  lower than 2 3 A-weighted decibel (d B(A)), as defined in 
Commission Regulation (EU) [OP – please insert the references  of the E codesign 
Regulation  for refrigerating appliances ]. 
For the purposes of the Annexes, additional definitions are set out in Annex  I. 
Article 3  
Ecodesign requirements  
Refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function shall comply with the ecodesign 
requirements set out in Annex II  from the dates indicated therein . 
                                                 
8 Commission Regulation (EU) [OP – please enter the number of the Regulation ] of [OP-please enter the 
date]  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 364/2009  ([OP – please enter the references to the OJ]).  
EN 8  EN 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 assessment pursuant to Article  8 of Directive 
2009/125/EC,  the technical documentation shall contain a copy of the product 
information provided in accordance with point 2 of Annex  II and the results of the 
calculations set out in Annex  III to this Regulation.  
3. Where the information included in the technical docume ntation 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 carried out  by manuf acturers to verify the 
accuracy of the calculations.   
Article 5  
Verification procedure for market surveillance purposes  
Member States shall apply the verification procedure set out  in Annex  IV to this Regulation 
when performing the market surveillance checks referred to in point 2 of Article 3  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.  
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 Commission 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  no later than [OP please enter date - five years after its entry into 
force ].  
EN 9  EN 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 September  2020 . 
This Regulation shall be binding i n its entirety and directly  applicable in all Member States.  
Done at Brussels,  
 For the Commission  
 Jean-Claude JUNCKER  
 The President