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 external power supplies  
(Text with EEA relevance)  
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,  
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Community,  
Having regard to Directive 2005/32/EC of the European 
Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2005 establishing a 
framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy- 
using products and amending Council Directive 92/42/EEC and 
Directives 96/57/EC and 2000/55/EC of the European 
Parliament and of the Council (  1 ) and in particular 
Article 15(1) thereof,  
After consulting the Ecodesign Consultation Forum,  
Whereas:  
(1) Under Directive 2005/32/EC ecodesign requirements are 
to be set by the Commission for energy-using products 
representing significant volumes of sales and trade, 
having a significant environmental impact and presenting 
significant potential for improvement in terms of their 
environmental impact without entailing excessive costs.  
(2) Article 16(2) of Directive 2005/32/EC provides that in 
accordance with the procedure referred to in 
Article 19(3) and the criteria set out in Article 15(2), 
and after consulting the consultation forum, the 
Commission will as appropriate introduce an implemen -
ting measure for office equipment and consumer elec -
tronics.  
(3) Office equipment and consumer electronics are often 
powered by external power supplies (EPS) which 
convert electricity from the mains power source. The 
power conversion efficiency of external power supplies 
is an important aspect of the energy performance of such 
products, and thus external power supplies are one of the 
priority product groups for which ecodesign 
requirements should be established.  (4) The Commission has carried out a preparatory study to 
analyse the technical, environmental and economic 
aspects of external power supplies. The study has been 
carried out together with stakeholders and interested 
parties from the Community and third countries, and 
the results have been made publicly available.  
(5) It is stated in the preparatory study that external power 
supplies are placed on the Community market in large 
quantities, with their annual energy consumption in all 
lifecycle stages being the most significant environmental 
aspect, and their annual electricity consumption due to 
losses for power conversion and no-load amounting to 
17 TWh, corresponding to 6,8 Mt of CO  2 emissions. In 
the absence of measures this consumption is predicted to 
increase to 31 TWh in 2020. It has been concluded that 
the lifecycle energy consumption and the use-phase elec -
tricity consumption can be improved significantly.  
(6) Improvements in the electricity consumption of external 
power supplies should be achieved by applying existing 
non-proprietary cost-effective technologies that can 
reduce the total costs of purchasing and operating 
external power supplies.  
(7) Ecodesign requirements should harmonise electricity 
consumption requirements for no-load condition power 
consumption and average active efficiency of external 
power supplies throughout the Community, thus contri -
buting to the functioning of the internal market and to 
the improvement of the environmental performance of 
these products.  
(8) The ecodesign requirements should not have negative 
impact on the functionality of the product and should 
not affect negatively health, safety and the environment. 
In particular, the benefits of reducing electricity 
consumption during the use phase should more than 
offset potential additional environmental impacts during 
the production phase.EN 7.4.2009 Official Journal of the European Union L 93/3  
( 1 ) OJ L 191, 22.7.2005, p. 29.(9) The two-staged entry into force of the ecodesign 
requirements should provide an appropriate time-frame 
for manufacturers to redesign products. The timing of 
the stages should be such that negative impacts on the 
functionalities of equipment on the market are avoided, 
and cost impacts for manufacturers, in particular small 
and medium-sized enterprises, are taken into account, 
while ensuring timely achievement of the objectives of 
the Regulation. Measurements of the power consumption 
should be performed taking into account the generally 
recognised state of the art. Manufacturers may use 
harmonised standards established in accordance with 
Article 10 of Directive 2005/32/EC.  
(10) This Regulation should increase the market penetration 
of technologies that improve the lifecycle environmental 
impact of external power supplies, leading to estimated 
lifecycle energy savings of 118 PJ and electricity savings 
of 9 TWh by 2020, respectively, compared to the 
situation without taking any measures.  
(11) In conformity with Article 8 of Directive 2005/32/EC, 
this Regulation should specify that the applicable 
conformity assessment procedures are the internal 
design control set out in Annex IV of Directive 
2005/32/EC and the management system set out in 
Annex V of Directive 2005/32/EC.  
(12) In order to facilitate compliance checks manufacturers 
should be requested to provide information in the 
technical documentation referred to in Annexes IV and 
V of Directive 2005/32/EC on average active efficiency 
and no-load electric power consumption.  
(13) Benchmarks for currently available technologies with 
high active efficiency and low no-load power 
consumption should be identified. This will help to 
ensure the wide availability and easy accessibility of infor -
mation, in particular for small and medium-sized enter -
prises and very small firms, which will further facilitate 
the integration of best design technologies for reducing 
energy consumption.  
(14) Ecodesign requirements for the no-load condition of low 
voltage external power supplies address the same envi -
ronmental impact parameter as ecodesign requirements 
for the off-mode condition of electrical and electronic 
household and office equipment placed on the market 
with a low voltage external power supply. As ecodesign 
requirements for the no-load condition of low voltage 
external power supplies should be more demanding 
than ecodesign requirements for off-mode condition of 
electrical and electronic household and office equipment 
placed on the market with a low voltage external power 
supply, the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 
1275/2008 of 17 December 2008 implementing 
Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for 
standby and off-mode power consumption of electrical 
and electronic household and office equipment (  1 ), should 
not apply to electrical and electronic household and 
office equipment which is placed on the market with a 
low voltage external power supply. Regulation (EC) No 
1275/2008 should therefore be amended accordingly.  
(15) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in 
accordance with the opinion of the Committee estab -
lished by Article 19(1) of Directive 2005/32/EC,  
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING REGULATION:  
Article 1  
Subject matter and scope  
1. This Regulation establishes ecodesign requirements related 
to electric power consumption in no-load condition and average 
active efficiency of external power supplies.  
2. This Regulation shall not apply to:  
(a) voltage converters;  
(b) uninterruptible power supplies;  
(c) battery chargers;  
(d) halogen lighting converters;  
(e) external power supplies for medical devices;  
(f) external power supplies placed on the market no later than 
30 June 2015 as a service part or spare part for an identical 
external power supply which was placed on the market not 
later than one year after this Regulation has come into 
force, under the condition that the service part or spare 
part, or its packaging, clearly indicates the primary load 
product(s) for which the spare part or service part is 
intended to be used with.  
Article 2  
Definitions  
For the purposes of this Regulation, the definitions set out in 
Directive 2005/32/EC shall apply.  
The following definitions shall also apply:  
1. ‘external power supply’ means a device which meets all of 
the following criteria:EN L 93/4 Official Journal of the European Union 7.4.2009  
( 1 ) OL L 339, 18.12.2008, p. 45.(a) it is designed to convert alternating current (AC) power 
input from the mains power source input into lower 
voltage direct current (DC) or AC output;  
(b) it is able to convert to only one DC or AC output 
voltage at a time;  
(c) it is intended to be used with a separate device that 
constitutes the primary load;  
(d) it is contained in a physical enclosure separate from the 
device that constitutes the primary load;  
(e) it is connected to the device that constitutes the 
primary load via a removable or hard-wired male/ -
female electrical connection, cable, cord or other 
wiring;  
(f) it has nameplate output power not exceeding 250 
Watts;  
(g) it is intended for use with electrical and electronic 
household and office equipment as referred to in 
Article 2(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1275/2008;  
2. ‘low voltage external power supply’ means an external 
power supply with a nameplate output voltage of less 
than 6 volts and a nameplate output current greater than 
or equal to 550 milliamperes;  
3. ‘halogen lighting converter’ means an external power 
supply used with extra low voltage tungsten halogen lamps;  
4. ‘uninterruptible power supply’ means a device providing 
automatically backup power when the electrical power 
from the mains power source drops to an unacceptable 
voltage level;  
5. ‘battery charger’ means a device which connects directly to 
a removable battery at its output interface;  
6. ‘voltage converter’ means a device converting 230 V mains 
power source output to 110 V power output with charac -
teristics similar to mains power source output characteris -
tics;  
7. ‘nameplate output power’ (P  O ) means the output power as 
specified by the manufacturer;  
8. ‘no-load condition’ means the condition 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;  9. ‘active mode’ means a condition in which the input of an 
external power supply is connected to the mains power 
source and the output is connected to a load;  
10. ‘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;  
11. ‘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  
The ecodesign requirements related to no-load electric power 
consumption and average active efficiency of external power 
supplies placed on the market are set out in Annex I.  
Article 4  
Conformity assessment  
The procedure for assessing conformity referred to in Article 8 
of Directive 2005/32/EC shall be the internal design control 
system set out in Annex IV of Directive 2005/32/EC or the 
management system for assessing conformity set out in 
Annex V of Directive 2005/32/EC.  
Article 5  
Verification procedure for market surveillance purposes  
Surveillance checks shall be carried out in accordance with the 
verification procedure set out in Annex II.  
Article 6  
Indicative benchmarks  
The indicative benchmarks for best-performing products and 
technology currently available on the market are identified in 
Annex III.  
Article 7  
Revision  
No later than four years after the entry into force of this Regu -
lation the Commission shall review it in the light of techno -
logical progress and present the result of this review to the 
consultation forum.  
Article 8  
Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 1275/2008  
Regulation (EC) No 1275/2008 is amended as follows:  
1. The following second paragraph is added to Article 1:EN 7.4.2009 Official Journal of the European Union L 93/5‘This Regulation shall not apply to electrical and electronic 
household and office equipment placed on the market with a 
low voltage external power supply.’  
2. The following point 9 is added to Article 2:  
‘9. “low voltage external power supply” means an external 
power supply with a nameplate output voltage of less 
than 6 volts and a nameplate output current greater 
than or equal to 550 milliamperes.’  Article 9  
Entry into force  
This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following 
its publication in the  Official Journal of the European Union . 
Point 1(a) of Annex I shall apply as from one year after the date 
referred to in the first paragraph.  
Point 1(b) of Annex I shall apply as from two years after the 
date referred to in the first paragraph.  
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.  
Done at Brussels, 6 April 2009.  
For the Commission  
Andris PIEBALGS  
Member of the CommissionEN L 93/6 Official Journal of the European Union 7.4.2009ANNEX I  
ECODESIGN REQUIREMENTS  
1. NO-LOAD POWER CONSUMPTION AND AVERAGE ACTIVE EFFICIENCY  
(a) One year  after this Regulation has come into force:  
The no-load condition power consumption shall not exceed 0,50 W.  
The average active efficiency shall be not less than:  
0,500 · P O , for P  O < 1,0 W;  
0,090 · ln(P  O ) + 0,500, for 1,0 W ≤ P O ≤ 51,0 W;  
0,850, for P  O > 51,0 W.  
(b) Two years  after this Regulation has come into force:  
The no-load condition power consumption shall not exceed the following limits:  
AC-AC external power supplies, 
except low voltage external 
power supplies  AC-DC external power supplies 
except low voltage external 
power supplies  Low voltage external power 
supplies  
P O ≤ 51,0 W  0,50 W  0,30 W  0,30 W  
P O > 51,0 W  0,50 W  0,50 W  n/a  
The average active efficiency shall be not less than the following limits:  
AC-AC and AC-DC external power supplies, 
except low voltage external power supplies  Low voltage external power supplies  
P O ≤ 1,0 W  0,480 · P O + 0,140  0,497 · P O + 0,067  
1,0 W < P  O ≤ 51,0 W  0,063 · ln(P  O ) + 0,622  0,075 · ln(P  O ) + 0,561  
P O > 51,0 W  0,870  0,860  
2. MEASUREMENTS  
The no-load condition power consumption and the average active efficiency referred to in point 1 shall be established 
by a reliable, accurate and reproducible measurement procedure, which takes into account the generally recognised 
state of the art.  
Measurements of power of 0,50 W or greater shall be made with an uncertainty of less than or equal to 2 % at the 
95 % confidence level. Measurements of power of less than 0,50 W shall be made with an uncertainty of less than or 
equal to 0,01 W at the 95 % confidence level.EN 7.4.2009 Official Journal of the European Union L 93/73. INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED BY MANUFACTURERS  
For the purposes of conformity assessment pursuant to Article 4, the technical documentation shall contain the 
following elements:  
Reported quantity  Description  
Root mean square (Rms) output current (mA)  Measured at load conditions 1-4  
Rms output voltage (V)  
Active output power (W)  
Rms input voltage (V)  Measured at load conditions 1-5  
Rms input power (W)  
Total harmonic distortion (THD)  
True power factor  
Power consumed (W)  Calculated at load condition 1-4, measured at load condition 5  
Efficiency  Calculated at load conditions 1-4  
Average efficiency  Arithmetic average of efficiency at load conditions 1-4  
The relevant load conditions are as follows:  
Percentage of nameplate output current  
Load condition 1  100 % ± 2 %  
Load condition 2  75 % ± 2 %  
Load condition 3  50 % ± 2 %  
Load condition 4  25 % ± 2 %  
Load condition 5  0 % (no-load condition)EN L 93/8 Official Journal of the European Union 7.4.2009ANNEX II  
VERIFICATION PROCEDURE  
When performing the market surveillance checks referred to in Article 3(2) of Directive 2005/32/EC, the authorities of 
the Member States shall apply the following verification procedure for the requirements set out in Annex I.  
1. Authorities of the Member State shall test one single unit.  
2. The model shall be considered to comply with the provisions set out in Annex I, if:  
(a) the result for no-load condition does not exceed the applicable limit value set out in Annex I by more than 0,10 
W; and  
(b) the arithmetic average of efficiency at load conditions 1-4 as defined in Annex I does not fall below the applicable 
limit value for average active efficiency by more than 5 %.  
3. If the results referred to in points 2(a) and (b) are not achieved, three additional units of the same model shall be 
tested.  
4. After three additional units of the same model have been tested, the model shall be considered to comply with the 
requirements if:  
(a) the average of the results for no-load condition does not exceed the applicable limit value set out in Annex I by 
more than 0,10 W; and  
(b) the average of the arithmetic averages of efficiency at load conditions 1-4 as defined in Annex I does not fall 
below the applicable limit value for average active efficiency by more than 5 %.  
5. If the results referred to in points 4(a) and (b) are not achieved, the model shall be considered not to comply with the 
requirements.EN 7.4.2009 Official Journal of the European Union L 93/9ANNEX III  
INDICATIVE BENCHMARKS REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 6  
(a) No-load condition  
The lowest available no-load condition power consumption of external power supplies can be approximated by:  
— 0,1 W or less, for P  O ≤ 90 W,  
— 0,2 W or less, for 90 W < P  O ≤ 150 W,  
— 0,4 W or less, for 150 W < P  O ≤ 180 W,  
— 0,5 W or less, for P  O > 180 W.  
(b) Average active efficiency  
The best available active average efficiency of external power supplies according to most recent available data (status 
January 2008) can be approximated by:  
— 0,090 · ln (P  O ) + 0,680, for 1,0 W ≤ P O ≤ 10,0 W,  
— 0,890, for P  O > 10,0 W.EN L 93/10 Official Journal of the European Union 7.4.2009