. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/TBT/N/EU/47 
4 June 2012  
 (12-2927) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6 
 
1. Notifying Member:  EUROPEAN UNION  
If applicable, name of local governme nt involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):     
2. Agency responsible:  European Commission 
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above :   
European Commission 
EU-TBT Enquiry Point Fax:  +(32) 2 299 80 43 E-mail:  mailto:eu-tbt@ec.europa.eu  
Website:  http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/tbt/  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [X], 5.7.1 [   ], other:   
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  Water heaters and hot 
water storage tanks 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:  Draft Commission 
Regulation implementing Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the 
Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for water heaters and hot water storage tanks 
(28 pages, in English).      
6. Description of content:  This draft Commission Regulation sets minimum energy 
performance, maximum nitrogen oxides em issions, maximum sound power level and 
information requirements for wate r heaters, as there exists a cost-effective potential to limit 
their energy consumption, air emissions and s ound power level. The draft Regulation also sets 
minimum energy performance and information re quirements for hot water storage tanks. In 
accordance with Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/ EC, products not meeting these requirements 
will not be allowed to be placed on the EU  market. The draft Regulation is based on the 
findings of a technical, environmental and ec onomic study which has been carried out with 
stakeholders from around the world.  
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable:  The 
aim is to remove the most inefficient water heaters and hot water storage tanks from the market - thereby pushing the market towards more environmentally friendly appliances. It 
will contribute to the fight against climate change and the increase of energy efficiency in the 
EU. G/TBT/N/EU/47 
Page 2  
 
  8. Relevant documents:   Directive 2009/125/EC of the Europe an Parliament and of the Council 
of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for 
energy-related products, Official J ournal L 285, 31 October 2009, P. 010. 
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/L exUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:285:0010:0035:en:PDF  
9. Proposed date of adoption:   
Proposed date of entry into force:    December 2012 
20 days from publication in  the Official Journal 
of the EU. The first requirements will be applicable from January 2015 
10. Final date for comments:  60 days from date of notification. 
11. Text available from:  National enquiry point [  ], or address, telephone and fax numbers, 
e-mail and web-site addresses, if available of the other body:    
European Commission 
EU-TBT Enquiry Point 
Fax:  +(32) 2 299 80 43 E-mail:  mailto:eu-tbt@ec.europa.eu  
The text is available on the EU-TBT Website:  http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/tbt/  
http://members.wto.org/crnatt achments/2012/tbt/EEC/12_2120_00_e.pdf