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 energyusing 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 implementing measure for office equipment and consumer electronics.

(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 CO2 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 electricity 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 contributing 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.

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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 information, in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises 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 environmental 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 established 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:

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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 characteristics similar to mains power source output characteristics;

7. ‘nameplate output power’ (PO) 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 Regulation the Commission shall review it in the light of technological 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:

7.4.2009 Official Journal of the European Union L 93/5 EN
‘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 Commission

L 93/6 Official Journal of the European Union 7.4.2009 EN
ANNEX 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 · PO, for PO < 1,0 W;

0,090 · ln(PO) + 0,500, for 1,0 W ≤ PO ≤ 51,0 W;

0,850, for PO > 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

PO ≤ 51,0 W 0,50 W 0,30 W 0,30 W

PO > 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

PO ≤ 1,0 W 0,480 · PO + 0,140 0,497 · PO + 0,067

1,0 W < PO ≤ 51,0 W 0,063 · ln(PO) + 0,622 0,075 · ln(PO) + 0,561

PO > 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.

7.4.2009 Official Journal of the European Union L 93/7 EN
3. 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)

L 93/8 Official Journal of the European Union 7.4.2009 EN
ANNEX 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.

7.4.2009 Official Journal of the European Union L 93/9 EN
ANNEX 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 PO ≤ 90 W,

— 0,2 W or less, for 90 W < PO ≤ 150 W,

— 0,4 W or less, for 150 W < PO ≤ 180 W,

— 0,5 W or less, for PO > 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 (PO) + 0,680, for 1,0 W ≤ PO ≤ 10,0 W,

— 0,890, for PO > 10,0 W.

L 93/10 Official Journal of the European Union 7.4.2009 EN