Commission Regulation (EC) No 107/2009 of 4 February 2009 implementing Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for simple set-top boxes (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2009-02-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: eco-label, electronic device, energy consumption, energy saving, high-definition television, marketing standard, pay television, technical standard

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 107/2009

of 4 February 2009

implementing Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to
ecodesign requirements for simple set-top boxes

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(5)

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

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
European
Directives 96/57/EC and 2000/55/EC of
particular
and
Parliament
of
Article 15(1) thereof,

the Council (1),

the
in

and

After consulting the Ecodesign Consultation Forum,

Whereas:

Under Directive 2005/32/EC ecodesign requirements
should be set by the Commission for energy-using
products representing significant volumes of sales and
impact and
trade, having a significant environmental
presenting significant potential
in
terms of their environmental
impact without entailing
excessive costs.

improvement

for

first

Article 16(2)
indent of Directive 2005/32/EC
provides that in accordance with the procedure referred
in
and the
to in Article 19(3)
Article 15(2), and after consulting the Consultation
Forum, the Commission will as appropriate introduce
implementing measures targeting consumer electronics.

set out

criteria

the

analysed

The Commission has carried out a preparatory study
which
and
technical,
economic aspects of simple set-top boxes (hereinafter
SSTBs). The study has been developed together with
stakeholders and interested parties from the EU and
third countries,
results have been made
publicly available.

environmental

and the

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

The electricity consumption of SSTBs can be reduced by
implementing existing non-proprietary design solutions,
which, despite being cost-effective, are not introduced
in a satisfactory way because end-
onto the market
users are unaware of
the running costs of SSTBs,
providing manufacturers with no incentive to integrate
such solutions to reduced power consumption during
use.

Ecodesign requirements for the power consumption of
should be set with a view to harmonising
SSTBs
ecodesign requirements
throughout
for
the Community and contributing to the functioning of
the internal market and to the improvement of the envi­
ronmental performance of these devices.

these devices

This Regulation should increase the market penetration
of technologies yielding improved energy efficiency of
SSTBs,
leading to estimated annual energy savings of
9 TWh in 2014, compared to a business as usual
scenario.

The ecodesign requirements should not have a negative
impact on the functionality of the product and should
not negatively affect health, safety and the environment.

A staged entry into force of the ecodesign requirements
should provide an appropriate timeframe for manufac­
turers to redesign products. The timing of the stages
should be set
in such a way that negative impacts
related to the functionalities of equipment on the
market are avoided and cost impacts for manufacturers,
in particular SMEs, are taken into account, while ensuring
timely achievement of the policy objectives.

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10) Measurements

of

power

consumption

be
performed taking into account the generally recognised
state of the art; manufacturers may apply harmonised
standards established in accordance with Article 9 of
Directive 2005/32/EC.

should

It has been stated in the preparatory study that
the
number of SSTBs placed on the Community market
will grow from 28 million in 2008 to 56 million in
2014, and the annual electricity consumption of SSTBs
will grow from 6 TWh in 2010 to 14 TWh in 2014, but
that the electricity consumption of SSTBs can be signifi­
cantly reduced in a cost effective manner.

(11)

The requirements laid down in this Regulation should
prevail over the requirements laid down in Commission
Regulation (EC) No 1275/2008 implementing Directive
2005/32/EC with regard to ecodesign requirements for
the standby and off mode power consumption of elec­
trical and electronic household and office equipment (2).

(1) OJ L 191, 22.7.2005, p. 29.

(2) OJ L 339, 18.12.2008, p. 45.

(12)

(13)

(14)

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Pursuant to Article 8(2) 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 to Directive 2005/32/EC and the
management system set out in Annex V to Directive
2005/32/EC.

(c) offers no recording function based on removable media

in a standard library format.

A SSTB can be equipped with the following additional
functions and/or components which do not constitute a
minimum specification of an SSTB:

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 in so far as it relates to the
requirements laid down in this implementing measure.

Benchmarks
for currently available SSTBs with low
power consumption should be identified. The availability
of a ‘0 W-mode’ on SSTBs could support consumers′
behaviour and decisions to reduce unnecessary loss of
energy. Benchmarks help to ensure wide availability
and easy access to information,
in particular for SMEs
and very small firms, which further facilitates the inte­
gration of best design technologies for reducing the
energy consumption of SSTBs.

(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 THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Subject matter and scope

This Regulation establishes ecodesign requirements for simple
set-top boxes.

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.

‘Simple set-top box’
which, irrespectively of the interfaces used,

(SSTB) means a stand-alone device

(a) has the primary function of converting standard-defi­
nition (SD) or high-definition (HD),
free-to-air digital
broadcast signals to analogue broadcast signals suitable
for analogue television or radio;

(b) has no ‘conditional access’ (CA) function;

(a)

time-shift and recording functions using an integrated
hard disk;

(b) conversion of HD broadcast signal reception to HD or

SD video output;

(c) second tuner.

2.

‘Standby mode(s)’ means a condition where the equipment is
connected to the mains power source, depends on energy
input from the mains power source to work as intended and
provides only the following functions, which may persist for
an indefinite time:

(a) reactivation function, or reactivation function and only
an indication of enabled reactivation function; and/or

(b) information or status display.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

‘Reactivation function’ means a function enabling the acti­
including active mode, by remote
vation of other modes,
internal sensor, timer to
switch,
including remote control,
including the
functions,
a condition providing additional
main function.

‘Information or status display’ means a continuous function
the
providing information or
equipment in a display, including clocks.

indicating the status of

‘Active mode(s)’ means a condition in which the equipment
is connected to the mains power source and at least one of
the main function(s) providing the intended service of the
equipment has been activated.

‘Automatic power down’ means a function which switches
the active mode of an SSTB into standby mode after a period
in the active mode following the last user interaction and/or
channel change.

‘Second tuner’ means a part of the SSTB available for inde­
pendent
recording while allowing to watch a different
programme.

‘Conditional access’ (CA) means a provider-controlled broad­
casting service requiring a market subscription television
service.

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Article 3

Ecodesign requirements

Article 7

Benchmarks

The ecodesign requirements for SSTBs are set out in Annex I.

The indicative benchmarks for best-performing products and
technology currently available on the market are identified in
Annex III.

Article 4

Relationship with Regulation (EC) No 1275/2008

The requirements laid down in this Regulation shall prevail over
the requirements laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1275/2008.

Article 5

Conformity assessment

for

assessing

referred to in
The procedure
Article 8(2) of Directive 2005/32/EC shall be the internal
design control
in Annex IV to Directive
2005/32/EC or the management system set out in Annex V
to Directive 2005/32/EC.

system set out

conformity

Article 6

Verification procedure for market surveillance purposes

Article 8

Revision

No later than five 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 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 of Annex I shall apply as from one year after the date
referred to in the first paragraph.

Surveillance checks shall be carried out in accordance with the
verification procedure set out in Annex II.

Point 2 of Annex I shall apply as from three 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, 4 February 2009.

For the Commission

Andris PIEBALGS
Member of the Commission

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ANNEX I

Ecodesign requirements

1. One year after this Regulation has come into force, SSTBs placed on the market shall not exceed the following power
consumption limits; SSTBs with an integrated hard disk and/or second tuner are exempt from that requirement:

Simple STB

Allowance for display function in standby

Allowance for decoding HD signals

Standby mode

Active mode

1,00 W

+ 1,00 W

—

5,00 W

—

+ 3,00 W

2. Three years after this Regulation has come into force SSTBs, placed on the market shall not exceed the following

power consumption limits:

Simple STB

Allowance for display function in standby

Allowance for hard disk

Allowance for second tuner

Allowance for decoding HD signals

Standby mode

Active mode

0,50 W

+ 0,50 W

—

—

—

5,00 W

—

+ 6,00 W

+ 1,00 W

+ 1,00 W

3. Availability of standby mode

One year after this Regulation has come into force, SSTBs shall provide standby mode.

4. Automatic power-down

One year after this implementing measure has come into force, SSTBs shall be equipped with an ‘automatic power-
down’ or similar function with the following characteristics:

— the SSTB shall be automatically switched from active mode into standby after less than three hours in active mode
following the last user interaction and/or a channel change with an alert message two minutes before going into
standby mode.

— the ‘automatic power-down’ function shall be set as default.

5. Measurements

The power consumption referred to in Points 1 and 2 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.

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6. Information to be provided by the manufacturers for the purposes of conformity assessment

For the purposes of conformity assessment pursuant to Article 5, the technical documentation shall contain the
following elements:

(a) For standby and active modes

— The power consumption data in Watts rounded to the second decimal place including consumption data for

the different additional functions and/or components

— The measurement method used

— Period of measurement

— Description of how the appliance mode was selected or programmed

— Sequence of events to reach the mode where the equipment automatically changes modes

— Any notes regarding the operation of the equipment

(b) Test parameters for measurements

— Ambient temperature

— Test voltage in V and frequency in Hz

— Total harmonic distortion of the electricity supply system

— The fluctuation of the power supply voltage during the tests

— Information and documentation on the instrumentation, set-up and circuits used for electrical testing

— Input signals in RF (for digital terrestrial broadcasts) or IF (for satellite broadcasts)

— Audio/video test signals as described in the MPEG-2 transport stream

— Adjustment of controls

The power requirements of peripheral devices powered by the STB for broadcast reception, such as active terrestrial
antenna, satellite LNB or any cable or telecom modem are not required to be included in the technical documentation.

7. Information to be provided by the manufacturers for the purposes of consumer information

Manufacturers shall ensure that consumers of SSTBs are provided with the power consumption in Watts rounded to
the first decimal place of standby and active modes of the SSTB.

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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 applicable requirements set out in Annex I, Points
1, 2 and 4, as applicable.

For power consumption larger than 1,00 W:

Member State authorities shall test one single unit.

The model shall be considered to comply with the provisions set out in Annex I, Points 1 and 2, as applicable, of this
Regulation if the results for active and standby mode conditions, as applicable, do no exceed the limit values by more
than 10 %.

Otherwise, three more units shall be tested. The model shall be considered to comply with this Regulation if the average
of the results of the latter three tests for active and standby mode conditions, as applicable, does not exceed the limit
values by more than 10 %.

For power consumption smaller than, or equal to, 1,00 W:

Member State authorities shall test one single unit.

The model shall be considered to comply with the provisions set out in Annex I, Points 1 and 2, as applicable, of this
Regulation if the results for active and/or standby mode conditions, as applicable, do not exceed the limit values by more
than 0,10 W.

Otherwise, three more units shall be tested. The model shall be considered to comply with this Regulation if the average
of the results of the latter three tests for active and/or standby conditions, as applicable, does not exceed the limit values
by more than 0,10 W.

Otherwise, the model shall be considered not to comply.

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ANNEX III

Benchmarks

The following indicative benchmarks are identified for the purpose of Annex I, part 3, point 2, of Directive 2005/32/EC.
They refer to the best available technology at the date of adopting this Regulation:

SSTB without any additional features:

— Active mode: 4,00 W

— Standby mode excluding the display function: 0,25 W

— Off-mode: 0 W

SSTB with an integrated hard drive:

— Active mode: 10,00 W

— Standby mode excluding the display function: 0,25 W

— Off-mode 0 W:

The above benchmarks are established on the basis of a SSTB with a basic configuration, an ‘automatic power down’
function and a hard-off switch.