CELEX: 51995PC0638
Language: en
Date: 1995-12-08
Title: Amended proposal for a EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL DIRECTIVE on Energy Efficiency Requirements for Household Electric Refrigerators, Freezers and their Combinations

No C 49 / 10         EN                   Official Journal of the European Communities                      20 . 2 . 96
              Amended proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive on energy efficiency
                    requirements for household electric refrigerators , freezers and their combinations (')
                                                                (96/C 49/ 07 )
                                                          (Text with EEA relevance)
                                                COM(95) 638 final — 94/02 72(COD)
                        (Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 189a (2) of the EC Treaty)
              (') OJ No C 390 , 31 . 12 . 1994 , p . 30 .
                      INITIAL PROPOSAL                                               MODIFIED PROPOSAL
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL                                  Unchanged
OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community and in particular Article 100a thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee,
Whereas it is important to promote measures aimed at
the progressive establishment of the internal market ;
whereas the internal market comprises an area without
frontiers, in which the free circulation of goods , persons,
services and capital is ensured ;
Whereas the Council resolution of 15 January 1985 on
the improvement of energy-saving programmes in the
Member States invited Member States to pursue and ,
where necessary, increase their efforts to promote the
more rational use of energy by the further development
of integrated energy-saving policies ;
Whereas the Council resolution of 16 September 1986
called for new Community energy policy objectives for
 1995 and convergence of the policies of the Member
States , and in particular the objective of improving the
efficiency of final energy demand (the ratio of final
energy demand to gross national product) by at least
 20% by 1995 ;
 ---pagebreak--- 20 . 2 . 96                            Official Journal of the European Communities                         No C 49 / 11
                      INITIAL PROPOSAL                                              MODIFIED PROPOSAL
Whereas domestic refrigeration appliances account for a
significant share of domestic electricity consumption by
households in the Community and thus of total elec­
tricity consumption ; whereas the electricity consumptions
of different models of refrigeration appliances available
for purchase in the Community with the same volume
and features, that is to say their energy efficiencies, vary
very considerably ;
Whereas several Member States are on the point of
adopting provisions relating to the efficiency
performance of domestic refrigerators and freezers,
which will create barriers to trade of these products in
the Community ;
Whereas it is appropriate to take as a base a high level of
protection in measures for the approximation of the
provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative
action in Member States and concerning health, safety,
environmental protection and consumer protection ;
whereas this Directive ensures a high level of protection
both for the environment and the consumer, in aiming at
a significant improvement of the energy efficiency of
these appliances ;
Whereas the adoption of such measures falls within
Community competence and whereas the requirements
of this Directive do not exceed those necessary to
achieve its objectives, thus conforming to the
requirements of Article 3b of the Treaty ;
Whereas, moreover, Article 130r of the Treaty calls for
the protection and improvement of the environment and
prudent and rational utilization of natural resources ;
whereas electricity generation and use accounts for about
30 % of man-made carbon dioxides (C02) emmissions
and about 35 % of primary energy use in the
Community, and whereas these percentages are
increasing ;
Whereas, furthermore, Council Decision 89/ 364/EEC
which establishes a Community action programme to
 improve the efficiency of electricity use has as its twin
 objectives encouraging consumers to favour appliances
 and equipment with high electrical efficiency, as well as
 improving the efficiency of appliances and equipment ;
 Whereas on      29   October   1990 the Council set an          Whereas the European Community has set the objective
 objective of stabilizing carbon dioxide (C02) emissions in       of stabilizing carbon dioxide (COz) emissions in the
 the Community at 1990 levels by the year 2000 ;                  Union at 1990 levels by the year 2000 and whereas this
                                                                  objective is likely to be unattainable, thus requiring
                                                                  stronger measures to stabilize (C02) emmissions from
                                                                  within the EC ;
 ---pagebreak--- No C 49 / 12       I EN I             Official Journal of the European Communities                              20 . 2 . 96
                     INITIAL PROPOSAL                                             MODIFIED PROPOSAL
Whereas Council Decision 91 / 565 / EEC established a           Unchanged
programme (the SAVE programme) to support and
further promote energy efficiency in the Community;
Whereas the energy efficiency measures incorporated in
the more efficient models of refrigeration appliances
available do not excessively increase their production
costs and such measures can repay their initial cost in
terms of electricity savings within a few years or less ;
whereas this calculation does not take into account the
added benefit of the avoided external costs of electricity
generation, such as the emission of carbon dioxide
(C02) and other pollutants ;
                                                                Whereas the 'natural' gain in energy efficiency due to
                                                                market pressures and improvement of production
                                                                processes, estimated at around 2 °/o a year, will
                                                                contribute to the effort to reach stricter energy
                                                                consumption norms ;
Whereas Council Directive 92/75/EEC (the framework              Unchanged
Directive) and Commission Directive 94 /2 /EC (applying
Directive 92/75 /EEC) which require the compulsory
labelling of appliances and the provision in other forms
of energy consumption information will increase
consumers' awareness of the energy efficiency of
domestic refrigeration appliances ; whereas this measure
will therefore also heighten competition on the energy
efficiency of appliances above the standards required by
this Directive ; whereas however the provision of
information to consumers without standards would have
only a partial effect in terms of improving the average
overall efficiencies of appliances sold ;
                                                                Whereas an efficient enforcement system is necessary to
                                                                ensure the correct implementation of this Directive, fair
                                                                competition among manufactures, and to protect the
                                                                rights of consumers ;
Whereas this Directive, which is aimed at eliminating           Unchanged
technical barriers whith regard to the energy efficiency
of domestic refrigeration appliances, must follow the
'new approach' established by the Council resolution of
7 May 1985 which specifically lays down that legislative
harmonization is limited to the adoption, by means of
directives, of the essential requirements with which
products put on the market must conform ;
Whereas regard should be had to Council Decision
93 /465 /EEC which concerns the procedures for
conformity assessment intended to be used in the
technical harmonization directives ;
 ---pagebreak--- 20 . 2 . 96                           Official Journal of the European Communities                No C 49 / 13
                     INITIAL PROPOSAL                                           MODIFIED PROPOSAL
Whereas , in the interest of international trade, inter­
national standards should be used wherever appropriate ;
whereas the electricity consumption of a refrigeration
appliance is defined by the European Committee for
Standardization Standard EN 153 of May 1990 which is
based on an international standard ;
Whereas domestic refrigeration appliances complying
with the energy efficiency requirements of this Directive
should bear the CE marking and associated information,
in order to enable them to move freely, and to be put
into service in accordance with their intended purpose
within the Community ;
Whereas this Directive is confined to domestic refrig­
eration appliances for foodstuffs, excluding those with an
insignificant use of energy in total, that is, domestic
refrigeration appliances supplied by mains electricity ;
whereas commercially used refrigeration equipment is
much more varied and not appropriate for inclusion in
this Directive ;
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE :
                                                         Article 1
This Directive shall apply to electric mains operated             Unchanged
household refrigerators, frozen food storage cabinets,
food freezers, and combinations of these as defined in
Annex I and referred to hereafter as 'refrigeration
appliances'. However refrigeration appliances working
on the absorption principle shall be excluded.
                                                         Article 2
Member States shall take all appropriate measures to              Unchanged
ensure that refrigeration appliances can be placed on the
market and put into service only if the electricity
consumption of the appliance type to which that
appliance belongs is less than or equal to the maximum
allowable electricity consumption value as calculated
according to the procedures defined in Annex I. Refrig­
eration appliances shall be considered to belong to the
same type, referred to in this Directive as 'appliance
type', if they are produced by the same manufacturer or
under licence by a different manufacturer and differ only
in aspects which do not significantly affect their energy
consumption in use in any way.
                                                          Article 3
 1 . Member States may not prohibit, restrict or impede           Unchanged
the placing on the market or putting into service on their
territory of refrigeration appliances which bear the CE
marking attesting to their conformity with all the
provisions of this Directive .
 ---pagebreak--- No C 49/ 14        fENl               Official Journal of the European Communities                20 . 2 . 96
                     INITIAL PROPOSAL                                           MODIFIED PROPOSAL
2. Member States shall presume that refrigeration
appliances bearing the CE marking required under
Article 5 comply with all the provisions of this Directive.
3.    At trade fairs, exhibitions, demonstrations, etc.,
Member States shall not prevent the showing of a refrig­
eration appliance which does not conform with the
provisions of this Directive, provided that a visible sign
clearly indicates that such an appliance does not so
conform and that it is not for sale until it has been
brought into conformity by the manufacturer or his
authorized representative established in the Community.
                                                          Article 4
The conformity assessment procedures to be applied to a           Unchanged
given type of refrigeration appliance in order to affix the
CE marking are indicated in Annex II.
                                                          Article 5
The CE marking shall consist of the initials 'CE'. The            Unchanged
form of the marking to be used is shown in Annex III.
The CE marking shall be affixed to the refrigeration
appliance distinctly and visibly.
                                                          Article 6
1 . Where a Member State establishes that the CE                  Unchanged
marking has been affixed unduly, the manufacturer or
his authorized representative established within the
Community shall be obliged to make the product comply
and to end the infringement under the conditions
imposed by the Member States ;
2. Where non-conformity continues, the Member
State must take all appropriate measures to restrict or
prohibit the placing on the market of the product in
question or to ensure that it is withdrawn from the
market.
                                                          Article 7
Any decision taken pursuant to this Directive which               Unchanged
includes any restriction on the placing on the market
and/or putting into service of refrigeration appliances
shall state the precise grounds on which it is based. It
shall be notified without delay to the party concerned,
which shall at the same time be informed of the legal
remedies available to it under the laws in force in the
Member State in question and of the time limits to which
such remedies are subject.
 ---pagebreak--- 20 . 2 . 96                            Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 49 / 15
                     INITIAL PROPOSAL                                                 MODIFIED PROPOSAL
                                                           Article 8
Before the expiry of a period of four years from the               Before the expiry of three years from the adoption of
adoption of this Directive, the Commission in consul­              this Directive, the Commission shall make an assessment
tation with interested parties shall make an assessment of         of the results obtained and expected . Following this
the results obtained and expected . Following this                 assessment, and after consultation with interested parties,
assessment, the Commission shall consider the need for a           the Commission shall consider the need for new appro­
new proposal for Community legislation to establish a              priate measures to improve the efficiency of household
second set of energy efficiency standards for household            refrigeration appliances . If this is the case, the energy
refrigeration appliances. If such a proposal is made, its          efficiency measures and their timing for entry into force
energy efficiency standards and their timing for entry             will be based on energy efficiency levels which can be
into force would be based on energy efficiency levels              economically and technically justified in the light of the
which can be economically and technically justified in             circumstances at the time . Any other measures judged
the light of the circumstances at the time of the proposal.        appropriate to improve the efficiency of household
The proposal may also contain any other provisions                 refrigeration appliances will be also considered .
judged necessary to improve the effectiveness of this
Directive .
                                                           Article 9
 1 . Before 1 January 1996, Member States shall adopt               1 . Within a year after the adoption of the present
and publish the laws, regulations and administrative               Directive, Member States shall adopt and publish the
provisions necessary to comply with this Directive . They          laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary
shall immediately inform the Commission thereof.                   to comply with this Directive . They shall immediately
                                                                   inform the Commission thereof.
Member States shall apply such provisions as from                  Member States shall apply such provisions two years
 1 January 2000 .                                                  after the adoption of the present Directive .
"When Member States adopt these provisions, these shall            Unchanged
contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accom­
panied by such reference at the time of their official
publication . The procedure for such reference shall be
 adopted by Member States .
 2 . Member States shall communicate to the                         2.    Unchanged
 Commission the texts of the provisions of national law
 which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive .
 3 . Member States shall, during the period up to                   3 . Member States shall, during the two year period
  1 January 2000, permit the placing on the market and/or           after the adoption of this Directive, permit the placing
 the putting into service of refrigeration appliances which         on the market and/or the putting into service of refrig­
 comply with the regulations in force in the Member                 eration appliances which comply with the regulations in
 States at the date of adoption of this Directive .                 force in the Member States at the date of adoption of
                                                                    this Directive .
 ---pagebreak--- No C 49/ 16           fENl                      Official Journal of the European Communities                20 . 2 . 96
                         INITIAL PROPOSAL                                                 MODIFIED PROPOSAL
                                                                   Article 10
This Directive shall enter into force on the 20th day                      Unchanged
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of
 the European Communities.
                                                                   Article 11
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.                          Unchanged
                                                                   ANNEX I
Procedures for calculating the maximum allowable electricity               Unchanged
consumption for a given refrigeration appliance type and for the
               verification of conformity therewith
The electricity consumption of a refrigeration appliance (which
may be expressed as kWh per 24 hours) is a function of the
category of appliance to which it belongs, (e.g. one star refrig­
erator, chest freezer, etc.), its volume, and the energy efficiency
of its construction, (e.g. thickness of insulation, compressor effi­
ciency, etc.). In setting energy efficiency standards therefore,
allowances must be made for the main exogenous factors which
influence energy consumption (i.e. the category of the appliance
and its volume). For this reason, the maximum allowable elec­
tricity consumptions of a given refrigeration appliance type are
defined by a linear equation which is a function of the volume
of the apliance, with different equations defined for each
category of appliance.
To calculate the maximum allowable electricity consumption of
a given appliance type, it must therefore first be allocated to the
appropriate category from the following list :
  Category                              Description
      1        Refrigerator without frozen food compartment
      2         Refrigerator with * frozen food compartment
      3         Refrigerator with !'rl'r frozen food compartment
      4        Refrigerator with *** frozen food compartment
      5        Refrigerator with * (***) freezer
      6        Refrigerator-cellar
      7        Chest freezer
      8        Upright freezer
Because refrigeration appliances contain different compartments
with different maintained temperatures, (which will clearly
influence their electricity consumption), the maximum allowable
electricity consumption is defined in fact as a function of the
adjusted volume, which is a weighted sum of the volumes of the
different compartments.
Thus, for the purposes of this Directive,, the adjusted volume
(Va<jj) of a refrigeration appliance is defined as :
                    Vadi - 2 Vc X Wc X Fc
where Vc is the net volume of a given type of compartment in
the appliance, Wc is the weighting coefficient for that type of
compartment and Fc is a factor which equals 1,2 for no frost
compartments and 1 for other compartments. Both the adjusted
volume and the net volumes are in litres. The weighting coef­
ficients for the different types of compartment are :
 ---pagebreak--- 20 . 2 . 96             EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                   No C 49/ 17
                         INITIAL PROPOSAL                                                         MODIFIED PROPOSAL
                        Wc (weighting coefficient)
Cellar compartment                                                 0,75
Fresh food compartment                                             1,00
0°C compartment                                                    1,25
Compartment without stars                                          1,25
* compartment                                                      1,55
** compartment                                                     1,85
*** and * (***) compartment                                        2,15
The maximum allowable electricity consumption Emax (in kWh
per 24 hours expressed to two decimal places), for an appliance
type with adjusted volume Vacij for each appliance category is
defined by the following equations :
 Category           Description                Emax (kWk/24 hours)      Category          Description           Efnax (kWh/24 hours)
     1    Refrigerator  w/o    FFC      (0,225    x Vadj + 237) /  365     1     Refrigerator w/o FFC      (0,207  x  Vadj + 218 ) / 365
    2     Refrigerator  with   * FFC    (0,599    x Vadj + 178 ) / 365     2     Refrigerator with * FFC   (0,557  x  vadj + 166 ) / 365
     3    Refrigerator  with    ** FFC  (0,437    x Vadj + 238 ) / 365     3     Refrigerator with ** FFC  (0,402  x  Vadj + 219)  / 365
     4    Refrigerator  with   *** FFC  (0,616    x Vadj + 221 ) / 365     4     Refrigerator with *** FFC (0,573  x
                                                                                                                      Vadj + 206 ) / 365
     5    Refrigerator  with    * (***)                                    5     Refrigerator with * (***)
          freezer                       (0,778    x Vadj + 303 ) / 365           freezer                   (0,697  x  Vadj + 272 ) / 365
    6     Refrigerator-cellar           (0,225    x Vadj + 237) /  365     6     Refrigerator-cellar       (0,207  x  Vadj + 218 ) / 365
     7    Chest freezer                 (0,480    x Vadj + 195) /  365     7     Chest freezer             (0,480  x  Vadj + 195 ) / 365
     8    Upright freezer               (0,478    X Vadj + 289) /  365     8     Upright freezer           (0,434  x  Vadj + 262 ) / 365
 Test procedures for verifying whether an appliance type conforms to       Unchanged
the electricity consumption requirements of this Directive
If the electricity consumption of a refrigeration appliance
representative of the production of the appliance type subject to
verification is less than or equal to the maximum allowable elec­
tricity consumption value Emax as defined above plus 15 %, the
appliance type to which it belongs is confirmed as conforming
to the electricity consumption requirements of this Directive. If
the electricity consumption of the appliance is greater than the
maximum allowable electricity consumption value plus 15 %,
the electricity consumption of a further three appliances of the
same type shall be measured. If the arithmetic mean of the elec­
tricity consumptions of these three appliances is less than or
equal to the maximum allowable electricity consumption value
plus 10 %, the appliance type to which they belong is confirmed
as conforming to the electricity consumption requirements of
this Directive. If the arithmetic mean exceeds the maximum
allowable electricity consumption value plus 10 %, the appliance
type to which they belong shall be judged not to conform to the
electricity consumption requirements of this Directive.
 Definition
 The terms used in this Annex are defined as in the European
 Standard of the European Committee for Standardization
 EN 153 of May 1990.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 49 / 18              EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                20 . 2 . 96
                           INITIAL PROPOSAL                                             MODIFIED PROPOSAL
                                                                   ANNEX II
            Conformity assessment procedures (Module A)                 Unchanged
1 . This module describes the procedure whereby the manu­
    facturer or his authorized representative established within
    the Community, who carries out the obligations laid down in
    point 2, ensures and declares that the refrigeration appliance
    type satisfies the relevant requirements of this Directive. The
    manufacturer shall affix the CE mark to all refrigeration
    appliances of this type he manufactures and draw up a
    written declaration of their conformity.
2 . The manufacturer shall establish the technical documentation
    described in paragraph 3 and he or his authorized represen­
    tative established within the Cbmmunity shall keep it, for a
    period ending not less than three years after the last of the
    refrigeration appliance type has been manufactured, at the
    disposal of the relevant national authorities for inspection
    purposes .
    Where neither the manufacturer nor his authorized represen­
    tative is established within the Community, the obligation to
    keep the technical documentation available shall be the
    responsibility of the person who places the refrigeration
    appliance type on the Community market.
3 . Technical documentation shall enable an assessment to be
    made of the conformity of the refrigeration appliance type
    with the relevant requirements of this Directive. It shall cover
    the design, manufacture and operation of the refrigeration
    appliance type and shall contain as far as is relevant for
    assessment :
       (i) the name and the address of the manufacturer ;
      (ii) a general description of the model sufficient for it to be
           uniquely identified ;
    (iii) information, including drawings as relevant, on the main
           design features of the model and in particular on items
           which appreciably affect its electricity consumption, such
           as dimensions, volume(s), compressor characteristics,
           special features, etc.;
     (iv) the operating instructions, if any;
      (v) reports of electricity consumption measurement tests
           carried out as required by paragraph 5 ;
     (vi) details of the conformity of these measurement tests as
           compared to the energy consumption requirements as set
           out in Annex I.
4. Where differences between models are such that they have
     no significant effect on their energy consumption, that is they
     belong to the same appliance type as defined in Article 2,
     manufacturers may use the data from a 'base model'. In this
     case the      technical  documentation     shall  consist of the
     information listed above for the base model, supplemented
     for each other model produced by the manufacturer by a
     description of the differences between that model and the
     base model. Technical documentation established for other
     Community legislation may be used in so far as it meets the
     requirements of this paragraph.
 ---pagebreak--- 20 . 2 . 96          rsn                   Official Journal of the European Communities                No C 49/ 19
                        INITIAL PROPOSAL                                             MODIFIED PROPOSAL
5 . Manufacturers of refrigeration appliances shall be responsible
    for establishing the electricity consumption of each refrig­
    eration appliance type covered by this Directive according to
    the procedures specified in European Standard EN 153, as
    well as the appliance's type conformity with the requirements
    of Article 2 .
6. The manufacturer or his authorized representative shall keep
    a copy of the declaration of conformity with the technical
    documentation .
7. The manufacturer shall take all measures necessary in order
    that the manufacturing process shall ensure that the manu­
    factured refrigeration appliances comply with the technical
    documentation referred to in point 2 and with the relevant
    requirements of the Directive.
                                                               ANNEX III
                      CE conformity marking
The CE conformity marking shall consist of the initials 'CE'         Unchanged
taking the following form :
If the marking is reduced or enlarged the proportions given in
the above graduated drawing must be respected.
The various components of the CE marking must have
substantially the same vertical dimension, which may not be less
than 5 mm .