Council Directive 92/75/EEC of 22 September 1992 on the indication by labelling and standard product information of the consumption of energy and other resources by household appliances

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 92/75/EEC of 22 September 1992 on the indication by labelling and standard product information of the consumption of energy and other resources by household appliances
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
In cooperation with the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),
Whereas measures should be taken progressively to achieve the internal market by 31 December 1992;
Whereas certain Member States already have their own voluntary schemes for energy labelling and the provision of other energy consumption information for household appliances; whereas one Member State has formally proposed introducing its own compulsory  labelling scheme, and other Member States are considering such introduction; whereas the existence of a number of compulsory national schemes would create barriers to intra-Community trade;
Whereas Article 130r of the Treaty requires prudent and rational utilization of natural resources; whereas the rational use of energy is one of the principal means by which this objective can be achieved and environmental pollution reduced;
Whereas the provision of accurate, relevant and comparable information on the specific energy consumption of household appliances may influence the public's choice in favour of those appliances which consume less energy, thus prompting manufacturers to  take steps to reduce the consumption of the appliances which they manufacture; whereas it will also, indirectly, encourage the efficient use of these appliances; whereas, in the absence of this information, the operation of market forces alone will fail  to promote the rational use of energy for these appliances;
Whereas information plays a key role in the operation of market forces and it is therefore necessary to introduce a uniform label for all appliances of the same type, to provide potential purchasers with supplementary standardized information on those  appliances' costs in terms of energy and the consumption of other resources and to take measures to ensure that potential purchasers who do not see the appliance displayed, and thus have no opportunity to see the label, are also supplied with this  information;
Whereas to this end the energy consumption of and other information concerning each type of appliance must be measured in accordance with harmonized standards and methods and the application of these standards and methods must be monitored at the  marketing stage;
Whereas Directive 79/530/EEC (4) sought to promote these aims in the case of household appliances; whereas, however, only one implementing Directive for electric ovens has been adopted and few Member States have introduced this label; whereas it is  therefore now necessary to learn from the experience acquired and to strengthen the provisions of that Directive; whereas Directive 79/530/EEC must therefore be replaced and Directive 79/531/EEC (5) applying to those electric ovens should be revised and  subsequently integrated into the present scheme;
Whereas a completely voluntary scheme would lead to only some appliances being labelled, or supplied with standard product information, with the risk that this might result in confusion for some consumers; whereas the present scheme must therefore  ensure that for all the appliances concerned, the energy consumption is indicated by labelling and standard product fiches are provided;
Whereas household appliances use a wide variety of forms of energy, with electricity and gas being the most important; whereas this Directive must therefore in principle cover appliances using any form of energy;
Whereas Council Directive 86/594/EEC of 1 December 1986 on airborne noise emitted by household appliances (6) provides for an indication of noise emission to be included on energy labels, where appropriate; whereas provision must therefore be made for  the incorporation of any other information and labelling covered by Community schemes;
Whereas only those types of appliances whose aggregate energy use is significant and which afford adequate scope for increased efficiency need be included,