Overview
Directive 2005/32/EC establishing a framework for the setting of eco-design requirements for energy-using products aims to improve the environmental performance of products throughout the life-cycle, by the systematic integration of environmental aspects in a product. This would affect both the design and manufacture of the product as well as place new conditions for the placing on the market of a product.
The Directive, which was published on 6 July 2005, has been implemented into Maltese Legislation through legal notice
347 of 2007. The directive does not impose any requirements directly onto energy using products but provides the terms of reference for the drafting of mandatory requirements on certain products. These mandatory requirements are known as implementing measures. In order for a product to qualify as a candidate for an implementing measure the following criteria should be satisfied:
- the EuP (energy-using product) shall represent a significant volume of sales and trade, indicatively more than
200,000 units a year within the Community;
- the EuP shall, considering the quantities placed on the market and/or put into service, have a significant environmental impact;
- the EuP shall present significant potential for improvement in terms of its environmental impact without entailing excessive costs.
Three existing directives namely,
- Directive 92/42/ EEC on efficiency requirements for new hot-water boilers fired with liquid or gaseous fuels- implemented as L.N. 348 of 2007;
- Directive 96/57/EC on energy efficiency requirements for household electric refrigerators, freezers and combinations thereof – implemented as L.N. 349 of 2007;
- Directive 2000/55/EC on energy efficiency requirements for ballasts for fluorescent lighting – implemented as L.N. 350 of 2007;
have been adopted as implementing measures under the EuP directive but since these three directives were already in force at the time of publication of the directive they did not add any new requirements.
Currently work is ongoing on the following product groups:
- Boilers and Water heaters (including solar water heaters);
- Personal Computers and monitors;
- Office / imaging equipment;
- TV sets and set top boxes for digital reception;
- Battery chargers and external power supply units;
- Lighting (domestic and industrial);
- Air conditioning appliances;
- Electric motors, fans and circulators;
- Refrigerators and freezers;
- Dishwashers and washing machines;
- Vacuum cleaners;
- and standby and off-mode losses in general..
with the aim of enacting implementing measures on these products. The status of the studies together with the implementing measures may be found in the paragraph on implementing measures below.
The main objective of these implementing measures is to reduce energy consumption i.e. improve energy efficiency.
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