Professional wet equipment such as warewashers and washing machines could be the next category of professional equipment to have energy efficiency standards after the EU began developing a mandate last month.
At the Catering Equipment Suppliers Association conference that took place at the end of last year, civil servant Mike Walker announced that the process is under way. Walker, who is the head of sustainable energy-using products for the Department for Environment and Climate Change, told the conference that the relevant standards-making bodies are working to decide “if we are going to have energy efficiency standards for these products and if so, what standards they will use to test the appliances against.”
According to Walker, this part of the process can take two or three years, so an introduction of EU regulations is not expected before then. The process was only started in October, so little progress has been made so far.
Changes to the energy labelling scale
Last July, the European Commission proposed that the A+++ to D energy labelling directive be modified to return to the previous A to G scale. This proposal was put forward because the energy efficiency of products has evolved so much since the scale was introduced that now most products are in the top energy efficiency class. The proposal suggested: “The single A to G label would help consumers distinguish the most efficient products of today more easily.”
At the CESA conference, Walker reported that “existing labels may be taken back to a maximum C rating, with the A and B categories left empty to wait for future technological developments.”
The new scale will be used by retailers and food machinery auctioneers such as www.clarke-fussells.co.uk/ when they advertise products so that the energy efficiency of new and used products is clear for customers before they purchase.
New product information database
A new database will also be introduced into which manufacturers will be required to upload product information, providing regulators with one centralised location to find the data they need for testing. It will also allow consumers to access the front-end of the system to find information about the energy efficiency of appliances.
It has been estimated that the changes will be agreed later this year. The database should be live by January 2019.