Thermocold ready for the new EU legislation on Ecodesign
Thermocold ready for the new EU legislation on Ecodesign
Over the last two years, Thermocold has been in the forefront to bring new high-efficiency and sustainable products to market, taking up the Ecodesign European challenge dedicated to HVAC equipment manufacturers.
Starting from January 1st for the first time a new Regulation defining the Ecodesign requirements for chillers and introducing a new minimum level efficiency will enter into force and once again, Thermocold will be fully compliant with this new legislation.
The implementation of the new European measures is not only a legal obligation but it represents a concrete opportunity and it signs a real turning point for HVAC systems market because it will direct the sales mix toward higher-efficiency devices.
In this perspective, all Thermocold units will be adapted to the new ErP standards ("Energy related Products" or "products related to the use of energy"), in force from January1st 2018.
What is Ecodesign?
The Ecodesign framework directive 2009/125/EC provides consistent EU-wide rules for improving the environmental performance of products, including HVAC equipment.
A specific EU legislation is published under the framework directive 2009/125/EC for each product family (known as Lot). Each Lot has its own set of implementation dates, generally split into two phases (known as Tier).
On January 1st 2018, all air-cooled and water-cooled chillers with a nominal cooling capacity up to 2MW and all the air-cooled and water-cooled reversible heat pumps, with a nominal heating capacity above 400 kW, delivered in the EU-28 and other associated countries requiring CE-marking, will need to comply with minimum efficiency standards as defined in the Commissione Regulation (EU) 2016/2281 of 30 November 2016 at table 3 – Annex II.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Which Thermocold products will be impacted by the legislation effective Jan 1st 2018?
- Where can I find relevant documentation?
- How do I know a product is compliant?
- Which countries will be impacted by the new EU legislation?
- Are EcoDesign and Eurovent related?
- What if I have already quoted a non-compliant product?
- How can this be a competitive advantage?
- What level of efficiency will we need to comply with?
- What is the relation between ŋs,h and SCOP?
- I have more questions – who can I contact?
Which Thermocold products will be impacted by the legislation effective Sep 26th 2017?
From January 1st 2018, all air-cooled and water-cooled chillers with a nominal cooling capacity up to 2MW and all the air-cooled and water-cooled reversible heat pumps, with a nominal heating capacity above 400 kW, delivered in the EU-28 and other associated countries requiring CE-marking, will need to comply with minimum seasonal efficiency requirements in cooling mode (SEER).
Where can I find relevant documentation?
All documents, such as data tables and energy labels, required by regulation will be made available on www.thermocold.it under the respective product page. These can be shared when needed with our customers.
How do I know which Thermocold units comply with Ecodesign?
All units that do not meet minimum efficiency standards set by the EU legislation will be clearly marked as not compliant units to LOT21 in our literature, the Eurovent directory, and signaled with disclaimers in our selection tools to avoid any mistakes or confusion.
Moreover, only units which comply (as a minimum) with Ecodesign requirements will bear the CE marking. According to Article 3 of the Ecodesign Directive, 'products covered by implementing measures may be placed on the market or put into service, or both, only if they comply with those measures and bear the CE marking in accordance with Article 5.''
This implies that products non-compliant will no longer have a CE marking, and Thermocold is not allowed to sell these products within the EU and associated countries. Associated countries are for example Switzerland, Turkey and Norway. Starting January 1st 2018, all Thermocold available equipment will be compliant with Ecodesign.
For the competition, a good way to evaluate if they are compliant with the mandatory regulation is to ask if they have the proper documentation required by the law.
Will all countries be impacted by the new EU legislation?
Products shipped to jobsites located in the following countries require CE Marking, and therefore will need to comply with EU Ecodesign legislation:
For all other countries, we can still ship all models, even the ones not passing the new efficiency target. These units will remain available in our selection tools.
Are Eurovent and Ecodesign related?
Ecodesign is mandatory by law. In order to be CE certified, products must comply with the minimum efficiency standards dictated by the legislation.
Eurovent certification is a voluntary scheme. Being certified by Eurovent is often requested by the market as a third-party guarantee of unit performances, but is not a legal requirement. Eurovent energy classes are in no way associated to the EU energy eco-labelling. They are defined by Eurovent, in agreement with participating companies.
In some certification programs, like the Chiller and Heat Pump program, some performance ratios like SEER and SCOP will be tested and published online.
What should I do if I have quoted a unit that is no longer complying with the regulation?
Please contact Sales Support so they can propose to you the best option compliant with the regulation and create a new quotation based on a higher efficient product.
Be carefull, all the units manufactured and shipped after January 1st 2018 must comply the regulations.
The result is that some open quotations will require revaluation in order to meet new regulation.
How can this be a competitive advantage?
We are aware that Ecodesign is complex and few people are fully aware of the different implications that it represents for Thermocold, for the industry, and for our customers, but we believe that being fully compliant with this new regulation can represent a competitive advantage versus other suppliers that have underestimated it or have done little to respect the new mandatory legal requirement for HVAC equipment. If you have to change a unit in your quotation, please suggest to your customers that they verify competitive units meet the same Ecodesign regulation and if they can supply required documentation and labels. Also important to note that competent national authorities (in each EU Member State) can prohibit or withdraw non-compliant products from the market and/or give high fines to companies not respecting Ecodesign regulation.
Which minimum level of efficiency will we need to comply with?
By January 1st 2018, all units falling under ENER Lot 21 will need to comply with the following performance requirements to be legally placed in the European market:
As you can see in the table above, the legislation sets minimum requirements for ηs,c (seasonal space cooling energy efficiency), which can be directly translated into a ratio much more recognized by the industry: SEER or Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio.
Testing methods for cooling and heating capacities have to be in accordance to the following European Standards:
- EN 14825:2016 for testing and rating at part load conditions and proper calculation of seasonal performances so called Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio or SEER
- EN 14511:2013 -1 to 4
By law, all performance data must be calculated and published according to the Strasbourg climate condition.
What is the relation between ŋs,c and SEER?
The relation between ŋs,x and SEER is given by the following formula
where:
F(i) user temperature control contribution = 3% for air-cooled and 8% for water-cooled
CC or Conversion Coefficient = 2.5 (efficiency EU electricity production and distribution 40%)
SEER = Seasonal Coefficient of Performance
The calculation of SEER takes into account electrical input at four part load points according to a given seasonal profile and operating hours. The electrical input required even when the unit is not cooling or heating (e.g. for on-board controls) is also taken into account in the calculation.
Who can I contact if I need more information?
If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact the Sales support team, they would be able to assist you and answer your questions related to Ecodesign in general, the documentation that it requires or the selection of the units aligned with it.
