In a few short months, it will be mandatory under European legislation for seasonal efficiency ratings to be clearly displayed on climate control equipment. Graham Wright explains why engineers and specifiers should sit up and take note
From January next year, anyone supplying or installing high-end residential or light commercial air conditioning products must be ready for new seasonal efficiency legislation and know exactly which products comply with it. On top of this, specifiers will need to understand seasonal efficiency labelling on products so that they can accurately assess good and bad energy performance. For manufacturers, it's a major wake-up call to make sure products meet the minimum energy efficiency standards and to phase out older, less efficient products without delay.

New legislation - the Energy Related Products Directive (ErP) - has already transformed the residential lighting sector and, for air conditioning systems, it sets new eco design requirements, which come into effect from January 2013. Unlike the voluntary Eco-label programme, the EcoDesign of Energy Using Products is a legal framework stipulating minimum energy efficiency requirements.

Any products that no longer make the grade will simply be banned. The new seasonal energy efficiency ratings must appear on all products up to 12kW from January 2013. Any products that don't meet minimum energy efficiency standards according to the new Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratings (SEER) will be removed from the market: you simply won't be able to buy or sell them any longer.

This is not just tinkering with energy efficiency labels; it represents a fundamental shift in the way we assess the energy efficiency of products. So what's the big difference?

Seasonal energy efficiency takes into account the local climate zone and seasonal temperature differences through the year. The resulting calculation acknowledges that, in typical European climates, air conditioning equipment will be running at partial load for most of the time.

Compared with the existing nominal efficiency rating, which assumes a set temperature and full load conditions all year round, seasonal efficiency provides a more realistic view of energy efficiency in real-life conditions.

The old EER and CoP (the heating measure) do not have any relevance to the new SEER and SCoP ratings, so you can't simply compare the two. Manufacturers will have no choice but to recalculate their products' energy efficiency ratings according to the new SEER and SCoP parameters.

And the legislation doesn't stop there. Acceptable energy efficiency thresholds are again tightening in 2014. So, from January 2013, any products with an energy efficiency of less than the minimum standard will be barred from the market; from January 2014, acceptable efficiency levels will be tightened, affecting even more products.

Although currently the legislation only affects smaller or light commercial systems under 12kW, consultation is already underway about setting new minimum energy efficiency requirements for systems over 12kW.

There are no prizes for guessing that larger and less energy efficient air conditioning systems are also soon likely to become relics of a bygone, power-hungry age.

// The author is legislation specialist at Daikin UK //