ECODESIGN

SIMPLE SET-TOP BOXES

Exigencies for ecodesign for electric motors were stated in the

‘Commission Regulation (EC) No 107/2009 of 4 February 2009 implementing Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for simple set-top boxes’

One year after the ‘Commission Regulation (EC) No 107/2009’ has come into force the simple set-top boxes without inbuilt hard discs or second tuners cannot consume more energy then:

Three years after the ‘Commission Regulation (EC) No 107/2009’ has come into force the simple set-top boxes cannot consume more energy then:

One year after the ‘Commission Regulation (EC) No 107/2009’ has come into force the simple set-top boxes will have to be provided with standby mode. Also they will have to be provided with automatic power down function which will turn the device into standby mode after three hours of users last interaction. The power down function will have to alert the user two minutes after going into standby mode.

The manufacturers of simple set-top boxes shall inform the users of the energy consumption of the device in standby and active modes.

STANDBY AND OFF MODE ELECTRIC POWER CONSUMPTION OF HOUSEHOLD AND OFFICE EQUIPMENT

Exigencies for ecodesign for standby and off mode electric power consumption of household and office equipment were stated in the

‘Commission Regulation (EC) No 1275/2008 of 17 December 2008 implementing Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for standby and off mode electric power consumption of electrical and electronic household and office equipment’

The regulation covers following deices and appliances:

  • Household appliances such as washing machines, clothes dryers, dishwashers, electric ovens, electric hot plates, microwaves, toasters, fryers, grinders, coffee machines, electric knives, scales, appliances for hair cutting, drying, shaving, brushing, massage and the other body care appliances.

  • Computer science products which are intended to be used in homes.

  • Consumer equipment such as radios, televisions, video cameras, video recorders, Hi-fi recorders, audio amplifiers, home theater systems, music instruments and the other appliances for recording and reproducing sounds or images.

  • Toys and sports equipment such as electric trains, car racing sets, pocket game consoles, sport equipment with electric components and the other toys, leisure and sports equipment.

Requirements concerning standby and off mode electric power consumption of household and office equipment are listed below:

From 1 April 2012

  • One year after the ‘Commission Regulation (EC) No 1275/2008’ has come into force:

     - Energy consumption in off mode shall not exceed 1W.

     - Energy consumption in standby mode should not be more than 1W in condition providing only a reactivation function or reactivation function with a simple information of enabled reactivation function.

     - Energy consumption in standby mode should not be more than 2W in condition providing a combination of a reactivation function and display status.

     - The product shall provide standby or off mode function or any other function that does not exceed the boundary power consumption for appliances connected to the power grid. This rule can be omitted when the standby or off mode are inappropriate for the intended use.

  • Four years after the ‘Commission Regulation (EC) No 1275/2008’ has come into force:

     - Energy consumption on any off mode shall not exceed 0.5W.

     - Energy consumption in standby mode should not be more than 0.5W in condition providing only a reactivation function or reactivation function with a simple information of enabled reactivation function.

     - Energy consumption in standby mode should not be more than 1W in condition providing a combination of a reactivation function and display status.

     - The product shall provide standby or off mode function or any other function that does not exceed the boundary power consumption for appliances connected to the power grid. This rule can be omitted when the standby or off mode are inappropriate for the intended use.

     - When equipment is not providing the main function, or when other energy-using products are not dependent on its functions, equipment shall, unless inappropriate for the intended use, offer a power management function, or a similar function, that switches equipment after the shortest possible period of time appropriate for the intended use of the equipment, automatically into standby mode, off mode or any other function that does not exceed the boundary power consumption for appliances connected to the power grid.

CONCLUSIONS

Ecodesign aims at minimizing detrimental impact of various products on the environment at the designing stage. As can be seen from the above there are many directives which exactly dictate which requirements have to be satisfied to achieve the goal and minimize the impact on environment.

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