My Ecodesign

THE ERP DIRECTIVE FOR ROOM AIR CONDITIONING UNITS

It is evident why room air conditioning units also fall under the ErP Directive: air conditioning technology is now firmly rooted in everyday life – in cars, offices and within our own four walls. Technical developments in recent years have already brought about significant progress in this field.
At Mitsubishi Electric, it is essential that we also make a significant contribution to ensuring greater energy efficiency.

Within the scope of the ErP Directive, air conditioning units are subject to one of two implementing provisions depending on the capacity of the product in question.

We have made available all the technical data sheets on our air conditioning and heat pump systems.

To the data sheets

ROOM AIR CONDITIONING UNITS WITH A CAPACITY OF UP TO 12 KW

The Implementing Regulation (EU) 206/2012 entered into force on 1 January 2013. It implements the requirements of the ErP Directive 2009/125/EC for room air conditioning units with a cooling capacity of up to 12 kW. In terms of energy labelling, the efficiency grade scale was extended above A to include A+, A++ and A+++.

Room air conditioning units up to 12 kW must meet specific minimum efficiency values and be identified with an energy label that features information on their energy efficiency grade, sound power level and the climate zone for their area of application.

A FOCUS ON EFFICIENCY AND COMFORT

Consumers are also given relevant information on the energy label about the noise emissions of their air conditioning system. The label shows the sound power level of the indoor and outdoor unit in decibels as an objective acoustic variable.

Schalldruckpegel - Kühlen

Sound Pressure Level dB(A)

The sound pressure level is a sound field variable and gives the operating noise of an indoor unit perceived at a specified distance.

Schallleistungspegel - Kühlen

Sound Power Level dB(A)

The sound power level is an acoustic variable that defines the source strength of the sound generator and thus is independent of the distance to the receiver.

In addition to the sound power level, the sound pressure level is another important indicator. The advantage of evaluating the noise emissions according to the sound pressure level is that it is possible to compare different air conditioning units regardless of the location and the procedure used to measure the sound pressure. The sound pressure level is often measured at a distance of approx. 1 m, with modern split air conditioning units averaging a very quiet 21 decibels.

CLIMATE ZONES FOR HEATING MODE

As the climatic conditions have a major impact on the operating performance in heat pump mode, three climatic zones have been formed within the EU: warm, moderate and cold. The measuring points are uniformly at 12 °C, 7 °C, 2 °C and -7 °C. The colour of the climate zones for air conditioning units differs from that for heat pumps. All manufacturers are required to state the values for the medium climate zone. Information relating to the hot and cold zone is provided on a voluntary basis.

Warm (Athens)
Temperature conditions
Partial loadOutdoorsIndoors
DBWBDB
-20 °C
100 %2 °C1 °C20 °C
64 %7 °C6 °C20 °C
29 %12 °C11 °C20 °C
Moderate (Strasbourg)
Temperature conditions
Partial loadOutdoorsIndoors
DBWBDB
88 %-7 °C-8 °C20 °C
54 %2 °C1 °C20 °C
35 %7 °C6 °C20 °C
15 %12 °C11 °C20 °C
Cold (Helsinki)
Temperature conditions
Partial loadOutdoorsIndoors
DBWBDB
61 %-7 °C-8 °C20 °C
37 %2 °C1 °C20 °C
24 %7 °C6 °C20 °C
11 %12 °C11 °C20 °C

ROOM AIR CONDITIONING UNITS WITH A CAPACITY OF OVER 12 KW

Since 1 January 2018, EU Regulation 2281/2016 has set Ecodesign requirements for air conditioning units and air/air heat pumps with a cooling capacity of more than 12 kW. Units that do not meet the minimum requirements may no longer be placed on the market. In contrast to the situation for units with a capacity of up to 12 kW, manufacturers of systems with a capacity of over 12 kW are only required to meet the minimum efficiency requirements in addition to the fundamental documentation obligations. The key figures in this regard are the ηs,c value and the ηs,h value. These provide information on the annual performance ratio of the units, with the ηs,c value relating to room cooling and the ηs,h value corresponding to heating.

Differences in ErP requirements for air conditioning units

Air conditioning units and air/air heat pumps < 12 kW Air conditioning units and air/air heat pumps > 12 kW
ErP Implementing Regulation 206/2012, in force since 01/01/2013 2281/2016, in force since 01/01/2018
Classification into energy efficiency grades Yes No
Energy label prescribed Yes, in accordance with Regulation 626 / 2011 No
Requirement criterion of minimum efficiency SEER / SCOP ηs,c / ηs,h
Acoustic emission requirements Yes No
Energy efficiency labelling requirements in sales literature Yes No
Technical data sheets must be freely available on the manufacturer’s website Yes Yes
Cooling From 01/01/18 From 01/01/21
ηs,c 181% 189%
SEER 4.6 4.8
Heating From 01/01/18 From 01/01/21
ηs,h 133% 137%
SCOP 3.4 3.5