The new measuring method will classify energy efficiency into new classes. An air conditioning unit classified today as an “A” can slip into a significantly worse class in line with the new ErP Directive. The minimum requirements do not affect the classification of the products.

The three new efficiency classes mean that air conditioners can now be more clearly differentiated from each other in terms of their efficiency. There is much greater clarity about electrical consumption and noise emissions – for the first time standardised for all manufacturers’ air conditioners, leading to greater transparency for consumers.

The Implementing Regulations for the ErP Directive for room air conditioning (Lot 10) came into effect on 1 January 2013 and the same rules apply in all states of the EU without national transitional periods.

The winners among air conditioning units in future will specifically be products with innovative inverter technology. The ErP Directive will now ensure that suppliers of inefficient units are prevented from entering the market.

No. Only products imported into the EU or manufactured within the EU as of 1 January 2018 must meet the requirements.

This situation is not within the scope of the Directive as long as it involves a custom-made product that is manufactured individually and only assembled at the place of installation.

The ErP Directive is based on the assumption that room air conditioning units with a capacity of over 12 kW are too powerful to be relevant for private use by non-expert end users. This is why it is only obligatory to state the annual performance ratios within the data sheets. It is not necessary to include these in promotional documents, catalogues or labels.

Today individual units can achieve a maximum energy efficiency class of A++ on the product label. It is impossible to achieve a higher rating and this cannot therefore be shown. It is altogether different with composite units. In the very best case, a complete system can be labelled with energy efficiency class A+++. This is certified on the composite label.

A number of changes are a foregone conclusion. In 2019, ‘Label II’ will replace the current energy efficiency label. Individual units will then also be able to achieve energy efficiency grade A+++. D will be at the bottom end of the scale (instead of G today).

The same rules of the Implementing Regulation for the ErP Directive for heat generators (Lot 1) apply in all EU states.

Depending on the design temperature and the performance capacity, the chillers may indeed belong to different lots or be required to comply with higher or lower energy efficiency limit values. This is because different energy efficiency limit values apply in terms of evaluation as a comfort chiller for room air conditioning, as a process chiller with a high operating temperature and as a process chiller with a medium operating temperature.

The Ecodesign Directive defines different efficiency limit values for chillers depending on the type of use of the unit. This means that a chiller can be used as a comfort chiller for room air conditioning, as a process chiller with a high operating temperature and as a process chiller with a medium operating temperature. Mixed applications that involve the air conditioning of rooms as well as a process represent a particular challenge in this regard. Manufacturers should therefore always be included in project planning by means of building-specific and application-specific information.

Following the entry into force of Lot 21 for comfort chillers, it is obligatory to state the Seasonal Space Cooling Energy Efficiency (ηs,c) and the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER value) in cooling mode. In the case of air- and water-cooled process chillers with a high operating temperature, the Seasonal Energy Performance Ratio (SEPR) must be stated. The different calculation formulas mean that the partial load ratios for process chillers and comfort chillers vary considerably. Process cooling features a high cooling requirement all year round, even in the case of low outdoor temperatures.