Policy Updates

<p>For the third year in a row, the Eurovent Association, in cooperation with Eurovent Middle East, is ‘Supporting Association’ for the HVACR Expo Saudi (14-16 January 2018, Jeddah). To further strengthen the presence of our members in Saudi Arabia, we are offering a wide-ranging programme in the course of the exhibition, including, for the first time, a dedicated Eurovent Pavillion.</p>

<p>The EEPLIANT project ran from 2015 and ended on 20 June 2017. Responsible national and regional authority bodies cooperated towards enforcement action in respect of non-compliant products. The following product groups were assessed: LED lamps, imaging equipment, space heaters and combination heater. The outcome of the project regarding space heaters including heat pumps are discussed within this article together with some previous projects.</p>

<p>Eurovent Middle East has attended a workshop, in which ESMA informed Eurovent about their new Energy Efficiency Label Design. The implementation is planned to take effect within a short time after publication. Air-conditioners are amongst the products that need to comply. This article provides for an in-depth briefing on the requirements.</p>

<p>On 26 June 2017, the Council adopted without debate on 26 a regulation setting a framework for energy efficiency labelling, which replaces the current legislation (Directive 2010/30/EU). The regulation establishes deadlines to replace the current A+, A++, A+++ classes with an A to G scale. It also sets out a procedure for rescaling the labels based on technological development, and a new product database as a market surveillance tool. This article provides members with an overview on the new rules and deadline.</p>

<p>Several consultants have been contracted by the European Commission to follow the work of CEN/CENELEC Technical Committees and their Working Groups in the field of ecodesign and energy labelling. The consultants contracted by the EC have been able to attend the CEN/CENELEC TC and Working group meetings since 2014. The EC has recently updated the consultants’ list. Who are the contracted Consultants? Which is their role? What are the interested TCs and WGs?</p>

<p>On 22 June 2017, the CCI magazine awarded its trust award for the German HVACR industry (‘Vertrauenpreis der LüKK’). Seventy manufacturers of the ventilation, air-conditioning and cold-storage sector had to put themselves to the vote by specialist planners, system builders and operators. Especially Eurovent member companies managed to shine in their respective product categories.</p>

<p>On a monthly basis, the Eurovent Team compiles a global overview of the latest developments concerning new standardisation activities and technical regulations of relevance for the HVACR industry. Our Notifications allow members to be prepare for developments that can have an impact on them and their products.</p>

<p>In April, our new Indoor Air Quality campaign #IAQmatters was officially launched. To date, the response has been very positive with on average more than 4.000 unique site visits per month – and counting. We invite all manufacturers and association to become supporter of the campaign.</p>

<p>The European Commission has launched a review study of the regulation on Ecodesign and Labelling requirements for air conditioners and comfort fans. The study covers the review of the Commission Regulation (EU) No 206/2012 and the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 626/2011. The draft interim report (task 1-2) has been published on 13 June 2017, it will serve as the background document for the upcoming stakeholder meeting on 5 July 2017. The Eurovent Team has summarised the review study’s objectives and will attend this stakeholder meeting.</p>

<p>At the beginning of this year, the Eurovent Association has launched its new Extranet with the aim to simplify document and information distribution tailor-made for members’ needs. In this short guide, you can learn how to register for the Extranet, who has access, and the manifold features it provides.</p>

<p>With its motion, the City Council of Milan has formally asked the Regional Council of Lombardy to work on this topic and to regulate it. A regional regulation was requested aiming to increase the HVAC systems energy saving while reducing CO2 emissions. Are the assumptions of the Milan City Council correct? What is the position of the Italian shop owners’ association (Confcommercio)?</p>

<p>Smart technologies for buildings can increase the energy efficiency of the building stock. To realise this potential, the introduction of a Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) for buildings is advocated in the proposal for amending the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). This indicator would allow to assess the level of smartness of a given building in a reliable and meaningful way for building owners, tenants and users. The first Stakeholder meeting took place in Brussels on 7 June 2017. The Eurovent team has participated and summarised the results.</p>