The Commission of the European Union (EU) has updated its ecodesign requirements applicable to electrical and electronic household and office equipment to address energy use in standby and off modes.
Published in the Official Journal of the European Union, Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/826 sets new, lower power consumption levels for electrical and electronic devices to reflect technological progress. The Regulation also expands the scope of products subject to these requirements, including motor-operated furniture such as standing desks and window blinds and curtains.
Here’s a summary of the energy usage requirements presented in the new Regulation:
- From 2025 on, devices must not consume more than 0.5 Watts in standby or in off mode, or 0.8 Watts if they are in standby mode while displaying their status or other information;
- From 2027 on, devices must not consume more than 0.5 Watts in Standby, 0.3 Watts in off mode, or 0.8 Watts if they are in standby mode while displaying their status or other information; and
- From 2027 on, devices in network standby mode must not consume more than 2 to 7 Watts, depending on the product.
The Commission says that the updated energy consumption requirements will save an additional 4 terawatt-hour (TWh)/year of energy, with greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emission reductions of 1.36 metric tons (MT) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq)/year by 2030.
