The Commission of the European Union (EU) has issued a Regulation implementing new energy efficiency requirements for computers and computer servers.
The Regulation, which was published in June 2013 in the Official Journal of the European Union, is considered an implementation measure under the EU’s Eco-Design Directive, 2009/125/EC. That directive gives the Commission the authority to establish minimum efficiency standards for those “energy-related products representing significant volume of sales and trade, having significant environmental impact and presenting significant potential for improvement in terms of their environmental impact without entailing excessive costs.”
The new energy efficiency requirements for computers and computer servers are extensively detailed in Annex II of the Regulation. Requirements for a power management function and the maximum allowable power demand in the lowest power state are now in effect, while compliance with most of the remaining requirements must be achieved by July 1, 2014. Annex III of the Regulation details the procedure to be used by authorities in EU member states for verifying compliance with the Regulation’s requirements.