Regulation of energy efficiency presents new certification challenges

There is a huge drive to improve energy efficiency from customers wishing to save on running costs, manufacturers trying to gain competitive advantage and also from governments.

The number of international energy efficiency standards is growing requiring manufacturers to not only think about efficiency during design, but also ensure that appropriate certifications are obtained.

Although regulation and encouragement of energy efficiency by governments dates back many years, with the American Energy Star initiative being probably the best known, new regulation is flooding onto the market.

These can be very specific, such as the European Code of Conduct on Energy Consumption of Broadband Equipment or can cover a wide range of appliances.

The EuP (Energy using Products) Directive has been replaced by the ErP (Energy related Products) Directive for Europe. This has in turn expanded the products covered under the Energy Directive, the ErP directive will be implemented to EU member countries November 2010.

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