Although it is up to the manufacturers to meet requirements to attain the CE marking if they want to sell their products in the EU, the overall refrigeration industry operators will be impacted.
For refrigeration manufacturers, EcoDesign is a chance to stay compliant, future-proof products and get a competitive edge over competitors in the EU – and outside of it. For refrigeration equipment owners, wholesalers and system installers, the legislation marks a turning point towards more sustainable, energy efficient and cost-effective equipment.
The EU EcoDesign Directive, also referred as Energy-related Products (ErP) Directive, ENTR Lot 1 2015/1095 and 2015/1094 for Professional Refrigeration, entered its second tier on July 01 2018. Affected applications are condensing units, professional refrigerated storage cabinets, blast cabinets, and process chillers.
The Directive sets out minimum mandatory requirements for the energy efficiency of products with the aim to improve the overall performance of products and thereby protect the environment by reducing indirect CO2 emissions.
Energy performance targets of the condensing units
Since the first step in July 2016, the energy performance levels of the condensing units have become more stringent. Now, the Seasonal Energy Performance Ratio (SEPR) or the Coefficient of Performance (COP), depending on the cooling capacities, cannot go under these values:
|
Temperature
|
Cooling capacity (kW)*
|
Measurement
|
Value
|
|
Medium temperature
(-10°C)
|
0.2 - 1
|
COP
|
1.4
|
|
1 - 5
|
COP
|
1.6
|
|
5 - 20
|
SEPR
|
2.55
|
|
20 - 50
|
SEPR
|
2.65
|
|
Low temperature
(-35°C)
|
0.1 - 0.4
|
COP
|
0.8
|
|
0.4 - 2
|
COP
|
0.95
|
|
2 - 8
|
SEPR
|
1.6
|
|
8 - 20
|
SEPR
|
1.7
|
* Rated Capacity at full load with ambient temperature set at 32°C (Standards: EN13215 / 13771-2)
Danfoss has developed its own solutions in response to EcoDesign; its Optyma condensing units have successfully passed the 2018 step with SEPR or COP values well above the thresholds. Additionally, all Danfoss ranges come now with lower global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants such as R448A, R449A, R452A, and soon R513A and R290 on its bare light commercial range.