24.3.2009   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 76/3

(1)

Under Directive 2005/32/EC ecodesign requirements shall be set by the Commission for energy using products representing significant volumes of sales and trades, having significant environmental impact and presenting significant potential for improvement in terms of their environmental impact without entailing excessive costs.

(2)

Article 16(2) first indent of Directive 2005/32/EC provides that in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 19(3) and the criteria set out in Article 15(2), and after consulting the Ecodesign Consultation Forum, the Commission shall as appropriate introduce an implementing measure on domestic lighting products.

(3)

The Commission has carried out a preparatory study which analysed the technical, environmental and economic aspects of lighting products typically used in households. The study has been developed together with stakeholders and interested parties from the Community and third countries, and the results have been made publicly available on the EUROPA website of the Commission.

(4)

Mandatory ecodesign requirements apply to products placed on the Community market wherever they are installed or used, therefore such requirements cannot be made dependent on the application in which the product is used (such as for domestic lighting).

(5)

Products subject to this Regulation are designed essentially for the full or partial illumination of a household room, by replacing or complementing natural light with artificial light, in order to enhance visibility within that space. Special purpose lamps designed essentially for other types of applications (such as traffic signals, terrarium lighting, or household appliances) and clearly indicated as such on accompanying product information should not be subject to the ecodesign requirements set out in this Regulation.

(6)

New technologies emerging on the market such as light emitting diodes should be subject to this Regulation.

(7)

The environmental aspects of the products covered that are identified as significant for the purposes of this Regulation are energy in the use phase as well as mercury content and mercury emissions.

(8)

The annual electricity consumption related to products subject to this Regulation in the Community has been estimated to be 112 TWh in 2007, corresponding to 45 Mt CO2 emissions. Without taking specific measures, the consumption is predicted to increase to 135 TWh in 2020. The preparatory studies showed that electricity consumption of products subject to this Regulation can be significantly reduced.

(9)

Mercury emitted in the different life cycle phases of the lamps, including from use-phase electricity generation and from the 80 % of compact fluorescent lamps containing mercury which are presumed not to be recycled at the end of life, has been estimated to be 2,9 tonnes in 2007 from the installed stock of lamps. Without taking specific measures, the mercury emissions of the installed lamp stock is predicted to increase to 3,1 tonnes in 2020 while it has been demonstrated that it can be significantly reduced.

Although the mercury content of compact fluorescent lamps is considered to be a significant environmental aspect, it is appropriate to regulate it under Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (2).

The setting of energy efficiency requirements for lamps subject to this Regulation will lead to a decrease of the overall mercury emissions.

(10)

Article 10(1)(d) of the Directive 2002/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (3) should be fully implemented to ensure minimising the potential risks for the environment and for human health in case of accidental breakage of compact fluorescent lamps or at their end of life.

(11)

Improvements of electricity consumption of products subject to this Regulation should be achieved by applying existing non-proprietary cost effective technologies, which lead to a reduction of the combined expenses for purchasing and operating the equipment.

(12)

Ecodesign requirements for products subject to this Regulation should be set with a view to improving the environmental performance of the products affected, contributing to the functioning of the internal market and to the Community objective of reducing energy consumption by 20 % in 2020 compared with the assumed energy consumption in that year if no measures are implemented.

(13)

This Regulation should increase the market penetration of energy efficient products subject to this Regulation, leading to estimated energy savings of 39 TWh in 2020, compared with the assumed energy consumption in that year if no Ecodesign measure is implemented.

(14)

The ecodesign requirements should not affect functionality from the user’s perspective and should not negatively affect health, safety or the environment. In particular, the benefits of reducing the electricity consumption during the use phase should over-compensate potential, if any, additional environmental impacts during the production phase of products subject to this Regulation.

(15)

A staged entry into force of the ecodesign requirements should provide a sufficient timeframe for manufacturers to re-design products subject to this Regulation as appropriate. The timing of the stages should be set in such a way that negative impacts related to functionalities of equipment on the market are avoided, and cost impacts for end-users and manufacturers, in particular small and medium enterprises, are taken into account, while ensuring timely achievement of the objectives of this Regulation.

(16)

Measurements of the relevant product parameters should be performed taking into account the generally recognised state of the art measurement methods; manufacturers may apply harmonised standards set up in accordance with Article 10 of Directive 2005/32/EC as soon as they are made available and published for that purpose in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(17)

In accordance with Article 8 of Directive 2005/32/EC, this Regulation should specify the applicable conformity assessment procedures.

(18)

In order to facilitate compliance checks, manufacturers should provide information in the technical documentation referred to in Annexes V and VI to Directive 2005/32/EC in so far as this information relates to the requirements laid down in this Regulation.

(19)

In addition to the legally binding requirements, the identification of indicative benchmarks for best available technologies for products subject to this Regulation should contribute to ensuring wide availability and to facilitating access to information. This can further facilitate the integration of best design technologies for improving the life cycle environmental performance of products subject to this Regulation.

(20)

A review of this measure should take particular note of the evolution of sales of special purpose lamp types so as to verify that they are not used for general lighting purposes, of the development of new technologies such as LEDs and of the feasibility of establishing energy efficiency requirements at the ‘A’ class level as defined in Commision Directive 98/11/EC of 27 January 1998 implementing Council Directive 92/75 with regard to energy labeling of household lamps (4).

(21)

The requirements contained in this measure allow halogen lamps of socket G9 and R7s to remain on the market for a limited period of time, recognising the need to service the existing luminaire stock, to prevent undue costs on consumers and to give time to manufacturers to develop luminaires dedicated to more efficient lighting technologies.

(22)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 19(1) of Directive 2005/32/EC,

(a)

lamps having the following chromaticity coordinates x and y:

(b)

directional lamps;

(c)

lamps having a luminous flux below 60 lumens or above 12 000 lumens;

(d)

lamps having:

(e)

fluorescent lamps without integrated ballast;

(f)

high-intensity discharge lamps;

(g)

incandescent lamps with E14/E27/B22/B15 caps, with a voltage equal to or below 60 volts and without integrated transformer in Stages 1-5 according to Article 3.

1.

‘household room illumination’ means the full or partial illumination of a household room, by replacing or complementing natural light with artificial light, in order to enhance visibility within that space;

2.

‘lamp’ means a source made in order to produce an optical radiation, usually visible, including any additional components necessary for starting, power supply or stable operation of the lamp or for the distribution, filtering or transformation of the optical radiation, in case those components cannot be removed without permanently damaging the unit;

3.

‘household lamp’ means a lamp intended for household room illumination; it does not include special purpose lamps;

4.

‘special purpose lamp’ means a lamp not intended for household room illumination because of its technical parameters or because the related product information indicates that it is unsuitable for household room illumination;

5.

‘directional lamp’ means a lamp having at least 80 % light output within a solid angle of π sr (corresponding to a cone with angle of 120°);

6.

‘non-directional lamp’ means a lamp that is not a directional lamp;

7.

‘filament lamp’ means a lamp in which light is produced by means of a threadlike conductor which is heated to incandescence by the passage of an electric current. The lamp may or may not contain gases influencing the process of incandescence;

8.

‘incandescent lamp’ means a filament lamp in which the filament operates in an evacuated bulb or is surrounded by inert gas;

9.

‘tungsten halogen lamp’ means a filament lamp in which the filament is made of tungsten and is surrounded by gas containing halogens or halogen compounds. Tungsten halogen lamps are supplied either with or without integrated power supply;

10.

‘discharge lamp’ means a lamp in which the light is produced, directly or indirectly, by an electric discharge through a gas, a metal vapour or a mixture of several gases and vapours;

11.

‘fluorescent lamp’ means a discharge lamp of the low pressure mercury type in which most of the light is emitted by one or several layers of phosphors excited by the ultraviolet radiation from the discharge. Fluorescent lamps are supplied either with or without integrated ballasts;

12.

‘ballast’ means a device which serves to limit the current of the lamp(s) to the required value in case it is connected between the supply and one or more discharge lamps. It may also include means for transforming the supply voltage, dimming the lamp, correcting the power factor and, either alone or in combination with a starting device, providing the necessary conditions for starting the lamp(s). It can be integrated or external to the lamp;

13.

‘power supply’ means a device which is designed to convert alternating current (AC) power input from the mains power source input into direct current (DC) or another AC output;

14.

‘compact fluorescent lamp’ means a unit which cannot be dismantled without being permanently damaged, provided with a lamp cap and incorporating a fluorescent lamp and any additional components necessary for starting and stable operation of the lamp;

15.

‘fluorescent lamp without integrated ballast’ means a single and double capped fluorescent lamp without integrated ballast;

16.

‘high intensity discharge lamp’ means an electric discharge lamp in which the light producing arc is stabilized by wall temperature and the arc has a bulb wall loading in excess of 3 watts per square centimetre;

17.

‘light emitting diode’ or ‘LED’ means a solid state device embodying a p-n junction, emitting optical radiation when excited by an electric current;

18.

‘LED lamp’ means a lamp incorporating one or several LED.

Stage 1: 1 September 2009,

Stage 2: 1 September 2010,

Stage 3: 1 September 2011,

Stage 4: 1 September 2012,

Stage 5: 1 September 2013,

Stage 6: 1 September 2016.

(a)

their intended purpose; and

(b)

that they are not suitable for household room illumination.