(1)

Directive 2010/30/EU requires the Commission to adopt delegated acts on the labelling of energy-related products that have a significant potential for energy savings and a wide disparity in the relevant performance levels with equivalent functionality.

(2)

Space heaters with equivalent functionality including solid fuel boilers exhibit a wide disparity in terms of energy efficiency. The energy solid fuel boilers use to provide indoor space heating accounts for a significant share of the total energy demand in the Union. The scope for reducing the energy consumption of solid fuel boilers is significant and includes combining them with appropriate temperature controls and solar devices, and therefore packages of a solid fuel boiler, supplementary heaters, temperature controls and solar devices should also be covered by energy labelling requirements.

(3)

Boilers generating heat exclusively for providing hot drinking or sanitary water, boilers for heating gaseous heat transfer media, cogeneration boilers with an electrical capacity of 50 kW or more and non-woody biomass boilers have specific technical characteristics and should therefore be exempted from this Regulation.

(4)

Harmonised provisions on labelling and standard product information regarding the energy efficiency of solid fuel boilers should be laid down in order to provide incentives for manufacturers to improve the energy efficiency of solid fuel boilers, to encourage end-users to purchase energy-efficient products and to contribute to the functioning of the internal market.

(5)

In order to provide consumers with comparable information on solid fuel boilers, a labelling scale should be introduced coherent with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 811/2013 (2). Taking the approach applied in that regulation to renewable energy would not promote energy efficiency in biomass boilers. Taking the approach applied to fossil fuels would for biomass not be consistent with the objective of promoting renewable energy under Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (3). It is therefore appropriate that this Regulation introduces a specific approach for biomass boilers, a ‘biomass label factor’ set at such a level that class A++ can be reached by condensing biomass boilers.

(6)

The information provided on the label should be obtained through reliable, accurate and reproducible measurement and calculation procedures which take into account recognised state-of-the-art measurement and calculation methods including, where available, harmonised standards adopted by the European standardisation organisations in accordance with the procedures laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4), for the purpose of establishing ecodesign requirements.

(7)

This Regulation should specify a uniform design and content for the labels for solid fuel boilers.

(8)

In addition, this Regulation should specify requirements for the product and technical documentation for solid fuel boilers.

(9)

Moreover, this Regulation should specify requirements in respect of the information to be provided in case of any form of distance selling of solid fuel boilers and in any advertisements and technical promotional material for solid fuel boilers.

(10)

Where labels and product information are based on product fiches from suppliers it should be ensured that the end-user has easy access to information on the energy performance of packages of a solid fuel boiler combined with supplementary heaters, solar devices and temperature controls.

(11)

It is appropriate to provide for a review of the provisions of this Regulation taking into account technological progress,

(1)

‘solid fuel boiler’ means a device equipped with one or more solid fuel heat genererators that provides heat to a water-based central heating system in order to reach and maintain at a desired level the indoor temperature of one or more enclosed spaces, with a heat loss to its surrounding environment of not more than 6 % of rated heat output;

(2)

‘water-based central heating system’ means a system using water as a heat transfer medium to distribute centrally generated heat to heat emitting devices for the heating of enclosed spaces within buildings or parts thereof, including block heating or district heating networks;

(3)

‘solid fuel heat generator’ means the part of a solid fuel boiler that generates the heat through the combustion of solid fuels;

(4)

‘rated heat output’ or ‘Pr ’ means the declared heat output of a solid fuel boiler when providing heating of enclosed spaces with the preferred fuel, expressed in kW;

(5)

‘solid fuel’ means a fuel that is solid at normal indoor room temperatures, including solid biomass and solid fossil fuel;

(6)

‘biomass’ means the biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues from biological origin from agriculture (including vegetal and animal substances), forestry and related industries including fisheries and aquaculture, as well as the biodegradable fraction of industrial and municipal waste;

(7)

‘woody biomass’ means biomass originating from trees, bushes and shrubs, including log wood, chipped wood, compressed wood in the form of pellets, compressed wood in the form of briquettes, and sawdust;

(8)

‘non-woody biomass’ means biomass other than woody biomass, including straw, miscanthus, reeds, kernels, grains, olive stones, olive cakes and nut shells;

(9)

‘fossil fuel’ means fuel other than biomass, including anthracite, brown coal, coke, bituminous coal; for the purposes of this Regulation it also includes peat;

(10)

‘biomass boiler’ means a solid fuel boiler that uses biomass as the preferred fuel;

(11)

‘non-woody biomass boiler’ means a biomass boiler that uses non-woody biomass as the preferred fuel and for which woody biomass, fossil fuel or a blend of biomass and fossil fuel are not listed among its other suitable fuels;

(12)

‘preferred fuel’ means the single solid fuel which is to be preferably used for the boiler according to the supplier's instructions;

(13)

‘other suitable fuel’ means a solid fuel, other than the preferred fuel, which can be used in the solid fuel boiler according to the supplier's instructions and includes any fuel that is mentioned in the instruction manual for installers and end-users, on free access websites of suppliers, in technical promotional material and in advertisements;

(14)

‘solid fuel cogeneration boiler’ means a solid fuel boiler capable of simultaneously generating heat and electricity;

(15)

‘supplementary heater’ means a secondary boiler or heat pump falling within the scope of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 811/2013 or a secondary solid fuel boiler, which generates extra heat where the heat demand is greater than the rated heat output of the primary solid fuel boiler;

(16)

‘temperature control’ means the equipment that interfaces with the end-user regarding the values and timing of the desired indoor temperature, and communicates relevant data to an interface of the solid fuel boiler such as a central processing unit, thus helping to regulate the indoor temperature(s);

(17)

‘solar device’ means a solar-only system, a solar collector, a solar hot water storage tank or a pump in the collector loop, which are placed on the market separately;

(18)

‘solar-only system’ means a device that is equipped with one or more solar collectors and solar hot water storage tanks and possibly pumps in the collector loop and other parts, which is placed on the market as one unit and is not equipped with any heat generator except possibly one or more back-up immersion heaters;

(19)

‘solar collector’ means a device designed to absorb global solar irradiance and to transfer the heat energy so produced to a fluid passing through it;

(20)

‘solar hot water storage tank’ means a hot water storage tank storing heat energy produced by one or more solar collectors;

(21)

‘hot water storage tank’ means a vessel for storing hot water for water or space heating purposes, including any additives, which is not equipped with any heat generator except possibly one or more back-up immersion heaters;

(22)

‘back-up immersion heater’ means a Joule effect electric resistance heater that is part of a hot water storage tank and generates heat only when the external heat source supply is disrupted (including during maintenance periods) or out of order, or that is part of a solar hot water storage tank and provides heat when the solar heat source is not sufficient to satisfy required comfort levels;

(23)

‘package of a solid fuel boiler, supplementary heaters, temperature controls and solar devices’ means a package offered to the end-user containing a solid fuel boiler combined with one or more supplementary heaters, one or more temperature controls or one or more solar devices;

(24)

‘combination boiler’ means a solid fuel boiler that is designed to also provide heat to deliver hot drinking or sanitary water at given temperature levels, quantities and flow rates during given intervals, and is connected to an external supply of drinking or sanitary water.