Comparison of Test Procedures and Energy Efficiency Criteria in Selected International Standards & Labeling Programs for Copy Machines, External Power Supplies, LED Displays, Residential Gas Cooktops and Televisions

This report presents a technical review of international minimum energy performance standards (MEPS),voluntary and mandatory energy efficiency labels and test procedures for five products being considered for new or revised MEPS in China: copy machines, external power supply, LED displays,residential gas cooktops and flat-screen televisions. For each product, an overview of the scope of existing international standards and labeling programs, energy values and energy performance metrics and description and detailed summary table of criteria and procedures in major test standards are presented.

Copy machine standards and labeling programs exist in the U.S., EU, Japan, Hong Kong and Korea and the product is typically classified by paper size and copying speed. Japan excludes multifunctional copy machines from its Top Runner standards program, while the U.S. ENERGY STAR program distinguishes between color and monochrome copiers. For energy efficiency metrics, Japan and U.S. ENERGYSTAR evaluates maximum electricity consumption for active or operational mode – but not directly comparable due to different calculation formulas – in addition to standby and off-mode. The other three regions only specified standby and off-mode power consumption, with the EU and U.S. having the most stringent requirements currently and EU having the most stringent requirement of 0.5 W set for 2013.There is currently no harmonized international test method for measuring active power consumption,but ENERGY STAR and Japanese test procedures exist, and the IEC 62301, Ed. 1 test method is used for standby and off-mode power consumption.

The four leading MEPS for external power supplies in the U.S., Canada, Australia and EU all follow the harmonized, international definition of Class A external power supplies and were all enacted within the last five years. All four standards specify minimum efficiency for external power supplies' active mode for three categories based on rated output and maximum power consumption for no-load mode. The harmonized MEPS requirements for active mode means U.S., Canada and EU all have identical efficiency formulas while Australia has slightly different efficiency coefficients. All four standards also have MEPS requirements for no-load mode, with slight variations in classifications for energy requirements. The test procedure is also harmonized for all four programs, based on the "Test Method for Calculating the Energy Efficiency of Single Voltage External AC-DC and AC-AC Power Supplies" adopted by the U.S. EPA on August 11, 2004.

There are currently no standards or mandatory labeling programs for LED displays but U.S. ENERGYSTAR and Hong Kong have voluntary endorsement labels. Both voluntary energy labeling programs for displays specifies maximum power requirements for on-mode, but differ in the product classification for energy requirements and efficiency formula. For standby and off-mode power consumption requirements, Hong Kong's Phase 2 values are the same as ENERGY STAR but with the additional specification of minimum default times for mode switching after inactivity. U.S. ENERGYSTAR uses its own test method for LED displays while Hong Kong's test method is unspecified.

The U.S. and Japan have the only two national standards programs for residential gas cooktops, with proposed requirements currently under consideration for EU Ecodesign. Very different efficiency metrics exist across the three programs: U.S. only mandates that all gas cooking products not have a constant burning pilot light; Japan specifies energy consumption efficiency by stove type; and EU proposes using limits on total final energy consumption per cooking cycle for gas cooktops. Likewise, each country also uses its own method for measuring gas cooktop energy consumption in the absence of any international or leading test method.

Leading national MEPS programs for flat-screen televisions include Canada, Australia, EU Ecodesign and Japan Top Runner while mandatory labeling programs exist in Australia, the EU and Korea. Besides ENERGYSTAR, the U.S. also has existing and proposed mandatory MEPS in two states (California and Connecticut). The U.S. ENERGY STAR and California MEPS, EU, Australia and Japan all have maximum power consumption values set for active mode, while Canada, Hong Kong and Korea only specify standby and off mode power consumption values. ENERGYSTAR and the EU specify both active and standby requirements, and both uses efficiency values as a function of screen area but with slightly different classifications for efficiency requirements. For standby and off-mode requirements, EUE codesign and Canada Tier 2 requirements are the most stringent with a limit of 0.5 W, with EU requirements becoming most stringent at 0.3 W in August 2011. In addition to active and standby/off-mode power consumption requirements, some programs have additional performance requirements including default time for switching to low power consumption mode, external power supply efficiency and luminance requirements. There is general harmonization across the different television standards and labeling programs in adopting the IEC 62087 test method for measuring on-mode power consumption and IEC 62301 for standby and off mode measurements, with the one notable variation being ENERGY STAR which also uses industrial test standards.