ASHRAE Journal - ACMA Supplement - Fall 2013 - 24

Neil McDowell JoNes

e u r o p e a n a m c a u p d at e

Director of european regulatory affairs,
european air MoveMent anD
control association

european aMca launches
327/2011 verification Programme for Fans
the european union (eu) has been engaged in intensive regulation of energy efficiency and emissions
relating to climate change under the european ecodesign directive. The European Ecodesign Directive establishes
a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for
energy-related products and its Implementing Regulations that
will impact all Member States. At least a dozen “Implementing
Regulations” have now been published, covering products ranging from TV sets to light bulbs and, of course, fans.
Because of the level of regulatory activity on energy-related
products and other performance and safety issues that affect the
air movement and control market in Europe, the European AMCA
division was established
as a European legal entity
EUROPEAN
in Brussels to represent
the interests of the AMCA
European membership.
The first initiative of European AMCA addresses the
issue of market surveillance of an EU Regulation on fan efficiency. This article provides
background information on the EU Regulation and describes a
voluntary AMCA program to verify compliance with the
regulation.
FanS regulation
Commission Regulation (EU) No. 327/2011 sets minimum
efficiency targets that must be met by fans that are driven by
electric motors with input powers from 125W to 500kW. Compliance with Tier 1 targets became mandatory from January 1,
2013, and more stringent Tier 2 targets will apply, beginning in
January 1, 2015. The projected energy and emissions savings
from Regulation 327/2011 are significant. A European Commission Impact Assessment study identified a stock of 143 million
units in 2005, possibly rising to 227 million units in 2020. When
assessed at EU level, energy consumption of fans was 390 TWh/a
(representing some 179 Mt CO2 equivalent) in 2005, with an
estimated rise to 630 TWh/a in 2020 – a 60% increase.
The Impact Assessment predicted that Regulation 327/2011
could achieve a reduction of 54 TWh/a by 2020. This equates
to a saving of 25 Mt of CO2 and 7 billion EUR. To give this a
little EU perspective, this is approximately equal to the amount
electricity consumed in Greece in 2006. It was also stated,
“Monitoring of the impacts is mainly done by market surveillance carried out by Member States authorities, ensuring that
the requirements are met.”
This leads us on to the issue of market surveillance in the
24

Fa l l 2 0 1 3

EU—and the introduction of the European AMCA 327/2011
Verification Programme.
Market Surveillance
and regulation in the eu
One of the mainstays of the European Union single market is
the free movement of goods. In this context, the proper functioning of the single market rests ultimately on consumer trust.
Consumers and purchasers must have confidence that, irrespective of where a product is manufactured and in which
member state it is bought, the product is both safe and compliant. This is the message that was delivered in an explanatory
statement in the draft report on the Proposal for a Regulation
on Market Surveillance of Products and Amendments to
Existing Council Directives that was published
by the European Parliamentary “Committee on
the Internal Market and
Consumer Protection”
in June 2013.

European
Air Movement &
Control Association

Ms. Sirpa Pietikäinen,
rapporteur on Market Surveillance, explained that efficient and
high-quality market surveillance should act as the ultimate
guarantor. This is a stance that has been encouraged and supported by European AMCA. Market surveillance should not
only ensure that products will not endanger the health and safety
of consumers or present a hazard in the workplace, but also
guarantee that products are compliant with applicable EU legislation such as rules for minimum efficiency, noise levels, and
emission limits.
However, it is clear that member states’ market surveillance is
already failing to adequately address the growing number of
imports to the EU and the increased number of products circulating within the single market. Recent figures from the European
Commission suggest that only 0.3% of all goods placed on the
market in the EU (including imported goods) are checked by
the authorities. Meanwhile, there is still an expectation that
market surveillance authorities will be able rise to new challenges, such as the growth in e-commerce.
The situation is made more difficult by a complex legal structure.
In 2011, a European parliament resolution on the revision of the
General Product Safety Directive and market surveillance stated,
“current legislative framework for market surveillance does not
provide enough coherence and should therefore be reviewed
and further coordinated.” The resulting proposal would establish
a common European framework for market surveillance that
will impact all products circulating within the internal market,
including those imported to the EU.

a m c a I n t e r nat I o na l

inmotion

w w w. a m c a . o r g

http://WWW.AMCA.ORG

ASHRAE Journal - ACMA Supplement - Fall 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - ACMA Supplement - Fall 2013