Ecodesign compliant products

The term Ecodesign relates back to the Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for the setting of Ecodesign requirements for energy-related products. This directive covered a wide variety of energy related products:

• Domestic and service industry lighting products:
  • Directional and non-directional lamps (including ultraviolet radiation)
  • Fluorescent lamps (without integrated ballast)
  • High-intensity discharge lamps
  • Ballasts and luminaires able to operate such lamps
  • Electrical devices:
  • Computers and servers
  • Game consoles
  • Simple/complex set-top boxes
  • Standby for networked equipment
  • Televisions
• Household appliances:
  • Cookers
  • Dishwashers
  • Freezers
  • Refrigerators
  • Tumble dryers
  • Washing machines
  • Vacuum cleaners
• Heating and cooling devices:
  • Air conditioners
  • Heaters
  • Comfort fans
  • Heaters
  • Industrial fans
  • Local space heaters
  • Solid fuel local space heaters
  • Solid fuel boilers
  • Ventilation units
  • Water heaters
• Other products:
  • Circulators
  • Electric motors
  • Electric power consumption standby and off mode
  • External power supplies
  • Imagining equipment
  • Power transformers
  • Professional refrigeration
  • Water pumps

The Ecodesign Directive has two types of requirements that the above products need to meet to differring levels.

Specific requirements which are exact values that are measured and a certain limit is given, such as maximum energy consumption, or minimum quantities of recycled material to be used in production.

Generic requirements are more general and do not set limit values, but may require a certain degree of energy-efficiency' or recyclability, information on use and maintenance to minimise its environmental impacts and a lifecycle analysis of the product to identify alternative design options and solutions for improvement

In recent years particular items have been highlighted in the press as legislation pushes towards greater efficiency of systems and products, in particular lighting products such as the phasing out of incandescent lamps from 2009, or the requirement for all new wood burning stoves to be ecodesign compliant, such as was required in the UK in 2022.

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