COMMISSION OF
THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
Brussels, Proposal for a
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL
DIRECTIVE on Energy Efficiency Requirements for Ballasts
for Fluorescent Lighting (presented by the Commission)
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
CONTENTS
1. Energy Efficiency Background 3
2. The Need to for Energy Efficiency Requirements for Ballasts
5
3. Implementing the Efficiency Requirements 9
4. Administrative Arrangements Proposed 10
5. Scope of the Proposed Directive and Results Expected from
the Proposed Directive 11
6. Conclusions 13
1. ENERGY EFFICIENCY BACKGROUND
Improving the efficiency with which energy is consumed is a central
theme of energy policy within the European Community, as indicated
in the White Paper “An Energy Policy for the European Union”
, since improved energy efficiency meets all three goals of energy
policy, namely security of supply, competitiveness and protection
of the environment. Energy efficiency reduces energy consumption,
thereby reducing the use of finite energy resources as well as
the dependence on energy resources imported from outside the Community.
Moreover, there is a considerable economic potential for energy
efficiency improvements, (that is, the value of energy saved repays
the cost of efficiency within a few years) which would not otherwise
be realized in the market. Energy efficiency improvements can
therefore improve the competitive position of industry and commerce
in the Community, since less energy is used for a given output
and, by similarly reasoning, they can also improve the economic
welfare of energy users. However in today's policy debate, the
most important aspect of energy efficiency is the associated reduction
in the generation of emissions to the atmosphere of carbon dioxide
(CO2), the major cause of the greenhouse effect. Energy efficiency
is one of the most important policy actions in attaining the Community's
objective of reducing CO2 emissions.
There is also an internal market dimension to
a number of important energy efficiency initiatives, in that they
can involve requirements for energy-using equipment which are
traded within the Community. In order to prevent potential barriers
to trade, these requirements need to be harmonized at Community
level. The internal market also requires industry and commerce
to be operating under similar conditions across the Community
as far as practicable, thus reinforcing the need for comparable
efforts between Member States on energy and associated environmental
initiatives. The precise framing of measures to improve energy
efficiency however, will often need to take account of differing
national circumstances and opportunities and, where there is no
overriding need for action at Community level, may be left to
national competence, in line with the principle of subsidiarity.
These different considerations, of common energy and environmental
objectives, of internal market considerations, and of the principle
of subsidiarity, provide the background to the evolution of energy
efficiency initiatives, as described in the following paragraphs.
Because of the particular importance of electricity
in the energy sector, with electricity generation accounting for
about 35% of total primary energy use and about 30% of man-made
CO2 emissions to the atmosphere, the Council adopted a Decision
on 5 June 1989 establishing a Community action programme for improving
the efficiency of electricity use, PACE . This Decision calls
for the management of actions within the Member States, with the
Commission playing a coordinating role and, where appropriate,
leading its own actions. The importance of improved energy efficiency
in achieving CO2 emission reductions was strengthened by the Council
Decision of 29 October 1991, establishing the SAVE programme,
to give a new impetus to the promotion of energy efficiency in
the Community. This programme sets out the kind of actions to
be pursued, which include initiatives in all energy consuming
areas of the economy, (buildings, the transport sector, industry,
etc.), and the methods to be adopted for their promotion, (information,
negotiated agreements, minimum efficiency requirements, promotional
campaigns, etc.). More recently the Council decided on 16 December
1996 on a multi-annual programme (SAVE II) for the continuation
and strengthening of the SAVE programme, by inter alia, including
the PACE programme. The need to reinforce measures for the promotion
of energy was reiterated in the recent Communication from the
Commission on “Energy Efficiency in the European Community
- Towards a Strategy for the Rational Use of Energy” . The
main conclusions of that Communication have been endorsed by the
Council in the Resolution on Energy Efficiency in the European
Community . This Resolution calls i.a. on the strengthening of
the activities in equipment through the “increased and extended
use of labelling, certification and standardisation;” and
the “increased use of the negotiated agreements on a voluntary
basis”.
In addition, as noted above, energy efficiency
measures applying to tradable goods, must be established on a
Community-wide basis, in order to prevent potential barriers to
trade, that national efficiency requirements might create. In
this respect, the SAVE programme foresees initiatives to improve
the energy efficiencies of energy using equipment. A Directive
establishing energy efficiency performance standards for domestic
boilers, the first such directive of its kind, was adopted on
21 May 1992. A Directive for energy efficiency requirements for
domestic refrigeration appliances was introduced on 3 September
1996. The Commission envisages to continue and strengthen its
activities to transform the market for end-use equipment, in particular
it plans to introduce minimum efficiency requirements (either
through regulation or negotiated agreement) for domestic appliances,
electric motors, electric storage water heaters, air conditioners,
pumps, etc.
As already indicated, minimum efficiency standards
are an essential element of any energy efficiency strategy. It
is worth noting that, during last year, three different Council
documents, i.e.: the ‘Cardiff follow-up: report to the Vienna
European Council, 11-12 December 1998 on environmental integration
and sustainable development within the area of energy policy’;
the Council Resolution of 7 December 1998 ‘on energy efficiency
in the European Community’; and the Decision No 2179/98/EC
of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 September
1998 ‘on the review of the European Community programme
of policy and action in relation to the environment and sustainable
development “towards sustainability”’, mention
explicitly the key role of minimum efficiency standards for appliances
in achieving environmental goals.
2. THE NEED TO FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY
REQUIREMENTS FOR BALLASTS
The Commission under the SAVE programme has investigated energy
efficiency improvements in the lighting sector as a priority area.
A comprehensive study on “Measures to Promote Energy Efficiency
Lighting in the Commercial Sector in Europe” , carried out
for the European Commission, concluded that “mandatory minimum
efficiency standards are likely to produce the largest energy
savings” and that “the production of performance standards,
particularly for fluorescent lamp ballasts, appears from this
study to be one of the most effective actions which the EC could
take to reduce energy consumption for lighting in commercial buildings
and is thus worth further consideration and development.”
Moreover the study indicated that “actions which do not
result in mandatory requirements are likely to be less effective”
and “energy labelling would also provide additional information
for the designer and specifier and if suitably promoted could
lead to the use of more energy efficient lighting components.
However the effect on energy consumption of such a labelling scheme
is not readily determined.”
In the commercial sectors the lighting equipment
purchaser is not often the user and therefore he is not concerned
by the electricity cost : for example, owners of office buildings
tend to install the cheapest lighting systems, as these minimize
their cost, while office occupants, who pay the electricity bill,
do not have any influence on the choice of equipment. In addition,
equipment intended for the commercial sectors is often selected
by people having access to all the necessary technical information
including energy consumption. Therefore it is felt that an energy
label would not be very useful. For the commercial and industrial
sectors, the most effective measure to increase energy efficiency
of equipment is to act on the production stage and in particular
to introduce minimum efficiency requirements.
The European manufacturers association of luminaires,
CELMA introduced in 1997 an “energy” classification
scheme . The scheme is now widely adopted by manufacturers throughout
the Community. The Commission recognized the usefulness of the
scheme, but it is of the opinion that a classification scheme
is not enough to achieve the potential savings, as the buyers’
choice of ballast in most cases is based on suboptimal economic
decisions and based on the purchase price, rather than on the
life cycle-cost.
Minimum efficiency requirements are a very powerful
instrument in transforming the market and in achieving a large
share of energy savings at low cost, especially when equipment
purchasers are not influenced by information and labels. Several
concerned parties (mainly manufacturers) have expressed their
preference for the conclusion of negotiated agreements , by which
manufacturers voluntarily phase out low efficiency products from
the market.
The Commission discussed in detailed the possibility
of concluding a negotiated agreement with CELMA. However, CELMA
declared that a negotiated agreement was not a viable option,
as there is a substantial level of ballasts imported in the Community.
If European manufacturers were committing themselves voluntarily
to phase out low efficiency ballasts, they would free a market
segment, which would be taken by the non-participating manufacturers.
Any installed fluorescent lamp has an associated
ballast. A considerable amount of energy is dissipated in ballasts,
and this can be quite considerably reduced by using more efficient
ballasts. Therefore most experts agree that the ballast is a key
area for the reduction of energy use. There are two types of ballasts.
The most common ballast is the wire-wound ballast. Among the wire-wound
ballasts three different types are defined in the CELMA scheme
according to their energy losses. The “high-loss”
ballasts (class D) is generally made from poor quality materials;
these ballasts are generally quite cheap. “Conventional”
ballasts (class C) may be made with slightly higher quality materials
(e.g. copper). As a result, the energy losses in the ballasts
are decreased, but the cost is higher. The “low-loss”
ballasts (class B) use copper windings on high quality steel laminated
cores. These low-loss ballasts are relatively expensive. The second
type of ballast is the “electronic ballast”. Electronic
ballasts have relatively low losses similar to the best wire-wound
ballasts . However at present electronic ballasts are significantly
more expensive than wire-wound ballasts. Developments in the near
future are likely to consist principally of refinements to the
existing technology. For electronic ballasts these may result
in cheaper ballasts, but are unlikely to affect energy consumption.
It has already been indicated that technologies now exist which
produce high efficiency ballasts, and there is clearly a large
variation of efficiency of the ballasts present today on market.
In addition, since the market share of the classes of ballasts
described above has not moved significantly in the last years
, it can be concluded that action to promote energy efficiency
of ballasts is needed, and in particular minimum efficiency requirements.
In fact minimum efficiency requirements are very cost-effective
measurement and several countries have adopted or are considering
adopting them.
The Proposed Efficiency Levels for Ballasts
Although the optimum for consumers would correspond to the minimum
of the life cycle cost, provided that the payback period is shorter
than the lifetime of the ballast, this could lead to models with
too high an increase in purchase price and therefore could result
in a decrease of sales (for example, users could postpone the
upgrading of their lighting systems). A more realistic technical/economic
criterion for setting efficiency requirements is that efficiency
improvements should have a short payback time, after about 3 years
or less. The correct length of the payback period should be determined
in such a way that there will not be any significant impact on
manufacturers’ through reduced sales.
As already mentioned the European manufacturers
association of luminaires, CELMA introduced a classification scheme
in 1997. The Commission agreed in discussion with manufacturers
that minimum efficiency levels would be more effective if the
thresholds were set at the boundaries between the classes of the
CELMA classification scheme, as this would coincide with an industry
established market segmentation, and would also simplify market
surveillance.
A comprehensive cost/benefit analysis was carried
out for the Commission in 1996 to evaluate the impact of minimum
efficiency requirements. In order to give to the ballast manufacturers
time to adapt whilst ensuring progress to an achievable and economic
level of efficiency; the study recommended the adoption of three
progressive levels of minimum efficiency; all three levels are
more demanding than the proposed ones. Industry at the time (1996)
accepted the levels of the present proposal although with a shortened
timetable . The efficiency requirements of the present proposal
have been based on cost/benefit analysis and on discussions with
industry. Moreover in December 1998 CELMA declared that manufacturers
are happy with the proposed levels.
To minimize the impact on manufactures, a phased
approach is foreseen, associated with long transition periods
before the entry into force of each level of minimum efficiency
requirements. The first level of the present proposal is envisaged
to phase out class D (“high-loss”) ballasts and to
come into force one year after the adoption of the Directive (assuming
adoption by 1.1.2001, it will come into force on 1.1.2002). A
one year transition period is judged consistent with the small
investments and adaptations needed to meet the first step. After
three years (1.1.2005) a second efficiency step is envisaged to
come into force, by which the class C (“conventional”)
ballasts will be phased out. As these ballasts represent the bulk
of the actual market, considerable time as been allowed for this
step. In particular, taking into account that manufacturers agreed
to such a step during the beginning of 1996 , this represent a
very long transition time. The third and final step of the proposal
will then be implemented after a further three years (1.1.2008)
and will be based on the then present market situation, in particular
on the price of electronic ballasts (classes A1, A2, A3 ) and
the most efficient magnetic ballast on the market (class B1).
As the market might change considerably in response to the introduction
of the first two levels, it is proposed to analyse the technical
and market situation again at the time of the entry into force
of the second level.
The price increase associated with all three
successive efficiency levels is under Ä2 , but would exceed
Ä20 for changes involving electronic ballasts (class A) .
Minimum efficiency requirements for ballasts would apply to all
buyers and installations, making a complete ban of all wire-wound
ballasts unfeasible as it might require investment increases of
about Ä20 per luminaire.
Therefore it can be concluded that a ban on
wire-wound ballasts would place an undue cost burden on domestic
users . On the contrary the proposed minimum efficiency requirements
have an acceptable payback period for all users, and as already
indicated, the impact on industry is acceptable.
3. IMPLEMENTING THE EFFICIENCY REQUIREMENTS
Well defined systems have been developed at Community level on
technical harmonization and standards, as a central part of completing
the internal market. The “new approach to technical harmonization
and standards”, adopted in 1985 , represents an established
way of using standardization in support of the process of Community
technical legislation. Under the “new approach”, the
European standardization bodies are asked to draw up, under mandate
from the Commission, standards intended as a means of providing
presumption of conformity to the essential requirements of legislative
harmonized standards. The “new approach” foresees
that the essential requirements of harmonized standards are defined
by Directives, as opposed to the older alternative of mutually
recognizing national standards where these existed.
As indicated in the first chapter, energy efficiency
is at the core of energy and environmental policies, being one
of the key action to reduce CO2 emissions; in addition energy
efficiency is also closely linked to industrial and consumer protection
policies, because it results in large savings for energy users
and it impacts positively on manufacturers. In the case of energy
efficiency, the essential requirement is the “level of efficiency”,
a political decision which cannot be left to any interested party,
nor can be delegated. As described in the “new approach”
Resolution, “the essential (safety) requirements which must
be met in the case of products which can be put on the market
shall be worded precisely enough in order to create, on transposition
into national law, legally binding obligations which can be enforced”.
This indicates clearly that a generic requirement that equipment
must be energy efficient cannot be considered as an essential
requirement; a clear definition of level of efficiency must therefore
be contained in the legislation.
The two previous Directives covering efficiency
standards, i.e. the "Boilers" and the "Refrigerators"
Directives contained the minimum efficiency levels in the Annexes.
During discussions of the latter in the Council, some Member States
expressed their preference for mandating technical requirements
to the standardization bodies. However, in the case of energy
efficiency, giving open mandates, on the basis of which the standardization
bodies define the appropriate levels, would delegate the political
decision to technical bodies, which sometimes are composed mainly
of representatives from industry.
The present proposal covers ballasts placed on the Community market.
A large number of ballasts produced in the Community are exported
as components or as parts of completed products, i.e. luminaires.
In order to maintain the competitiveness of the Community manufacturers
it is proposed that ballasts destined to the export markets are
not covered by the present proposal. The proposed Directives’
Articles are structured in a similar manner as to the one of the
“Refrigerator Directives”; this is because both the
Directives have the same goal, i.e. to introduce efficiency requirements
for electrical good; moreover both the Directive use the CE marking
as the mark of conformity.
4. ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENTS PROPOSED
Methods of assessing the conformity of products with such harmonized
standards, based on the so called "global approach",
have also been adopted at Community level , and have been incorporated
in this proposal. This approach allows use of one or more of a
set of "modules" which outline different procedures
for assessing the conformity of a product with the imposed standards.
The different modules are designed to meet different possible
circumstances and are selected as appropriate to meet the requirements
of the Directive in question.
A mandatory "type-conformity" testing
procedure to be carried out by appropriate bodies designated by
Member State governments, (so called "notified bodies"),
would be extremely onerous and would require very considerable
expenditure and time commitments by both manufacturers and the
notified bodies themselves. A conformity assessment procedure
based on self assessment is therefore proposed. This procedure
is also required for conformity assessments for other Directives
which cover ballasts, namely the "Low Voltage Directive"
and the "Electro-magnetic Compatibility Directive" .
Under the self assessment module, manufacturers are required to
draw up technical documentation and accompanying test reports
in support of the declaration of conformity they are also required
to make. All these documents must be kept available for inspection
by the public authorities at any time, and in particular if doubts
arise about the conformity of a particular model of appliance.
These are formal procedures which must be followed before the
CE marking can legitimately be affixed by the manufacturer, allowing
the product to be placed, and to circulate freely, on the Community
market. Some commentators have expressed doubts about the effectiveness
of a self-assessment procedure, but under the circumstances as
described above, it is felt to be sufficient, all the more so
when account is taken of the threat of prosecution under the appropriate
trades description legislation in a country and the very negative
publicity which could accompany a false claim on energy efficiency.
In any event, it is proposed that in the report to be drawn up
on the operation of the Directive, in line with the guidelines
developed for Community conformity assessment procedures, the
effectiveness and efficiency of the conformity procedures shall
be given particular attention. In addition, the Commission services
are investigating possible actions to strengthen market surveillance,
to be carried out either by the Commission services, the national
surveillance authorities or third parties.
5. SCOPE OF THE PROPOSED DIRECTIVE AND
RESULTS EXPECTED FROM THE PROPOSED DIRECTIVE
The purpose of the proposed Directive is to achieve cost-effective
energy savings in fluorescent lighting, which would not otherwise
be achieved with other measures. The proposed Directive covers
only newly produced ballasts, which are responsible for large
electricity consumption and present a large potential for energy
savings.
The average life of a fluorescent lighting installation is about
20 years and the average life of a ballast is about 15 years or
more depending upon the annual hours of use. Since only a percentage
of ballasts are replaced each year on average, the impact of standards
on electricity consumption will be relatively slow, though continually
increasing over time. It has been estimated that the efficiency
requirements envisaged under this Directive could give the following
electricity and consequent CO2 emission reductions :
Estimated Reductions in Electricity Use and
Consequent CO2 Reductions from Electricity Generation
for the Community from Ballast Efficiency Requirements
(adoption on 1 January 2001)
2000 2005 2010 2020
Total Community electricity consumption for fluorescent lighting
(TWh/year)
- without efficiency requirements 105 108 111 118
- with efficiency requirements 105 107 106 106
Savings through efficiency requirements - 1 5 12
CO2 emissions avoided through
standards (Mtonnes/yr.) 0.5 2.5 6
The absolute savings become very substantial
in time, reaching 12 TWh/y by the year 2020, when the full installed
park has been replaced, worth about 1000 MÄ per year to commercial
and industrial users (the cumulative saving up to year 2020 are
worth 9000 MÄ). This correspond to a reduction of about 10
% of the electricity consumption of fluorescent lighting. It is
in the nature of measures to improve energy efficiency that they
must be applied to the very many and diverse uses of energy in
our modern economies. According to the Commission estimate, the
market transformation process for major electric end-use equipment,
starting with the Domestic Refrigerators Directive, by adding
individual savings to the year 2010, will result in an electricity
savings of at least 10 % of total electricity consumption or 220
TWh/y.
In the light of the relatively slow though steady impact of standards
on the stock of ballasts, Commission plans to introduce measures
to enhance and accelerate the appliance renewal process. This
will be achieved through the promotion of greater awareness of
the energy efficiency aspects of lighting equipment, by supporting
demonstration of innovative technologies, information activities,
technology procurement and demand side actions. The soon to be
launched “EU Green Light” Programme will have a key
role in fostering this market transformation.
6. CONCLUSIONS
• The proposal is part of the Commission’s strategy
to improve efficiency of end-use electrical equipment, as indicated
in the recent Commission Communication on “Energy Efficiency
in the European Community - Towards a Strategy for the Rational
Use of Energy”. It follows the same approach of the “Refrigerator”
Directive, and of the negotiated agreements for TVs and VCRs and
washing machines. Other equipment (e.g. electric motors, electric
water heaters, etc.) will be the subject of future initiatives.
• Minimum efficiency requirements for ballasts are essential
to improve efficiency of fluorescent lighting; as previously indicated,
a classification/labelling scheme would have only a limited impact.
Ballasts manufacturers were not able to offer a negotiated self-commitment,
and they agreed on the introduction of minimum efficiency requirements;
as demonstrated, the proposed minimum efficiency requirements
are a very cost-effective measure.
• The proposed levels would have a minor impact on industry
given the long adaptation period, with a large positive impact
on all users of fluorescent lighting.
• The electricity savings and the CO2 emissions reduction,
although relatively small (but comparable to the one generated
by the “Refrigerator” Directive), will increase over
time and added on to all the other electrical end-use equipment,
become substantial. The present proposal is a contribution to
the Community and Member States’ efforts to reduce CO2 emissions
to meet the Kyoto targets in a cost-effective manner.
Proposal for a EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
on Energy Efficiency Requirements for Ballasts for Fluorescent
Lighting THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing
the European Community and in particular Article 95 thereof, Having
regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee
, Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty
(1) Whereas it is important to promote measures aimed at the proper
functioning of the internal market;
(2) Whereas in its resolution of 15 January 1985 on the improvement
of energy-saving programmes in the Member States the Council invited
the Member States to pursue and, where necessary, increase their
efforts to promote the more rational use of energy by the further
development of integrated energy-saving policies;
(3) Whereas fluorescent lighting accounts for a significant share
of energy consumption in the Community and thus of total energy
consumption; whereas the various models of ballasts for fluorescent
lighting available on the Community market have very different
levels of consumption for a given type of lamp, i.e. extremely
variable energy efficiency;
(4) Whereas some Member States appear to be on the point of adopting
provisions relating to the efficiency of ballasts for fluorescent
lighting, which might create barriers to trade in these products
in the Community;
(5) Whereas it is appropriate to take as a base a high level of
protection in proposals for the approximation of the provisions
laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member
States concerning health, safety, environmental protection and
consumer protection; whereas this Directive ensures a high level
of protection for both the environment and the consumer, in aiming
at a significant improvement of the energy efficiency of ballasts;
(6) Whereas the adoption of such measures falls within Community
competence; whereas the requirements of this Directive are within
the limits of its objectives, thus conforming to the requirements
of Article 5 of the Treaty;
(7) Whereas, moreover, Article 174 of the Treaty calls for the
protection and improvement of the environment and prudent and
rational utilisation of natural resources, these two objectives
being among those of the Community policy on the environment;
whereas electricity generation and consumption account for 30%
of man-made carbon dioxides (CO2) emissions and some 35% of primary
energy consumption in the Community, whereas these percentages
are increasing;
(8) Whereas, furthermore, Council Decision 89/363/EC of 5 June
1989 on a Community action programme for improving the efficiency
of electricity use has as its twin objectives to encourage consumers
to favour appliances and equipment with high electrical efficiency
and to improve the efficiency of appliances and equipment;
(9) Whereas in its conclusions of 29 October 1990 the Council
set an objective of stabilising carbon dioxide (C02) emissions
in the Community at 1990 levels by the year 2000; whereas the
UNFCCC Protocol agreed in Kyoto on 10 December 1997 calls for
a greenhouse gases emission reduction for the Community of 8%
by year 2012; whereas in order to achieve this objective stronger
measures are required to limit and to reduce C02 emissions within
the Community;
(10) Whereas Decision 91/565/EC established a programme to promote
energy efficiency in the Community (the SAVE programme); and Decision
96/732/EC established a new multiannual programme (the SAVE II
programme) to continue and strengthen the action of the original
SAVE programme;
(11) Whereas most energy-efficient ballasts are available at a
different cost and they can pay for their initial cost through
electricity savings within a few years; whereas this calculation
does not take into account the added benefit of the external costs
of electricity generation thereby avoided, such as emissions of
carbon dioxide (CO2) and other pollutants;
(12) Whereas this Directive, which is aimed at eliminating technical
barriers with regard to improving the energy efficiency of ballasts
for fluorescent lighting, must follow the “new approach”
established by the Council resolution of 7 May 1985 on a new approach
to technical harmonisation and standards which specifically lays
down that legislative harmonisation is limited to the adoption,
by means of directives, of the essential requirements with which
products put on the market must conform;
(13) Whereas Council Resolution of 19 June 1998 called for a programme
of complementary common and co-ordinated measures, such as improved
dynamic energy efficiency standards.
(14) Whereas an effective enforcement system is necessary to ensure
that the Directive is implemented properly, guarantees fair conditions
of competition for producers and protects consumer rights;
(15) Whereas regard should be had to the Council Decision 93/465/EEC
of 22 July 1993 concerning the modules for the various phases
of the conformity assessment procedures and the rules for the
affixing and use of the CE conformity marking , which are intended
to be used in the technical harmonisation directives;
(16) Whereas in the interest of international trade, international
standards should be used wherever appropriate; whereas the electricity
consumption of a ballast is defined by the European Committee
for Standardisation Standard EN 50294 of July 1998, which is based
on international standards;
(17) Whereas ballasts for fluorescent lighting complying with
the energy efficiency requirements of this Directive must bear
the “CE” marking and associated information, in order
to enable them to move freely;
(18) Whereas this Directive is confined to ballasts for fluorescent
lighting, supplied by mains electricity;
(19) Whereas it did not prove possible to achieve the same objectives
of the present proposal through a negotiated agreement with the
European association of ballast manufacturers: CELMA, due to the
high level of imports into the Community market
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
This Directive shall apply to new electric mains-operated ballasts
for fluorescent lighting sources as defined in Annex I and referred
to hereafter as "ballasts".
However ballasts to be exported from the Community either as individual
parts or as parts of luminaires shall be excluded.
Article 2
1. Member States shall take all necessary measures to ensure that
ballasts covered by this Directive can be placed on the Community
market and put into service only if the power consumption of the
ballast in question is less than or equal to the maximum allowable
power consumption value for its category as calculated according
to the procedures defined in Annex I.
2. The manufacturer of a ballast covered by this Directive, its
authorised representative established in the Community or the
person responsible for placing the ballast on the Community market
shall be responsible for ensuring that each ballast placed on
the market conforms with the requirement referred to in paragraph
1.
Article 3
1. Member States may not prohibit, restrict or impede the placing
on the market or the putting into service in their territory of
ballasts which bear the “CE” marking attesting to
their conformity with all the provisions of this Directive.
2. Unless they have evidence to the contrary, Member States shall
presume that ballasts bearing the “CE” marking required
under Article 5 comply with all the provisions of this Directive.
3. (a) Where ballasts are subject to other directives covering
other aspects which also provide for affixing of the “CE”
marking, the latter shall indicate that the ballasts in question
are also presumed, unless evidence to the contrary exists, to
conform to the provisions of those other directives.
(b) However, where one or more of these directives allows the
manufacturer, during a transitional period, to choose which rules
to apply, the “CE” marking shall indicate conformity
solely with the provisions of those directives applied by the
manufacturer. In this case, the reference numbers of the directives
applied, as published in the Official Journal of the European
Communities, must be given in the documents, notices or instructions
accompanying the ballasts.
(c) When ballasts are exported from the Community either as individual
parts or as parts of luminaires this must be clearly indicated
by manufacturer, its authorised representative established in
the Community or the person responsible for placing the ballasts
on the Community market in the documents, notices or instructions
accompanying the ballasts.
Article 4
The conformity assessment procedures and the obligation relating
to the “CE” marking of ballasts are laid down in Annex
II.
Article 5
1. When ballasts are placed on the market, they must bear the
“CE” marking, which shall consist of the initials
“CE”. The form of the marking to be used is shown
in Annex III. The “CE” marking shall be affixed visibly,
legibly and indelibly to ballasts and, where appropriate, to the
packaging.
2. The affixing on ballasts of any markings which are likely to
mislead third parties as to the meaning and form of the “CE”
marking shall be prohibited. Any other marking may be affixed
to the ballasts, their packaging, the instruction sheet or other
documents, provided that the “CE” marking remains
clearly visible and legible.
Article 6
1. Where a Member State establishes that the “CE”
marking has been affixed improperly, the manufacturer or his authorised
representative established within the Community shall be obliged
to bring the product into conformity and to end the infringement
in accordance with the conditions imposed by the Member State.
Where neither the manufacturer nor his authorised representative
is established within the Community, the person who places the
ballasts on the Community market shall undertake these obligations.
2. Where the product continues not to be in conformity, the Member
State shall take all necessary measures pursuant to Article 7
to restrict or prohibit the placing on the market of the product
in question or to ensure that it is withdrawn from the market.
Article 7
1. Any decision taken pursuant to this Directive which contains
a restriction on the placing on the market of ballasts shall state
the precise grounds on which it is based. The party concerned
shall be notified without delay of the decision and shall be informed
at the same time of the possibilities and time limits regarding
the legal remedies available to it under the laws in force in
the Member State in question.
2. The Member State shall immediately inform the Commission of
any such measure, indicating the reasons for its decision. The
Commission shall make this information known to the other Member
States.
Article 8
1. Member States shall adopt and publish the laws, regulations
and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive
within a year of its adoption. They shall immediately inform the
Commission thereof.
Member States shall apply these provisions on the expiration of
a period of one year counting from the date of adoption of this
Directive.
When Member States adopt these provisions, these shall contain
a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such
reference at the time of their official publication. The procedure
for such reference shall be adopted by Member States.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts
of the provisions of national law which they adopt in the field
covered by this Directive.
3. During a one-year period following adoption of this Directive,
Member States shall permit the placing on the market of ballasts
which comply with the same conditions as those which were applied
on their territory at the date of adoption of this Directive.
Article 9
1. After four years from the adoption of this Directive the second
set of maximum allowable power consumption values as defined in
Annex IA will become applicable.
2. Before the expiry of a period of four years from the adoption
of this Directive, the Commission shall make an assessment of
the results obtained as compared with those expected. With a view
to advancing to a third stage in energy efficiency improvement,
the Commission shall then consider, in consultation with the interested
parties, the need to lay down a third set of maximum allowed power
consumption levels for significantly improving the energy efficiency
of ballasts. In this case, the power consumption and the date
of its entry into force will be based on levels which can be economically
and technically justified in the light of the circumstances at
the time. Any other measure judged appropriate to improve energy
efficiency of ballast shall also be considered.
Article 10
This Directive shall enter into force on the 20th day following
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
Article 11
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels,
For the European Parliament For the Council
The President The President
ANNEX I
Methods for Calculating the Maximum Allowable Power Consumption
for a Given Ballast Type and Procedures for the Verification of
Conformity therewith
The energy efficiency of the lamp-ballast circuit is determined
by the total input power into the circuit. This is a function
of the lamp power and of the type of ballast; for this reason,
the maximum allowed power consumption of a given ballast is defined
as the maximum ballast-lamp circuit power, with different levels
for each lamp power and ballast type.
To calculate the maximum allowable consumption of a given ballast,
it must therefore first be allocated to the appropriate category
from the following list :
Category Description
1 Ballast for linear lamp type
2 Ballast for compact 2 tubes lamp type
3 Ballast for compact 4 tubes flat lamp type
4 Ballast for compact 4 tubes lamp type
5 Ballast for compact 6 tubes lamp type
6 Ballast for compact 2 D lamp type
The maximum allowable power consumption expressed in W is defined
by the following table :
Ballast
Category Lamp Power Maximum Allowable
Power Consumption
50 Hz HF
1 15 W
18 W
30 W
36 W
38 W
58 W
70 W 13.5 W
16 W
24 W
32 W
32 W
50 W
60 W < 25 W
< 28 W
< 40 W
< 45 W
< 47 W
< 70 W
< 83 W
2 18 W
24 W
36 W 16 W
22 W
32 W < 28 W
< 34 W
< 45 W
3 18 W
24 W
36 W 16 W
22 W
32 W < 28 W
< 34 W
< 45 W
4 10 W
13 W
18 W
26 W 9.5 W
12.5 W
16.5 W
24 W < 18 W
< 21 W
< 28 W
< 36 W
5 18 W
26 W 16 W
24 W < 28 W
< 36 W
6 10 W
16 W
21 W
28 W
38 W 9 W
14 W
19 W
25 W
34 W < 18 W
< 25 W
< 31 W
< 38 W
< 47 W
Definitions
The terms used in this Annex correspond to the definitions in
European Standard EN 50294 of July 1998 laid down by the European
Committee for Standardization.
ANNEX IA
The second set of maximum allowable power consumption which becomes
applicable four years from the adoption
Ballast
Category Lamp Power Maximum Allowable
Power Consumption
50 Hz HF
1 15 W
18 W
30 W
36 W
38 W
58 W
70 W 13.5 W
16 W
24 W
32 W
32 W
50 W
60 W < 23 W
< 26 W
< 38 W
< 43 W
< 45 W
< 67 W
< 80 W
2 18 W
24 W
36 W 16 W
22 W
32 W < 26 W
< 32 W
< 43 W
3 18 W
24 W
36 W 16 W
22 W
32 W < 26 W
< 32 W
< 43 W
4 10 W
13 W
18 W
26 W 9.5 W
12.5 W
16.5 W
24 W < 16 W
< 19 W
< 26 W
< 34 W
5 18 W
26 W 16 W
24 W < 26 W
< 34 W
6 10 W
16 W
21 W
28 W
38 W 9 W
14 W
19 W
25 W
34 W
55 W < 16 W
< 23 W
< 29 W
< 36 W
< 45 W
ANNEX II
Conformity Assessment Procedures (Module A)
1. This module describes the procedure whereby the manufacturer
or his authorized representative established within the Community,
who carries out the obligations laid down in point 2, ensures
and declares that the ballast satisfies the relevant requirements
of this Directive. The manufacturer shall affix the “CE”
marking to each ballast which he manufactures and draw up a written
declaration of conformity.
2. The manufacturer must establish the technical documentation
described in paragraph 3 and he or his authorized representative
established within the Community shall keep it at the disposal
of the relevant national authorities for inspection purposes,
for a period of not less than three years from the date on which
the last ballast has been manufactured.
Where neither the manufacturer nor his authorized representative
is established within the Community, the obligation to keep the
technical documentation available is the responsibility of the
person who places the ballast on the Community market.
3. Technical documentation must enable the conformity of the ballast
with the requirements of this Directive to be assessed. It must,
as far as is relevant for such assessment, cover the design, manufacture
and operation of the ballast and shall comprise:
i) the name and the address of the manufacturer;
ii) a general description of the model sufficient for unambiguous
identification;
iii) information, including drawings as relevant, on the main
design features of the model and in particular on items which
appreciably affect its electricity consumption;
iv) the operating instructions, if any;
v) the results of power consumption measurements carried out as
required by point 5;
vi) details of the conformity of these measurements as compared
to the energy consumption requirements set out in Annex I.
4. Technical documentation established for other Community legislation
may be used in so far as it meets the requirements of this Annex.
5. Manufacturers of ballast are responsible for establishing the
power consumption of each ballast covered by this Directive according
to the procedures specified in European Standard EN 50294, as
well as the appliance's conformity with the requirements of Article
2.
6. The manufacturer or his authorized representative must keep
a copy of the declaration of conformity with the technical documentation.
7. The manufacturer must take all measures necessary in order
that the manufacturing process ensures that the manufactured ballasts
comply with the technical documentation referred to in point 2
and with the relevant requirements of the Directive.
ANNEX III
“CE” Conformity Marking
The conformity marking shall consist of the initials “CE”
taking the following form :
If the “CE” marking is reduced or enlarged the proportion
given in the above graduated drawing must be respected.
The various components of the “CE”
marking must have substantially the same vertical dimension, which
may not be less than 5 mm.
BUSINESS - IMPACT ASSESSMENT
The Impact of the Proposal on Business
with Special Reference to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMES)
Title of the Proposal : PROPOSAL FOR A DIRECTIVE OF THE
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY REQUIREMENTS
FOR BALLASTS FOR FLUORESCENT LIGHTING Document Reference
Number : 99002
7. THE PROPOSAL
Taking account of the principle of subsidiarity, why is Community
legislation necessary in this area and what are its main aims
?
Energy consumption of fluorescent lighting amount
to 105 TWh (Tera Watt hour) per year; fluorescent lighting is
mainly used in the tertiary sector buildings (offices, schools,
hospitals, etc.) and in industry premises. Large energy savings,
and the associated CO2 emissions reductions, can be achieved with
the use of more energy efficient ballasts, indispensable components
to fluorescent lighting fixtures. To achieve these savings, it
is essential to promote high efficiency ballasts and to phase
out the very low efficiency units. The difference in energy efficiency
performance between the best and the worst on the market is about
60 %. There is an extra cost associated with more efficient ballasts;
however, this is paid back in few years. Therefore high efficiency
ballasts are cost-effective.
Ballasts are mainly bought by Original Equipment Manufacturers
(OEMs) , which mount the ballast in the light fixture. As OEMs
do not benefit of the (large) electricity savings, they tend to
specify equipment with the lowest initial cost. The same applies
to commercial building owners, who rent the premises, when they
retrofit the lighting systems. Therefore a labelling action to
inform users of the economic benefit of high efficiency ballasts
would have only a very limited effect. Energy efficiency experts
and Member States agree that the most effective policy instrument
to achieve market transformation in term of energy efficiency
is to introduce minimum efficiency requirements for ballasts.
The Commission explored the possibility to reach
a negotiated agreement with industry to phase out low efficiency
ballasts. The European manufacturers were ready to phase out voluntarily
low efficiency ballasts, however they feared that imported products
would take the market share they would abandon. Manufacturers
agreed that the best option for them was to have a Directive introducing
an “harmonized” minimum efficiency requirements.
In addition, Member States as part of their post-Kyoto strategy
to reduce CO2 emissions are considering to introduce national
requirements for efficiency of ballasts. Because ballasts are
traded goods, any Member State’s legislation to introduce
mandatory efficiency requirements would create a potential barrier
to trade.
Therefore it can be concluded that Community
legislation in this area is justified, as it will contribute to
the reduction of CO2 emissions in a cost-effective manner with
high economic benefits for lighting users, and a low impact on
manufacturers, and this while preserving the internal market.
A similar approach has been followed for other energy using equipment
(e.g. domestic refrigeration appliances). It is recognized by
Member States that efficiency requirements have to be introduced
at Community level in an harmonized way by means of Directives
in order to preserve the internal market (this type of measure
is referred as a common policy in the post-Kyoto strategy).
8. THE IMPACT ON BUSINESS
a) Who will be affected by the proposal ?
- which sectors of business
- which sizes of business (what is the concentration of small
and medium sized firms)
- are there particular geographical areas of the Community where
these businesses are found
The proposal would impact first on ballast manufacturers, and
secondly on commercial buildings and industrial premises occupants.
The two impacts are completely different.
As far as the impact on ballast manufacturers
is concerned, today’s market structure can absorb around
120 million of conventional ballasts (of which about 20 millions
are very low efficiency and about 17 million high efficiency ballasts)
and 10 million of electronic ballasts per year. The average size
of the manufacturing companies is medium-small. The manufacturers
could be divided in four groups:
– 5 companies with production plants in
Germany, France, Italy, Finland and Austria. On the average, these
productive units have an installed capacity of 15 to 20 million
pieces and employ about 250 to 300 people each.
– Companies of a medium-small size with
a capacity of 5 to 10 million pieces and employing about 50 to
100 people, these plants are located mainly in France and Spain;
– Companies with a capacity around 1 to 2 million pieces,
these operate mainly at national level, with production plants
in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece and United Kingdom. Each production
unit employs around 50 people.
– A few large multinational companies
(e.g. like Philips, Siemens, General Electric/Thorn, Osram) who
tend to produce all the components of the lighting system in house:
for example production of lamps, ballasts and luminaries. In this
last group, the ballast production is mainly intended for consumption
inside the company. The production units are located in the Netherlands,
France, Italy, United Kingdom and Germany.
b) What will business have to do to comply with
the proposal ?
To comply with the proposal, manufacturers have to phase out progressively
in time production (or just to refrain to market them in the Community)
of low efficiency ballasts. The proposal allows for a relatively
long transition periods before the entry into force of the proposed
levels. An energy efficiency classification scheme has been developed
by the EU manufacturers association, CELMA, in collaboration with
the European Commission. The proposed efficiency levels are based
on the CELMA classification scheme. There are no EU manufacturers
who cannot meet the first efficiency level.
All the manufacturers producing low efficiency
ballasts (class D of the CELMA classification scheme) are also
producing medium efficiency units (class C). In any case the same
technology and production lines can be used for producing C class
ballasts. To meet the proposed first level there is no need for
new technology or proprietary knowledge, only the use of better
quality material (e.g. replacing aluminum wire with copper and
higher quality steel, etc.) and better quality control in the
production plant are required.
For the second level a longer adaptation time
has been envisaged as some production lines need upgrading. In
general, more efficient magnetic ballasts requires more material
than low efficiency one; in particular the low-loss ballast (class
B) requires about 50% more material. The increase in the magnetic
steel stack length will cause a reduction in the productivity
of the lines that produce conventional ballasts (class C). Therefore,
industry should introduce new lines of production in order to
maintain the same produced quantity. The time to prepare a new
production line ranges from 18 to 24 months. For the second step,
i.e. the phase out of class C, it is foreseen a 4 years transition
period from the adoption of the present proposal: therefore enough
time is given to manufacturers to modify the production lines
if needed. As already indicated, the first step (phase out of
class D), require no investments and can be achieved by using
better quality materials, for this reason a one year adaptation
time has been foreseen.
c) What economic effects is the proposal likely
to have ?
- on employment
- on investment and the creation of new businesses
- on the competitive position of businesses
As indicated in the Explanatory Memorandum (see
footnote N°15) the present market share of the four types
of ballasts was in 1994 as follows: “high-loss” (class
D) ballasts had a market share of 15%; “conventional”
(class C) ballasts represented 65% of the market; “low-loss”
(class B) ballasts had a market share of 15%; and electronic ballasts
had a market share of 5%. It has been evaluated that if the proposed
minimum efficiency requirements were not introduced (i.e. in the
Business as usual Scenario) in year 2010 the four classes would
have the following market share: class D 5 %, class C 20 %, class
B 25%, electronics ballasts 50 %. With the introduction of the
proposed efficiency requirements it is expected to have the following
market share: class B 20 %, electronics ballasts 80 %.
The main cost to industry to comply with the proposed Directive
is the cost of setting up of new production lines for more efficient
ballasts; moreover there are also some cost to retrain staff,
which however is smaller by some order of magnitude.
From discussion with manufacturers it emerged
that the cost of converting a production line designed for production
of class C ballasts (for about 1 million pieces per year) to produce
class B ballasts is about 1 MÄ; for a new line for the production
of electronics ballasts (for about 1 million pieces per year)
the cost is about 3 MÄ.
Therefore the main cost to industry can be evaluated
in the difference between the BaU scenario and the proposed scenario.
Since about 40 Million additional pieces of electronics ballasts
will be manufactured, the main compliance cost for industry is
about 120 MÄ. Generally a production line lasts for about
20 years and therefore it is expected that this cost will be recovered
through the higher market price of class B and electronic ballasts.
There will be an additional (positive) impact
on the steel industry which would face a higher request for steel
coming from the ballasts market, since the change from conventional
to low loss ballasts will cause a higher use of magnetic steel.
The conclusion is that the proposed efficiency requirements will
surely lead us to an increase of labor both in the production
of raw materials and of ballasts. In addition, there will be a
demand for new production machines and the conversion of the existing
ones.
As the low efficiency ballasts are mainly imported from Central
and Eastern European countries, the proposed Directive will increase
the market share of Community manufacturers. Community manufacturers
will produce a better quality product and therefore the present
proposal will strengthen their competitive edge in markets outside
the Community. Moreover several countries outside the Community
are considering introducing efficiency requirements and other
actions to promote electronics ballasts. The present proposal
would accelerate the transition of the Community industry towards
the production of electronic ballasts.
Electronic ballast manufacturers will also be
positively affected by the proposal, as the market share of electronic
ballasts will increase. However since the electronic ballast is
a mass produced good with highly automated production process,
any impact of increased production of electronic ballasts would
have a small impact on employment; the second aspect that characterizes
the electronic ballast sector is that it is manufactured in countries
with low labor costs such as Mexico and the Far-east. Therefore
there will not be any significant impact on the Community employment.
All SMEs use fluorescent lighting in their premises
(offices, workshops, shops, factories, etc.). The introduction
of the proposal will results in the use of more efficient ballasts,
thus resulting in a reduction of the electricity cost. As the
proposed efficiency improvements will have a pay back period of
less than 2 years, there will be a net economic benefit for all
fluorescent lighting users.
The benefits to fluorescent light users are
by year 2010 electricity savings worth about 250 MÄ per year;
this is without considering the additional benefits of the avoided
CO2 emissions.
9. DOES THE PROPOSAL CONTAIN MEASURES
TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF THE SPECIFIC SITUATION OF SMALL AND MEDIUM
SIZED FIRMS (REDUCED OR DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS ETC.) ?
The efficiency improvements proposed are relatively easy to achieve
and long adaptation periods have been foreseen, in order that
no manufacturer would be unduly disadvantaged by the requirements
proposed.
The long adaptation period before the introduction
of each efficiency level has been foreseen especially for the
small and medium sized firms, which may otherwise been penalized
by the introduction of requirements, given the necessary investment
involved in redesigning or modifying the ballasts not meeting
the mandatory levels.
The Community ballast industry will be strengthened
by the present proposal, as it is facing more and more the competition
of low-quality imported ballasts, with very low efficiency and
low prices.
10. CONSULTATION
List of the organizations which have been consulted about the
proposal and outline their main views.
The Commission has worked for several years on the improvement
of energy efficiency in fluorescent lighting in consultation with
relevant organizations. A series of meetings were organized by
the Commission to discuss the actions to improve efficiency and
the criteria for setting energy efficiency requirements for ballast,
to which all interested parties were invited. At the meetings,
a number of representatives of the Member States, stressed the
need to fully investigate the possibilities for a negotiated agreement
by the industry to improve appliance efficiencies. Several discussions
on this topic were held between representatives of industry, and
in particular CELMA, the European Association of Luminaries Manufacturers,
and Commission officials assisted by various experts. Progresses
were also discussed in a number of meetings held with the Member
State administrations. Due to the highly competitive structure
of the sector and the market share of imported ballasts any significant
Community wide negotiated agreement was extremely hard to agree
and the possibilities of a negotiated agreement was abandoned
by manufacturers. A last offer idea of a negotiated agreement
was made recently (December 1998) to CELMA, but the idea of a
voluntary agreement has been definitively turned down by CELMA.
After several meetings between Commission officials and manufacturers
the proposed legislation was accepted.
11. MONITORING AND REVIEW
The Community ballast market will be monitored by the Commission
in collaboration with Member States authorities and the European
manufacturer association. As already indicated the main compliance
costs for industry are the cost associated with in setting up
new production lines for electronic ballasts. Therefore by monitoring
the electronic ballasts market share, public authorities will
have a feel of the impact of the Directive both in term of CO2
emissions reductions and impact on industry.
Moreover both the cost/benefit analysis and
some Member States have recommended a third step, in particular
to phase out class B2 ballasts, because it is cost effective for
users. The Commission believes that it is worth evaluating the
impact on manufacturers and on users of the first two steps proposed,
and only then decide if other measures (and in particular a new
level of efficiency requirements) may be needed. To this end,
it is indicated in Article 9 that the Commission will assess the
impact of the present proposal and, in consultation with all interested
parties, propose further measures, if needed.
12. CONTACT POINT
To receive a copy of the cost/benefit analysis study and for any
inquiries, comments and to receive further information please
contact:
M. Paolo BERTOLDI
European Commission, DG XVII/C1
Rue de la Loi, 200
B-1049 Brussels
Tel: +32-2-2952204
Fax: +32-2-2964254
E-mail: Paolo.Bertoldi@b
