The Working Plan of the EuP Directive will define the next wave of products to be considered for regulation. A study has just been published identifying 34 priority categories of equipment for potential inclusion.

The scope of the Eco-Design Directive (2005/32/EC) is very wide and 20 product categories are already in various stages of progress towards regulation or voluntary measures. Article 16(1) of the Directive requires the Commission to establish a working plan setting out for, the following three years, an indicative list of further product groups to be considered as priorities for the adoption of implementing measures. As the main input to establishment of this plan, a study by consultants has just been published.

The study attempted to encompass and classify all possible energy using products (EuPs). Over 1300 EuPs were identified starting from the EU PRODCOM system, which were classified into 57 categories. Of these, 34 product categories were seen as priorities under the Directive. These were ranked and then split into groups; Priority A (25 categories- the EC had indicated it wanted a list of this sort of length), and Priority B (the other 9 categories) using a partial version of the VHK MEEuP methodology, which has formed the basis of all the product studies to date, and taking into account the criteria for inclusion within the Directive (Article 15.2) based on size of market, environmental and business impact.

The following products are seen as the highest Priority A (highest priority first):

1. In-house networking (LAN) and data processing, storing and providing equipment,
2. Transformers
3. Tool machines (manufacturing - industrial use)
4. Electric and fossil fuelled heating equipment
5. Surgical, patient recovery and healing equipment
6. Industrial and laboratory furnaces and ovens
7. Domestic equipment for clothes caring and others
8. Automatic and welding machines
9. Electro-diagnostic apparatus
10. Network equipment for all types of data processing (data, telecommunication, internet, mobile and radio network equipment)
11. Power electronics products (inverters, static converters, inductors, soft starters)
12. Sound and image processing machines and equipment
13. Food preparing equipment, domestic and household use
14. Refrigerating equipment
15. Air condition systems and heat pumps
16. Electromechanical hand tools
17. Measuring transformers
18. Aerials, antennas, radars, radio navigation and control systems
19. Lifting, moving and loading equipment
20. Cashiers and ticketing machines
21. Sound processing machines and equipment (including radio equipment)
22. Other motors or motor driven equipment not covered by lots and the above categories
23. High energy diagnostic and healing equipment
24. Lighting installations not covered by existing lots
25. Food production equipment

Priority B equipment comprises:

26. Vending machines for beverages and goods
27. Compressors
28. End equipment for data use and communication with option of net connection
29. Motor driven equipment for waste water process, hot water and chemical process
30. Machines for personal care
31. Ventilation equipment for underground infrastructures and special processes
32. Mowers
33. Boilers
34. Generating sets using fossil fuels

Equipment not proposed for consideration under the Directive (for various reasons including coverage by other measures) comprise: weighing machines and equipment; electronic instrumentation for measuring and testing electrical and non-electrical parameters and many more.

Where next?
To find out more and how this might affect your business subscribe to RE4view to read the full version of this article (in Issue 38), contact us on +44 (0)1372 367444 or email.