Real world energy consumption of energy-related products

Proposals submitted under this topic should present the concrete results which will be delivered by the activities, and demonstrate how these results will contribute to the topic-specific impacts. This demonstration should include a detailed analysis of the starting point and a set of well-substantiated assumptions, and establish clear causality links between the results and the expected impacts.

Specifically, proposals submitted under this topic should demonstrate how they will contribute to understanding better the actual impacts of EU Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Regulations.

Proposals should quantify their results and impacts using the indicators provided for the topic when they are relevant for the proposed activities. They should also propose indicators which are specific to the proposed activities. Proposals are not expected to address all the listed impacts and indicators. The results and impacts should be quantified for the end of the project and for 5 years after the end of the project.

The indicators for this topic include:

• Total amount of energy represented by the monitored product categories and the corresponding CO₂-eq amount.
• Improved information on actual energy consumption available for a range of selected EU household products (e.g. including product type, geographical, measurement precision and sampling rate, where relevant).
• Identifying better the determinants of the energy consumption for the selected products.
• Identifying options for changes (e.g. requirements, measurement and calculation methods) in ecodesign and energy labelling legislation and related harmonised standards, as applicable.

Proposals should also quantify their impacts related to the following common indicators for the LIFE Clean Energy Transition subprogramme:

• Primary energy savings triggered by the project in GWh/year.
• Final energy savings triggered by the project in GWh/year.
• Renewable energy generation triggered by the project (in GWh/year).
• Reduction of greenhouse gases emissions (in tCO₂-eq/year).
• Investments in sustainable energy (energy efficiency and renewable energy) triggered by the project (cumulative, in million Euro).

Harmonised standards are not always representative of actual energy consumption in real-life conditions. Evaluating the impacts of EU Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Regulations following these standards can lead to overestimations, as pointed out in the 2020 European Court of Auditors ecodesign and energy labelling audit^[1].

To address this, the topic aims to improve understanding of the actual impacts of EU Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Regulations and facilitate the implementation of related test methods that reflect better product use in real life, in terms of energy consumption and, when appropriate, pollutant emissions. In addition, actual energy consumption data would inform on the one hand future reviews of ecodesign and energy labelling rules, while providing added value for preparatory studies. On the other hand, it would also contribute to improving the ecodesign impact accounting model^[2] utilised for reporting the impacts of these rules.

Proposals should set-up and implement in-situ measurement campaigns to capture the actual energy consumption, or energy efficiency where relevant, in EU households and to better understand the determinants of energy use for the selected products. Data collected should be statistically analysed and policy recommendations formulated on the related EU ecodesign and energy labelling rules. Proposals should build on relevant studies, including on the recommendations from the recent JRC technical report^[3].

The following aspects should be taken into account for the measurement campaigns:

• Product selection: while multi-product monitoring would be preferable, an appropriate balance should be sought between the number of samples, geographical focus and the range of products selected. Priority should be placed on products which are simple to measure and relevant for policymaking, including displays, household refrigerators and cooking appliances, considering also their expected overall energy consumption;
• Sample and geographic focus: a representative sample and a good geographical spread among EU Member States (ideally representing over 70% of EU households) should be ensured; depending on the products selected, different climatic zones, socio-economic, cultural, and other aspects should be considered;
• Duration: should be decided based on relevant criteria, including the intrusive character of testing from the household's perspective, the effect of seasonality on products considered, cost/benefit, the possibility to rotate monitoring among households etc.;
• Determinants influencing energy use of the selected products should be investigated (e.g. thermostat settings of a refrigerator, functions aiming to optimise consumption) and other relevant data should be collected, such as the model identifier, energy class and corresponding product information (e.g. information sheet, technical documentation), as applicable. Consideration could also be given to registering user patterns/ significant user interactions and observations in a logbook (e.g. refrigerator door-openings).

Particular attention should be paid to ensuring a sufficient household engagement and retention, including to factors that could influence this, such as the type of products selected (e.g. plug-in domestic appliances compared to other products requiring expert installation), data protection issues etc.

Proposals should involve a consortium with multidisciplinary expertise and resources, including on technical aspects (e.g. installing equipment, with remote accessibility, and capacity to tackle on-site issues, such as malfunctions), household engagement, statistical evaluation. Monitoring instruments of adequate precision should be installed, but the use of existing and embedded meters would be also possible, if their precision is known or can be established.

Relevant stakeholders necessary for the successful implementation of the action should be involved, including consumer organisations at the European or national level. Access to experts with technical knowledge on the concerned products, regulations and standards as well as the wider legal framework will be necessary.

Proposals must be submitted by at least 3 applicants (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities) from 3 different eligible countries.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting an EU contribution of up to EUR 2 million would allow the specific objectives to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

The Commission intends to select one single proposal under this topic.

[1] Special Report No 01/2020: EU action on Ecodesign and Energy Labelling: important contribution to greater energy efficiency reduced by significant delays and non-compliance. https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications?did=52828

[2] Ecodesign impact accounting annual report 2021 https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/392bc471-76ae-11ed-9887-01aa75ed71a1/language-en

[3] Castellazzi L., Dupret M., Bertoldi P., Methods to capture actual energy savings due to the implementation of minimum energy performance standards (MEPSs) under the EU Ecodesign, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2023 https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC130994.