The ErP Directive will be no stranger to European buyers of imported luminaires. Energy-related products (ErP) are any products that have been placed on the market and/or delivered for use and that have an impact on energy consumption during their use. In order to improve the energy efficiency of products on the market and reduce their environmental impact, the ErP Directive became another European decree under the CE marking.
And now, the new ErP Directive will come into force on 1 September 2021, while the old Directive regulations expire on the same day. This means that suppliers of lamps and lanterns need to obtain the new ErP Directive before 1 September, otherwise they will face customs clearance problems when exporting to Europe. So below we will introduce what the differences are between the old and new directives, and what the corresponding changes are to the old and new energy efficiency labels.
1 Let's first look at the main differences between the new ErP EU 2019/2020 Directive and the old one.
For example, the new ErP Directive reduces the number of tests and test cycles for luminaire samples, reduces the functional requirements for luminaire components such as survival rate, switching cycles, rise time, start time and early failure rate, while adding higher requirements for colour rendering, phase shift factor and strobe.
*What is colour rendering? In simple terms, the ability of light to recover the colour of a coloured object when it hits, and it is called colour rendering. Sunlight includes light of various colours and can reproduce any colour on the object during the use of the luminaire. For children, high colour rendering is good for improving visual performance, feeling natural and comfortable, and can improve colour differentiation and learning power.
*Strobe: when the voltage is unstable, the discharge luminous is in instability, and strobe phenomenon is very serious. If you study and read for a long time in a stroboscopic lighting environment, your eyes will simply get tired and your eyesight will deteriorate.
The specific differences are as follows:
The scope of application has been increased to include products such as home appliances and furniture with lights.
The calculation of energy efficiency is changed from EEI index back to Ponmax, adding the factor of colour rendering index and improving the requirement of energy efficiency.
Addition of strobe tests: SVM, Pst LM.
Addition of power consumption requirements for network control and network standby.
Addition of requirements for driver energy conversion efficiency.
Switching cycle test, start-up time, warm-up time tests were removed.
Number of test samples: only 10 light sources and 3 drivers are required; the old directive required 40 test samples of light sources or lamps and 1 driver.
Endurance test of 3600 hours, including 3000 hours of lighting time, which is a significant reduction in test time, but a significant increase in the requirement for luminous flux maintenance rate.
2 Let's learn more about what are the main differences between the new version of the energy efficiency label EU 2019/2015 Directive and the old one.
The calculation of energy efficiency classes has been changed from EEI index to ηTM (lm/W), which is more intuitive.
The classification of energy efficiency classes has been changed from Class A to Class G.
The new energy labels have higher requirements for energy efficiency, e.g. the previous Class A++ is only equivalent to the current Class E.
In addition, the size of the ERP energy efficiency label has been changed from the previous 36x75 to 36x72mm, while the small label remains unchanged at 20x54mm.
It can be seen that the new ErP Directive has improved the key parameters and energy efficiency requirements for lamps and lanterns. At present, many suppliers are not yet sufficiently sure about the stringency of the directive and are mainly still waiting to see how it will work.
3. So what is the process we should follow to apply for ErP certification? In simple terms, it is divided into these steps as follows.
ERP certification process:
a. Fill in the application form
b. Provide product information
c. Send sample (10 pcs)
d.Test
e. Issue a report
f. Submit for registration
(Cost: assessed according to the actual product)
HomeBest is studying the new ErP Directive and preparing for the relevant certification work. We plan to obtain the certification of the Directive before 1 September and strive to maintain the same price of lamps under the old and new ErP Directives, so that you can purchase and import lamps to Europe without any worries. In addition, HomeBest will strive to provide quality products and services to our customers. If you need additional information, please visit our website: www.hbsocket.com.