Policy Updates

<p>On Tuesday, 23 January 2018 from 13:30-14:30h (Brussels time), the Eurovent Association is going to host a Webinar on its new Recommendation 4/23 (2017) on the “Selection of EN ISO 16890 rated air filter class for general ventilation applications”. All HVAC professionals dealing with ventilation systems are invited to join, independent from their Eurovent membership. After a general introduction, participants are invited to ask questions. The registration procedure is provided within the article.</p>

<p>The preparatory ENTR Lot 9 study on “enterprise servers” that ran between 2013 and 2015 did not result in a proposal for a regulation. The European Commission asked for an additional study by Intertek that was published mid/late 2016. The scope of the study moved from “enterprise servers” to “data centres”. In February 2017, a Consultation Forum took place.</p>

<p>On 22 December 2017, the European Commission released its ‘draft exchange model’ to test the future database EPREL. The first set of comments will be collected by 12 February 2018. The formal registrations in EPREL will start in November 2018. What does this mean for members?</p>

<p>On 18 December 2017, members of the Energy Council agreed on its approach on the review of RES. A binding EU target of at least 27% renewable energy by 2030 is supported by the Council. In the approach, an indicative annual 1 percentage point increase of the share of renewable energy in heating and cooling is advocated. </p>

<p>On 19 December 2017, the Council and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement on the review of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). The agreement mentions that a feasibility study would be carried out to possibly introduce inspections for stand-alone ventilation systems.</p>

<p>The European Commission has launched the review study of the Commission Regulation (EU) No 813/2013 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 811/2013. The study should be finalised by April 2019. Two draft interims have been published on 15 December and will serve as the background document for the upcoming stakeholder meeting on 23 January 2018. </p>

<p>The European Commission has launched the review study of the Commission Regulation (EU) No 814/2013 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 812/2013. The study should be finalised by April 2019. Two draft interim reports have been published on 15 December and will serve as the background document for the upcoming stakeholder meeting on 23 January 2018. </p>

<p>In cooperation with Orgalime, the Eurovent Team regularly provides you with an in-depth overview on all European legislative developments of relevance for the HVACR sector. The Bulletin provides for a hands-on compendium allowing the industry to assess the status quo and expected future developments. In this article, our Team has summarised the key takeaways for members only.</p>

<p>The draft reports of Task 3 “Users”, 4 “Technologies” and 5 “Environment & Economics” within the review study of the regulation on ecodesign and labelling requirements for air conditioners and comfort fans have been made available for discussion during the 2^nd stakeholder meeting on 12 January 2018 in Brussels. </p>

<p>The report shows that the consumption of hydrocarbons (HFCs) was the lowest in terms of their global warming effect since reporting began in 2007. The pacing on the market of HFCs was 4% below the overall market quota limit for 2016 showing good compliance with the quotas.</p>

<p>The number of data centres and the associated energy consumption and related environmental impacts continue to increase. Green Public Procurement is expected to ease the burden on energy and environmental resources and would complement the EU Code of conduct for data centres. 28 persons participated in the first meeting. The preliminary findings are outlined below.</p>

<p>The Machine Working Group of the European Commission is preparing an evaluation of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. This evaluation was commissioned by the EC’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW). It is being undertaken by a consortium led by Technopolis Group over an 18-months period during 2016-2017. The evaluation will form the basis for a possible decision to start a revision of the Machinery Directive.</p>