Out-Law News 1 min. read

New standby rules for networked devices now in force in the EU


Manufacturers of 'networked equipment' such as connected TVs, small printers and modems must now ensure that those devices will default into an energy-preserving standby mode after no more than 20 minutes sitting idle, under new EU rules that came into force on 1 January.

The Regulation on ecodesign requirements for electrical and electronic household and office equipment also requires manufacturers to ensure that the power consumption of their equipment in standby mode is no more than 12W or 6W, depending on whether or not the equipment has 'high network availability' (HiNA) functionality.

HiNA equipment is defined as equipment with router, network switch, wireless network access point, hub, modem, VoIP telephone, video phone as its main function or functions, where the equipment has "no other" main function.

Standby mode, or an equivalent condition offering power consumption in line with the requirements of the Regulation, must be automatically activated "when equipment is not providing a main function, and other energy-using product(s) are not dependent on its functions", according to the new rules.

Manufacturers must display information on how much power their equipment consumes when in standby mode and on the period of time that will elapse before the standby mode is enabled on their websites, the new Regulation requires.

The European Commission said households can expect to save €40 a year on their energy bills as a result of the new energy-saving requirements.

"Producers and retailers will only be able to sell networked devices (e.g. modems, receivers/decoders, connected televisions, printers) which automatically switch into standby/off-mode if not performing a main task," the Commission said. "Such products used to be in active or idle mode 24/7 consuming around 25-100 Watts. In total, the energy consumption of networked equipment in standby operating modes was around 90 TWh per year, corresponding to the electricity consumption of 24 million European households."

"These levels are now reduced to 12/6 Watts (as from 2015) and 8/3 Watts (as from 2017), which is expected to save another 36 TWh by 2020 (equal to the energy consumption of 10 million households). The requirements for networked standby does not affect at all the functionality, e.g. when downloading files. As long as the equipment is providing a main function (such as processing data), it will not be required to switch into networked standby," it said.

Each EU country is responsible for setting penalties for non-compliance with the new rules.

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