China Energy Outlook 2020 - Flipbook - Page 89
Mandatory Appliance Energy Efficiency Standards
China’s most recently proposed mandatory appliance energy efficiency standard for air
conditioners is innovative in that it will essentially phase out inefficient fixed-speed room ACs
and require adoption of low-GWP refrigerants.
Mandatory appliance energy efficiency standards known as Minimum Energy Performance
Standards (MEPS) were first adopted in China in 1989 for eight major products and have since
grown to include 73 residential, commercial, and industrial products, with some product
standards having undergone several revisions. Most recently, China is revising its fixed-speed
and variable-speed room AC MEPS and has proposed combining them into a single standard to
help promote more efficient variable-speed room ACs (CNIS, 2019). The proposed AC MEPS also
explicitly considers the adoption of low Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants for new
ACs.
Over the past thirty years, China has improved and refined its standard-setting process and
worked on strengthening national and local enforcement of these standards, but challenges
with limited funding and resources, lack of consistent revisions, and monitoring and
enforcement remain (Khanna et al., 2013; Zhou et al., 2013).
Mandatory Energy Labeling
China continues to strengthen its mandatory energy consumption label, with the recent
addition of the Top-Runner designation to identify the most-efficient products on the market.
In 2005, the mandatory categorical energy information label known as the China Energy Label
was established and there have subsequently been published 14 rounds of covered products,
including 37 product categories (e.g. residential air conditioners) in household appliances, office
and electronic equipment, industrial equipment, lighting equipment, and commercial
equipment. The 14th round, including household ventilators and commercial stand-alone
refrigerated cabinets, was implemented in June 2018.
The China Energy Label includes a rating for similar models from efficiency
grades of 1 to 3 or 1 to 5, depending on the spread of product efficiencies,
with grade 1 being the most efficient. This label seeks to pull the market for
efficient products by providing information for consumers to identify and
compare the energy efficiency of similar product models in their purchase
decision-making. In 2016, label supervision and management were
strengthened with a revised administrative law, along with an updated design
incorporating the new Top Runner logo where applicable, and new QR code
for smart phones (NDRC, 2016d, China Appliance Network, 2016).
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