How to verify if a unit is Compliant with ERP Directives

The ErP (Energy related Products) directive has been conceived in 2009 as the natural continuation of EuP (Energy using Products, 2005) in order to reach the Kyoto protocol’s objectives (1997) or to guarantee up to 2020: 20% decrease of CO2 emissions; 20% of the global energy needs satisfied with renewable energy sources, 20% increase of energy efficiency.

The purpose of ErP directives is to evaluate the potential energy saving of many energy consuming goods and to specify their minimum energy efficiency requirements, so it regards facilities builders and plants designers and installers: the directive is applied to all products made and imported to Europe, while it doesn’t concern the exported goods.

In the last years some regulations have been published for air conditioning trade based on ErP directive:

• Regulation 640/2009 (IEC motors): since 1^st January 2015 only asynchronous motors having IE2 efficiency up to 5,5 kW and IE3 if power is from 7,5 kW to 375 kW (IE2 only if they have a speed control device) can be marketed. Starting from 1^st January 2017 IE3 efficiency class (IE2 with inverter) for sizes from 0,75 kW to 375kW will be mandatory.
• Regulation 327/2011 (Fans): has introduced the minimum efficiency values for fans from 125W to 500kW.
• Regulations 1253/2014 and 1254/2014 (ventilation systems): the first regards the minimum efficiency requirements for the ventilation units while the second regards the energy labels to be applied for ventilation units.

Since January 1st, 2016 came into effect the first step of regulation 1253/2014 and its requirements can be summarized as follows:

1. All ventilation units must have multi-speed motors or motors with a speed controller;

2. All bidirectional ventilation units (BVU) must have a static heat recuperator;

3. Heat recuperators must have a by-pass system in order to allow units to work in in free-heating and free-cooling;

4. Heat recuperators of all tipologies excepted “run-around” with design airflow conditions must have a thermal efficiency greater or equal to 67%, where the “thermal efficiency” is the temperature ratio, calculated according to EN308, with dry air conditions inlet both sides, supply at 5°C, return at 25°, balanced fluxes and air standard density. For those recuperators there is an energetic bonus “E” which rewards the most efficient recuperators, following the criterion according to which, if a recuperator is more efficient, hence it can generate more pressure drops:

E= (ηt_nrvu-0.67)*3000,                   if ηt_nrvu>0.67
E= 0                                                       in all the other cases.

5. “Run-around” heat recuperators with design airflow conditions must have a thermal efficiency greater or equal to 63%; for them the “energetic bonus E” is:

E= (ηt_nrvu-0.63)*3000,                   if ηt_nrvu>0.63
E=0                                                        in all the other cases.

6. Fans at design conditions must have a static efficiency greater or equal to:

ηνu = 6,2 % * ln(P) + 35,0 %               P ≤ 30 kW
ηνu = 56,1 %                                          P > 30 kW
where P is the electrical power supply in kW absorbed by the fan in design conditions, including the consumption of trasmission, motor and speed control system.

7. The directive introduces the parameter “SFP_int” which is, generally speaking, defined as the rate between the electrical power absorbed by the ventilation system and the volumetric airflow, and it’s analytically calculated as the ratio between the static prevalence of the fan in Pa and the static efficiency of the ventilation system η_sF,sys .

The last compliance check is a comparison between “SFP_{int_reference}”, which is the specific ventilation power absorbtion for the internal ventilation components in particular reference configuration, where practically for the same unit are considered only the pressure drops of recuperators and filters, and the parameter SFP_int,limit defined as follows:

For bidirectional unit BVU:

• Fans: fans efficiencies are calculated at design conditions considering all pressure drops of the real unit.
• Supply filters: supply filters have to be at least fine F7 class filters. If on supply there are more than one filter F7 or superior (F8, F9), you have to take into account their pressure drops (if for example there are two filter sections with different classes, one F7 and one F9, you have to take into account only F7 filter’s pressure drops) calculated at clean conditions at design airflow. If the supply filters are not at least fine F7 class filters, the directive forces an energetic penalization “F” described below.
• Return filters: return filters have to be at least medium M5 class filters. If on supply there are more than one filter M5 or superior (M6, M7), you have to take into account their pressure drops (if for example there are two filter sections with different classes, one M5 and one M7, you have to take into account only M5 filter’s pressure drops) calculated at clean conditions at design airflow. If the supply filters are not at least medium M5 class filters, the directive forces an energetic penalization “F” described below.
• Energetic penalization “F”:

F = 0 if the reference configuration has the requested filters;
F = 160 if the reference configuration hasn’t the requested return medium filters;
F = 200 if the reference configuration hasn’t the requested supply fine filters;
F = 360 if the reference configuration hasn’t the requested medium and fine filters.

• SFPint_reference is calculated as:

SFPint_reference = [(pdcreturn filters, reference conf.+pdcreturn recuperator, reference conf.)/ ηsF,sys,return]+ [(pdcsupply filters, reference conf.+pdcrecuperator,supply,reference conf.)/ ηsF,sys,supply] [W/m3/s]

• SFPint_reference for bidirectional unit without run-around recuperator must be lower or equal to:

SFP_int,limit = 1200 + E – (300 * q_nom/2) – F                      if qnom < 2 m3/s
SFP_int,limit = 900 + E – F                                                     if qnom ≥ 2 m3/s

• SFPint_reference for bidirectional unit with run-around recuperator must be lower or equal to:

SFP_int,limit = 1700 + E – (300 * q_nom/2) – F                        if qnom < 2 m3/s
SFP_int,limit = 1400 + E – F                                                     if qnom ≥ 2 m3/s

For unidirectional unit UVU:

The rules are the same described for the fans and the supply filters in bidirectional units but the energetic penalization F is calculated as:

F = 0 if the reference configuration has the requested filters;
F = 200 if the reference configuration hasn’t the requested filters;

• SFPint_reference for unidirectional unit must be lower or equal to:

SFP_int,limit = 250