Guided Tour
The Voice of the Heating, Cooling and Refrigeration Industry
Hospitals, food retailers, shops, museums, houses: all need heating, cooling and refrigeration equipment manufactured by EPEE members.
Heating and cooling technologies consume energy. They can also contain refrigerants that are greenhouse gases which need to be prevented from leaking into the atmosphere.
EPEE’s mission is to promote a better understanding of our industry in the EU and to contribute to the development of effective European policies to reduce the environmental impact of our products.
PROMOTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Making buildings and energy using products more energy efficient is fundamental to tackling climate change.
The energy consumed by heating and cooling technologies, which can represent more than 80% of their total global warming impact, can be reduced through improvements in energy efficiency.
Our commitment to reducing energy consumption
EPEE collaborates with the EU Institutions to ensure the success of four pieces of legislation aimed to promote more energy efficient technologies:
1. Eco-design of Energy-using Products (EuP)
The EuP Directive sets minimum energy efficiency requirements for certain categories of products including heat pumps, commercial refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment.
2. Energy Labelling of Household Products
Energy use by household electrical products represents 25% of total energy consumption in the EU. The Energy Labelling Directive aims to raise consumers’ awareness on the actual energy consumption of a product.
3. Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)
Representing 40% of EU’s energy consumption, buildings must become more energy efficient. The EPBD aims to increase the energy efficiency of buildings by certifying their energy performance, e.g. insulation quality or energy performance of heating and cooling systems.
4. European Ecolabel
EPEE strongly supports the European Eco-label as an important scheme to help consumers identify the most environmental-friendly products available on the market.
EPEE welcomes the fact that heat pumps, an energy efficient technology transferring ambient air from ground, water and air sources into buildings, can obtain the ecolabel.
HANDLING REFRIGERANTS RESPONSIBLY
Air conditioning, cooling and refrigeration systems play a crucial role in everyday life. From comfort air-conditioning systems to the industrial and process cooling chain, they have become essential for maintaining and improving our well-being and quality of life.
Refrigerant fluids used in cooling and refrigeration equipment are chosen for their:
- efficiency to absorb heat
- safety in use
- optimal energy performance
- minimal environmental impact in the event of leakage
There is no perfect refrigerant to suit all applications.
As different cooling technologies need to be adapted to different uses, EPEE strongly advocates maintaining the free choice of refrigerants.
Making the F-Gas Regulation a success
HFC refrigerants (or F-Gases) have been used by the industry for about 15 years as replacements for ozone depleting substances.
In July 2007, the European Regulation on Fluorinated Gases came into force. It contains new and far-reaching requirements aimed at limiting direct emissions of greenhouse refrigerants by containment and responsible use.
EPEE is committed in making the F-Gas Regulation a success by providing and exchanging information to all stakeholders obliged to comply with the new requirements.
To obtain information and share best practices on these new requirements, please visit figaroo.org, the online observatory on the implementation of the F-Gas Regulation.
