Harmonized regional MEPS for air conditioners and residential refrigeration appliances approved for the SADC region

Following a rigorous process encompassing data collection, regional discussions, national consultations, and member state voting, the finalized harmonized regional Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) for air conditioners and residential refrigeration appliances (cooling products) have been formally approved and disseminated to the 16 Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states for the commencement of national implementation.

This significant milestone was achieved as part of the Regional Harmonization of Energy‑Efficient and Climate-Friendly Cooling in East and Southern Africa project, which aims to develop a policy framework for energy-efficient and climate friendly refrigerators and air conditioners in the East African Community (EAC) and SADC regions, with the ultimate goal to implement MEPS and labelling for these cooling products in both regions. The project was implemented in the SADC region through a partnership between United for Efficiency (U4E), the SADC Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (SACREEE), SADC Cooperation in Standardization (SADCSTAN), and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) with funding support from the United Kingdom (UK) Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), the Clean Cooling Collaborative (CCC), and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The regional cooling harmonization was in partnership with the Energy Efficient Lighting and Appliances in East and Southern Africa (EELA) project, which is implemented by UNIDO in collaboration with the East African Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy and Efficiency (EACREEE) and SACREEE, with funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

The projected impact of these MEPS is substantial, with an estimated electricity saving of nearly 8 TWh by 2040, almost equivalent to the output of four large (500 MW) power plants and a reduction of CO₂ emissions by 6.5 million tonnes. Consumers are anticipated to save approximately US$840 million annually on their electricity bills.

The MEPS, and associated performance labelling requirements, are largely aligned with international best practices and are based on the U4E model regulation guidelines for these cooling products. “The harmonized standards represent a great step forward for SADC member states in their journey towards a sustainable transition to more energy-efficient and climate-friendly cooling products”, said Kudakwashe Ndhlukula, Executive Director of SACREEE. “Harmonising standards across the region facilitates trade amongst the member states, enables quick and easy sharing of information on product testing and compliance and presents a more uniform market for manufacturers, encouraging an acceleration in the availability of a wider range of lower energy consuming products. This will go a long way towards mitigating the increase in energy consumption and increase energy security as the demand for cooling products increases.”

For air conditioners, the harmonized standard applies to all new electrical non-ducted single-split, self-contained air-cooled air conditioners, air-to-air reversible heat pumps and portable air conditioners, with a rated cooling output of at or below 16 kW placed on the market for any application. It includes efficiency metrics for key performance factors such as cooling seasonal performance factor (CSPF) for cooling-only ductless, split and self-contained air conditioners, energy efficiency ratio (EER) for portable air conditioners and reversible heat pumps, coefficient of performance (COP) for reversible heat pumps and annual performance factor (APF) for reversible heat pumps. It also specifies the maximum global warming potential (GWP) of the refrigerants used (GWP ≤ 750 for ductless split air conditioners and GWP ≤ 150 for self-contained and portable air conditioners) and an ozone depletion potential (ODP) of zero for all product types.

Two tiers are specified for minimum energy consumption, one for implementation in 2024 and a second more ambitious level for implementation by 2027. Four tiers are specified for the requirements for labelling.  The testing methods are specified in ISO 5151:2017 for non-ducted air conditioners and heat pumps and ISO 16358:2013 (Parts 1, 2 and 3) for air-cooled air conditioners and air-to-air heat pumps.

The harmonized standard for refrigeration appliances applies to all refrigerating appliances of the vapour compression type, with a rated volume at or above 10 litres and at or below 1,500 litres, powered by electric mains and offered for sale or installed in any application. The testing methods are specified in IEC 62552: 2015 (Parts 1,2,3) for household refrigerating appliances. As with the air conditioner standard, 2024 and 2027 levels are specified, and four tier levels are specified for labelling requirements. The refrigerants requirements are specified as GWP at or below 20, with an ODP of zero, for all products.

By necessity, the development of regionally harmonised standards must engage relevant stakeholders at the national and regional level and follow a rigorous consultation and approval process. The steps in the SADC process were:

1. Technical Committee established in February 2021 to support the development of harmonized MEPS and facilitate their adoption at a national level. The committee was comprised members of the national Ministries and standards bodies involved, along with SACREEE as the regional organisation with responsibility for energy efficiency and SADCSTAN as the regional standards body.
2. Virtual inception workshop held in June 2021 to inaugurate the Technical Committee and share the findings of the market assessments and details of the associated technical notes for air conditioners and residential refrigerating appliances undertaken to inform the standards development process.
3. Draft MEPS for air conditioners and residential refrigerating appliances developed based on the technical notes, incorporating comments from Member States, and presented to SADCSTAN Technical Committee on Energy (TC 16) 16 in September 2021.
4. National consultations on draft MEPS for air conditioners and residential refrigerating appliances undertaken.
5. Final balloting of Member States undertaken at SADC regional TC 16 meeting in May 2023, which resulted in an overwhelming ‘yes’ vote for the draft MEPS.
6. Draft MEPS submitted to the SADCSTAN Executive Committee with a recommendation for approval in September 2023.
7. MEPS approved by SADCSTAN Executive Committee on 7 November 2023.
8. Finalized approved MEPS circulated to Member States in February 2024 as SADC HT 110: 2023, Minimum Energy Performance Standards for Air Conditioners, and SADC HT 111: 2023, Minimum Energy Performance Standards for Refrigerating Appliances.

The final step in the process is for each SADC Member State to adopt the harmonized standards into national regulations and commence implementation of the new MEPS and labels.

In handing over the finalized reference copies of the MEPS to SACREEE and UNEP in January 2024, the SADCSTAN outgoing Regional Coordinator, Mrs Belinda Kancheya of Zambia Bureau of Standards, thanked the institutions for the unwavering support to SADCSTAN in the harmonization of the MEPS for air conditioners and refrigerators for SADC. She also expressed gratitude to SACREEE for committing to translate the MEPS from English into Portuguese and French for ease of application by the Lusophone and Francophone Member States. Mrs Kancheya also took the opportunity to call on SACREEEE and UNEP to continue supporting SADCSTAN in the harmonization of energy related standards for the region.

“The regionally harmonised MEPS are a significant achievement for the region, and will contribute to the commitments that many countries made under at COP28 under Renewables and Energy Efficiency Pledge and Cooling Pledge,” said Patrick Blake, UNEP’s U4E lead for the regional project. “UNEP’s U4E is committed to working alongside its partners to assist governments in the national implementation of the regionally agreed MEPS.”

For more information on the Regional Harmonization of Energy‑Efficient and Climate-Friendly Cooling in East and Southern Africa project, visit the EAC/SADC page on the U4E website.

For more information on the harmonization process and national implementation of the harmonized standards, contact U4E’s Patrick Blake at patrick.blake@un.org.