To reduce electricity consumption and CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. These are the objectives pursued by the European Commission with the approval of new rules concerning the "stand by" mode of home appliances and electronic devices.
The new rules follow extensive consultation and consideration by the European Parliament and the Council. The changes take account of technological and market developments in recent years and extend the scope of the legislation, which now includes, for example, products equipped with an external low voltage power supply, such as small network equipment (such as routers for Wi-Fi and modems) or wireless speakers.
The Commission estimates that the new rules reducing the amount of electricity consumed by products in "energy saving" mode will result in annual energy savings of 4 TWh by 2030, corresponding to an annual CO2 saving of 1,36 million tons of CO2 equivalent. This will also bring benefits to consumers, reducing the cost of bills and thus allowing an estimated total savings of 530 million euros per year by 2030.
In addition, information on the power consumption of devices in "stand-by", "off" and "networked standby" modes will be more easily accessible to consumers, as well as the amount of time it takes for products to automatically reach one of these modes.
Manufacturers have a two-year transition period to adapt to the new rules before they come into force.