Canada plans to develop new minimum energy efficiency standards for a range of products.
The Canadian government is proposing new Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) for a range of household and industrial products, or amending existing standards. The proposal suggests revising current standards for electric motors, household gas boilers, household oil boilers, dry-type transformers, large air conditioners, heat pumps, commercial refrigeration systems, indoor air conditioning, and general-purpose incandescent reflectors. In addition, Canada will set new standards for external power supplies, digital television adapters, electric boilers, portable air conditioners, standby air conditioners and heat pumps, and standby power consumption for certain electronic products (i.e., small audio products, televisions, television sets, and video products).
The requirements of the proposed standard, in most cases, replicate existing standards in the United States, the European Union, and/or California. Key points are summarized below:
1. Electric motors (effective January 1, 2011)
– To raise the energy efficiency requirements of most current 1-200 horsepower (0.75-150KW) electric motors to premium efficiency levels.
– Remove most of the current exceptions for electric motors ranging from 1 to 200 horsepower (0.75 to 150 kW) so that they can meet the current energy efficiency ratings;
– Include some 201-500 horsepower (151kw-185kw) electric motors in the MEPS coverage to bring them up to the current energy efficiency level.
2. Household gas and oil boilers
– Effective September 1, 2010, the minimum annual fuel efficiency requirement (MEPS) for current domestic gas and oil boilers (input power not exceeding 88 kW) will be increased by 2-5%.
- Continuous combustion controllers are prohibited from being used on all gas-fired boilers;
– The system is required to display the power consumption of gas-fired and oil-fired boilers;
– Effective September 1, 2012, automatic water temperature regulation is required, except for boilers equipped with instant indoor heating coils.
3. Dry-type transformer
– Improve existing MEPS for single-phase and three-phase dry-type transformers (reference pulse insulation level 20-150kV);
– Include transformers with a reference pulse insulation level of 199KV in the coverage area;
– No longer exempting compression and mutual inductance transformers;
– Exempt certain choke transformers, grounding transformers, and load regulating transformers.
4、商用成套製冷系統（Commercial self-contained refrigeration）
– Harmonize the product standards for this product that came into effect on January 1, 2010, with the standards established under the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
5. Large-scale air conditioners and heat pumps
– Expand the scope of the current energy standards, which came into effect on January 1, 2010, to include 223 kW (760,000 Btu/h) equipment.
6. Indoor air conditioning
– The current requirements of the U.S. Energy Star standard will be adopted as the new mandatory standard, effective January 1, 2011.
7. General-purpose incandescent reflector bulb
– Integrate the current standards for various types of light bulbs and lamps into a single standard, while improving MEPS and introducing new MEPS and labeling requirements for several currently exempted products.
8. Electronic products
– For standby and off modes, the maximum limits are set similar to those in California and the European Union.
9. External power supply
– Harmonize the product standards for this product, which came into effect on July 1, 2010, with the no-load and operating condition standards set forth in accordance with the Energy Independence and Security Act 2007.
10. Digital TV Adapter
– Harmonize the standards for these products with the Energy Star rating.
11. Electric boiler
– Temperature control requirements are specified according to EISA (effective September 1, 2012).
12. Portable air conditioner
– Starting January 1, 2011, all models are required to display energy efficiency, and the MEPS (Minimum Energy Performance Standard) for small air conditioners is specified.
13. Stand-alone vertical air conditioners and heat pumps
– Harmonize these product standards with ASHRAE 90.1-2007 and EISA.
Natural Resources Canada states that these new regulations will result in annual energy savings of 600 trillion joules in 2010 and 760 quadrillion joules by 2020. Greenhouse gas emissions will decrease by approximately 8 billion tons in 2010 and by approximately 970 billion tons by 2020.
–Source: WTO Inspection and Quarantine Information Network
