Refrigeration and air conditioning have been given priority status by the Equipment Energy Efficiency (E3) Program in its Prioritisation Plan.
The Prioritisation Plan states that the Program is a “cross jurisdictional initiative for delivering a single, integrated approach to energy efficiency standards and energy labelling for new household and business equipment and appliances sold into the Australian and New Zealand markets.
The Prioritisation Plan also states that the E3 Program “operationalises the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) for the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (GEMS) Act 2012 and its subordinate Regulation and Determinations.”
The Program’s objective is to increase the energy efficiency of new appliances and equipment sold in order to reduce energy consumption. The Prioritisation Plan was developed to identify how the Program will be aligned to accelerate policy development and product regulation to deliver environmental benefits.
Six high priority area for Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) were identified in the Prioritisation Plan: refrigerated storage and display cabinets, air conditioning (including chillers), fridges and freezers, lighting, non domestic fans and swimming pools.
The release of the E3 Prioritisation Plan comes five months after Energy Rating released a consultation Regulation Impact Statement to examine options to improve energy efficiency and ratings of air conditioners and chillers.
The E3 Prioritisation Plan can be found here.