By Yamina Saheb and Sule Becirspahic (EEMOD’S Conference, Beijing, China, June 2007)

The most important consequence of the oil crisis, which happened in 1976, is inevitably the implementation of energy efficiency policies for buildings and appliances in western countries. Since that time, there is a continued growth of implementation over the world of energy efficiency policies for buildings and appliances. The goal of these policies is to decrease the energy needs without affecting the level of comfort provided and to allow countries to meet their Kyoto Protocol’s targets. The main tools used to increase energy efficiency of room air conditioners are Energy efficiency labels and/or standards. For each policy (labels or/and standards) it’s up to the manufacturers to combine technologies to meet the requirements within the specific tolerances and to control the quality of the production put on the market.

If we consider each country separately, we can assess labels and standards for room air conditioners as successful energy efficiency policies. However, the industry is not any more national and the energy crisis is once again worldwide. It is maybe time for experts from different countries to meet at international level to harmonize labels and standards and define international standards and labels. The purpose of this paper is to review the existing labels and standards for room air conditioners and to trace tracks towards a harmonization of labels and standards in the interest of policy makers, the industry and the end-users over the world…