Directive 2009/125/EC requires the Commission to set ecodesign requirements for energy-related products representing significant volumes of sales and trade, having a significant environmental impact and presenting significant potential for improvement through design in terms of their environmental impact, without entailing excessive costs.

Article 16(2)(a) of Directive 2009/125/EC provides that in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 19(3) and the criteria set out in Article 15(2), and after consulting the Ecodesign Consultation Forum, the Commission has to, as appropriate, introduce implementing measures starting with those products that offer a high potential for cost-effective reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, such as lighting products in both the domestic and tertiary sectors, which include directional lamps, light-emitting diode lamps and related equipment.

The Commission has carried out a preparatory study to analyse the technical, environmental and economic aspects of directional lamps, light-emitting diode lamps and related equipment. The study has been developed together with stakeholders and interested parties from the Union and third countries, and the results have been made publicly available. A preparatory study on external power supplies provided a similar analysis for halogen lamp control gear.

Mandatory ecodesign requirements apply to products placed on the Union market wherever they are installed or used; therefore such requirements cannot be made dependent on the application in which the product is used.

Products subject to this Regulation are designed essentially for the full or partial illumination of an area, by replacing or complementing natural light with artificial light, in order to enhance visibility in that area. Special purpose lamps designed essentially for other types of application, such as traffic signals, terrarium lighting or household appliances and clearly indicated as such on accompanying product information should not be subject to the ecodesign requirements set out in this Regulation.

New technologies emerging on the market such as light-emitting diodes should be subject to this Regulation.

The environmental aspects of the products covered that have been identified as significant for the purposes of this Regulation are energy consumption in the use phase along with mercury content and mercury emissions.

Mercury emissions in the different phases of the life cycle of the lamps, including from electricity generation in the use phase and from the 80 % of directional compact fluorescent lamps containing mercury which are presumed not to be recycled at the end of their life, have been estimated to be 0,7 tonnes in 2007 from the installed stock of lamps. Without taking specific measures, the mercury emissions from the installed lamp stock are predicted to increase to 0,9 tonnes in 2020, although it has been demonstrated that they can be significantly reduced.

Although the mercury content of compact fluorescent lamps is considered to be a significant environmental aspect, it is appropriate to regulate it under Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council2. It is appropriate to regulate the ultraviolet light emissions from lamps and other parameters with potential health effects under Directives 2006/95/EC3 and 2001/95/EC4 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Setting energy efficiency requirements for lamps should lead to a decrease in the overall mercury emissions.

Article 14(2)(d) of Directive 2012/19/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council5 requires Member States to ensure that users of electrical and electronic equipment in private households are given the necessary information about the potential effects on the environment and human health as a result of the presence of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. The product information requirements in this Regulation should complement this provision as regards mercury in compact fluorescent lamps.

The electricity consumption of products subject to this Regulation should be improved by applying existing non-proprietary cost-effective technologies, which lead to a reduction of the combined expenses for purchasing and operating the equipment.

Ecodesign requirements for products subject to this Regulation should be set with a view to improving the environmental performance of the products concerned and contributing to the functioning of the internal market and to the Union objective of reducing energy consumption by 20 % in 2020 compared with the assumed energy consumption in that year if no measures were taken.

The combined effect of the ecodesign requirements set out in this Regulation and of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 874/20126 is expected to result in annual electricity savings of 25 TWh by 2020 among directional lamps, compared with the situation if no measures were taken.

The ecodesign requirements should not affect functionality from the user’s perspective and should not negatively affect health, safety or the environment. In particular, the benefits of reducing the electricity consumption during the use phase should outweigh any potential additional environmental impact during the production phase of products subject to this Regulation. In order to ensure consumer satisfaction with energy-saving lamps, in particular LEDs, functionality requirements should be set not only for directional lamps, but also to non-directional LEDs, as they were not covered by the functionality requirements in Commission Regulation (EC) No 244/20097. Product information requirements should allow consumers to make informed choices.

LED luminaires from which no LED lamp or module can be extracted for independent testing should not offer a way for LED manufacturers to escape the requirements of this Regulation.

It is appropriate to set specific requirements at a level that leaves alternative lamps available to service the entire installed stock of lighting equipment. In parallel, generic requirements should be set that are implemented by harmonised standards and that make new lighting equipment more compatible with energy-saving lamps, and energy-saving lamps compatible with a wider range of lighting equipment. Product information requirements on lighting equipment can assist users in finding matching lamps and equipment.

Phasing the ecodesign requirements should provide a sufficient timeframe for manufacturers to re-design products subject to this Regulation. The timing of the stages should be such that any negative impact on functionalities of equipment on the market are avoided and that the cost impact for end-users and manufacturers, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, is taken into account, while ensuring timely achievement of the objectives of this Regulation.

Measurements of the relevant product parameters should be performed through reliable, accurate and reproducible measurement methods, which take into account the recognised state-of-the-art measurement methods including, where available, harmonised standards adopted by the European standardisation bodies, as listed in Annex I to Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council8.

In accordance with Article 8 of Directive 2009/125/EC, this Regulation should specify the conformity assessment procedures applicable.

In order to facilitate compliance checks, manufacturers should provide information in the technical documentation referred to in Annexes V and VI to Directive 2009/125/EC in so far as that information relates to the requirements laid down in this Regulation.

In addition to the legally binding requirements laid down in this Regulation, indicative benchmarks for best available technologies should be identified to make information on the life-cycle environmental performance of products subject to this Regulation widely available and easily accessible.

A review of this Regulation should take particular note of the trend in sales of special-purpose lamp types in order to make sure that they are not used outside special applications, and of the development of new technologies such as LED and organic LED. It should assess the feasibility of establishing energy-efficiency requirements at class A level as defined in Regulation (EU) No 874/2012, or at least at class B level for directional mains voltage halogen lamps (taking into account the criteria set out below in Table 2 in point 1.1 of Annex III). It should also assess whether the energy-efficiency requirements for other filament lamps can be significantly tightened. The review should also assess the functionality requirements regarding colour rendering index for LED lamps.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 19(1) of Directive 2009/125/EC,