Commercial Information Circulars

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e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref : EIC 230/2/11

17 April 2009

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 198/2009

European Union (EU)* : Ecodesign Requirements for External Power Supplies

Further to Commercial Information Circulars No. 331/2005 of 17 August 2005 and No. 13/2009 of 6 January 2009, the European Commission (the Commission) has adopted a Regulation specifying the ecodesign requirements for external power supplies. Details are set out in Commission Regulation (EC) No. 278/2009 (the Regulation), which can be accessed through the following link:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:093:0003:0010:EN:PDF

DETAILS

2. According to the Regulation, an external power supply is defined as a device which meets all of the following criteria:

   • -is designed to convert alternating current (AC) power input from the mains power source input into lower voltage direct current (DC) or AC output;
   • -is able to convert to only one DC or AC output voltage at a time;
   • -is intended to be used with a separate device that constitutes the primary load;
   • -is contained in a physical enclosure separate from the device that constitutes the primary load;
   • -is connected to the device that constitutes the primary load via a removable or hard-wired male/-female electrical connection, cable, cord or other wiring;
   • -has the nameplate output power not exceeding 250 Watts; and
   • -is intended for use with electrical and electronic household and office equipment.

Nevertheless, the Regulation is not applicable to voltage converters, uninterruptible power supplies, battery charges, halogen lighting converters and external power supplies for medical devices.

3. The Regulation specifies the ecodesign requirements, conformity assessment and verification procedures relating to no-load power consumption (i.e. the condition in which the input of an external power supply is connected to the mains power source, but the output is not connected to any electrical / electronic equipment) and the average active efficiency (i.e. the efficiency when power is supplied to the electrical / electronic equipment) of external power supplies. Details are set out in Annexes of the Regulation. The ecodesign requirement shall be implemented in two stages starting from 27 April 2010 to 27 April 2011.

ENQUIRIES

4. For enquiries concerning the contents of this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5556.

Yours faithfully,

(Miss Peggy LEUNG)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry

* The EU includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.