Under Directive 2009/125/EC, ecodesign requirements are to be laid down by the Commission for energy-related products that represent significant volumes of sales and trade, have a significant environmental impact and present significant potential for improvement in terms of their environmental impact without entailing excessive costs.

Article 16(2)(a) of Directive 2009/125/EC provides that the Commission, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 19(3) and the criteria set out in Article 15, and after consulting the Consultation Forum, has to introduce, as appropriate, an implementing measure for office equipment.

The Commission has carried out a preparatory study which analysed the technical, environmental and economic aspects of computers. The study involved stakeholders and interested parties from the Union and third countries, and the results have been made publicly available.

The preparatory study showed that the cost-efficient improvement potential in the electricity consumption of computers between 2011 and 2020 was estimated at about 93 TWh, which corresponds to 43 Mt of CO₂ emissions, and in 2020 at between 12,5 TWh and 16,3 TWh, which corresponds to 5,0-6,5 Mt of CO₂ emissions. Consequently, computers constitute a product group for which ecodesign requirements should be established.

Since a lot of the energy-savings potential of desktop thin clients, workstations, small-scale servers and computer servers is linked to the efficiency of their internal power supplies and since the technical specifications of internal power supply for these products are similar to those for desktop computers and integrated desktop computers, the provisions on internal power supply efficiency of this Regulation should also apply to the former. However, other environmental performance aspects of desktop thin clients, workstations, mobile workstations, small-scale servers and computer servers could be addressed in a more specific measure implementing Directive 2009/125/EC.

The ecodesign requirements should not have any significant negative impact on the functionality of the product or on consumers, and in particular as regards the affordability of the product, the life cycle costs and the industry’s competitiveness. Furthermore, the requirements should not impose on manufacturers proprietary technology or excessive administrative burden, nor should they negatively affect health, safety and the environment.

Improvements in the energy efficiency of computers should be achieved by applying existing non-proprietary and cost-effective technologies that can reduce the total combined costs of purchasing and operating them.

The ecodesign requirements should be introduced gradually in order to provide a sufficient time frame for manufacturers to redesign products that are subject to this Regulation. The timing should be such that negative impacts on the supply of computers are avoided, and costs for manufacturers, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, are taken into account, while ensuring timely achievement of the objectives of this Regulation.

A review of this Regulation is envisaged no later than three and a half years after its entry into force.

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

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

To ensure fair competition, the achievement of potential intended energy savings and provision of accurate information of products’ energy performance towards consumers, this Regulation should make clear that the tolerances prescribed for the national market surveillance authorities when conducting physical tests to establish whether a specific model of an energy related product is in compliance with this Regulation should not be used by the manufacturers to provide room for declaring a more favourable performance of the model than measurements and calculations declared in the technical documentation of the product can justify.

Benchmarks for currently available products with high energy efficiency should be identified. This will help to ensure the wide availability and easy accessibility of information, in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises, which will further facilitate the integration of best design technologies and the development of more efficient products for reducing energy consumption.

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,