A minimum energy performance standard (MEPS) is a specification, containing a number of performance requirements for an

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...

-using device, that effectively limits the maximum amount of energy that may be consumed by a product in performing a specified task. A MEPS is usually made mandatory by a government

energy efficiency Energy efficiency may refer to: * Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process ** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed ** Mechanical efficiency, a ra ...

body. It may include requirements not directly related to energy; this is to ensure that general performance and user satisfaction are not adversely affected by increasing energy efficiency. A MEPS generally requires use of a particular test procedure that specifies how performance is measured. In

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

when addressing energy efficiency, a MEPS is sometimes referred to simply as a "standard", as in "Co-operation on Labeling and Standards Programs". In

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

when addressing energy efficiency, MEPS are sometimes referred to as ''Normas'' (translated as "norms").

Examples

* A refrigerating appliance is required to maintain

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...

s inside its compartments within specified limits, and to operate (including defrosting) in a specified ambient temperature while using at most a specified amount of

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

; the energy use allowed varies according to volume, number of doors, the function of the various compartments and other parameters. This graph shows the dramatic reduction in electricity use in U.S. refrigerators following the introduction of a series of first California then U.S. MEPS starting in the mid-1970s: * An

electric fan A fan is a powered machine used to create a flow of air. A fan consists of a rotating arrangement of vanes or blades, generally made of wood, plastic, or metal, which act on the air. The rotating assembly of blades and hub is known as an ''imp ...

is required to shift air at a specified rate while consuming a limited amount of power. A storage

water heater Water heating is a heat transfer process that uses an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature. Typical domestic uses of hot water include cooking, cleaning, bathing, and space heating. In industry, hot water and water heated t ...

providing hot water for sanitary purposes is required to heat up a specified quantity of water to a specified temperature and store it at that temperature for a specified time while consuming a limited amount of energy. In this example, the requirements for heating up and for maintaining the temperature may be applied as two separate energy performance requirements or there may be a single task efficiency. * An electric

induction motor An induction motor or asynchronous motor is an AC electric motor in which the electric current in the rotor needed to produce torque is obtained by electromagnetic induction from the magnetic field of the stator winding. An induction mot ...

is required to have a specified minimum full-load efficiency. A

compact fluorescent lamp A compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), also called compact fluorescent light, energy-saving light and compact fluorescent tube, is a fluorescent lamp designed to replace an incandescent light bulb; some types fit into light fixtures designed for inca ...

is required to start and run up to near full

brightness Brightness is an attribute of visual perception in which a source appears to be radiating or reflecting light. In other words, brightness is the perception elicited by the luminance of a visual target. The perception is not linear to luminance, ...

in a given time, to have a minimum life of several thousand hours, to maintain its output within specified limits, to withstand a certain number of switchings, to have a consistent colour appearance and a specified colour rendering. Its energy performance requirement is usually stated in terms of minimum efficacy (light output per electrical input).

California

In the U.S., the state of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

was a pioneer in the introduction of MEPS. In order to reduce the growth in electricity use, the

California Energy Commission The California Energy Commission, formally the Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, is the primary energy policy and planning agency for California. Created in 1974 and headquartered in Sacramento, the Commission'core respon ...

(CEC) was given unique and strong authority to regulate the efficiency of appliances sold in the state. It started to adopt appliance efficiency regulations in 1978, and has updated the standards regularly over time, and expanded the list of covered appliances. In 1988, California's standards became national standards for the U.S. through the enactment of the

National Appliance Energy Conservation Act The National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987 (NAECA; ) is a United States Act of Congress that regulates energy consumption of specific household appliances. Though minimum Energy Efficiency Standards were first established by the Unite ...

(NAECA). The federal standards preempted state standards (unless the state justified a waiver from federal preemption based on conditions in the state), and since then, the U.S. Department of Energy has had the responsibility to update the federal standards. California has continued to expand the list of appliances it regulates for appliances that are not federally regulated, and therefore not preempted. In recent years, the CEC's attention has been focused on consumer electronics, for which energy use has been growing dramatically.

Australia

MEPS programs are made mandatory in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

by state government legislation and regulations which give force to the relevant Australian Standards. It is mandatory for the following products manufactured in or imported into Australia to meet the MEPS levels specified by the relevant Australian Standards:

Brazil

A law was approved in 2001. MEPS have been set for three-phase electric motors and

compact fluorescent lamps A compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), also called compact fluorescent light, energy-saving light and compact fluorescent tube, is a fluorescent lamp designed to replace an incandescent light bulb; some types fit into light fixtures designed for inca ...

New Zealand

On 5 February 2002,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

introduced Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) with Energy Efficiency Regulations. MEPS and energy rating labels help improve the energy efficiency of our products, and enable consumers to choose products that use less energy. Products covered by MEPS must meet or exceed set levels for energy performance before they can be sold to consumers. MEPS have been updated over the years (2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2011) to cover a wide range of products, and increasing levels of stringency.

works with Australia to harmonise MEPS levels. Almost all of its standards are joint standards with Australia. New Zealand has mandatory Energy rating labelling for dishwashers and clothes dryers, fridges, washing machines and room air conditioners. MEPS apply to the following:Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority of New Zealand http://www.eeca.govt.nz/standards-and-ratings/minimum-energy-performance-standards-and-labelling *

Refrigerator A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so th ...

s and freezers *

Washing machines A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a home appliance used to wash laundry. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water as opposed to dry cleaning (which uses alternative cleaning fluids and ...

Air conditioner Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

s * Computer room air conditioners *

Chiller A chiller is a machine that removes heat from a liquid coolant via a vapor-compression refrigeration, vapor-compression, adsorption refrigeration, or absorption refrigerator, absorption refrigeration cycles. This liquid can then be circulated th ...

s * Electric

storage water heater A storage water heater, or a hot water system (HWS), is a domestic water heating appliance that uses a hot water storage tank to maximize water heating capacity and provide instantaneous delivery of hot water. Conventional storage water heaters us ...

s * Gas water heaters *

External power supplies An AC adapter or AC/DC adapter is a type of external power supply, often enclosed in a case similar to an AC plug. Other common names include wall wart, power brick, wall charger, and power adapter. Adapters for battery-powered equipment may ...

Set-top box A set-top box (STB), also colloquially known as a cable box and historically television decoder, is an information appliance device that generally contains a TV-tuner input and displays output to a television set and an external source of sign ...

es * Distribution transformers * Refrigerated display cabinets * Three-phase electric motors * Ballasts for

fluorescent lamp A fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, is a low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light. An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapor, which produces short-wave ultraviolet lig ...

s * Tubular fluorescent lamps

References

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External links

Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP) (US)

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20150502211333/http://www.clasponline.org/ Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program (CLASP) (US)
Department of Energy (U.S. efficiency standards) (US)

Australian energy standards and labels

Natural Resources Canada
Product certification Energy conservation Environmental standards