Policy development on energy efficiency of data centres

For data centre energy efficiency, this report provides: overview of data collection/registration projects, overview of current/planned government measures, quantitative estimates of savings from possible measures, and issues for policy makers to consider.

Understanding LED performance: Evidence-based approaches to supporting stakeholders of energy-efficient lighting programmes

The SSL Annex takes an evidence-based approach to evaluating LED product performance. Using comprehensive market data from product registries and other sources, the Annex developed recommendations on product performance and research into test methods that reduce the time and cost burden for government, industry and consumers.  This paper highlights several activities that exemplify this evidence-based […]

Smart Lighting – New Features Impacting Energy Consumption

Smart lamps and luminaires are common in today’s lighting market. Smart lighting provides an opportunity for the consumer to benefit from wireless control of lighting products, e.g. by dimming, colour tuning and scheduling. These functions can provide energy saving but they also require energy consumption to supply standby power and gateways.

Mobile Device Efficiency

This report analyses the energy use of mobile devices, compares policies and identifies policy gaps.

Progressing Energy Efficiency Policies for Systems

Systems are described as the next frontier for energy efficiency policy, offering the potential to unlock huge energy savings in equipment-based energy-using systems.
In this summary we highlight some of the key findings from 4E’s investigations over several years.

Interlaboratory Comparison for Goniophotometers (IC 2017)

The final report from the IEA 4E Solid State Lighting Annex’s 2017 Interlaboratory comparison (IC 2017). This comparison had 36 participating laboratories from 19 countries with a total of 42 goniophotometric instruments, the largest interlaboratory comparison of such equipment ever undertaken. This comparison investigated the level of agreement in measurements of SSL products by various […]

Literature Summary of Lifetime Testing of Light Emitting Diodes and LED Products

A summary of the literature on lifetime definitions for LEDs and LED products, including a look at failure mechanisms, accelerated life tests and test methods for estimating lifetime, and provides some recommendations. There is currently no agreement as to which test method can best estimate the lifetime of LED lighting products and the report thus addresses a key issue for regulators and industry interested in deployment of LED technologies

Context

Since 2008, the Energy Efficient End-Use Equipment TCP (4E) has tracked the efficiency trends of major globally traded products and corresponding energy efficiency regulations. 

This enables 4E Members to identify whether their current policies are being effective, how these policies and the performance of products compares across different regions and opportunities for closer alignment.

This process forms a multi-lateral exchange between regulators within 4E Member countries that accelerates the development of product policies and increases the level of energy savings, while also reducing regulatory and cost burdens on industry and consumers.

Joint analysis by the IEA and 4E into the global impacts of energy efficiency regulations¹ has shown that:

-15%

The longest running energy efficiency (EES&L) programmes are estimated to deliver annual reductions of around 15% of total current electricity consumption.

1580

In the nine countries/regions for which data were available, these programmes reduced annual electricity consumption by a total of around 1,580 terawatt-hours in 2018 – similar to the total electricity generation of wind and solar energy in those countries.

2-3x

On average, the energy efficiency of new major appliances in countries with EES&L programmes has increased two to three times the underlying rate of technology improvement.

-2& 2

The average purchase price of appliances covered by EES&L programmes declined at a rate of 2-3% per year.

Within 4E economies, energy efficiency regulations, taken to include minimum energy performance standards (MEPS), mandatory and voluntary energy labelling in this report, are a key driver for product efficiency.

Core elements of these regulations include:

Since 2020, the 4E Product Energy Efficiency Trends (PEET) project has been monitoring the status of these elements across regulations for major appliance and equipment types across 4E Member countries.


1 IEA 4E TCP (2021), Achievements of Energy Efficiency Appliance and Equipment Standards and Labelling Programmes, IEA, Paris (2021). https://www.iea.org/reports/achievements-of-energy-efficiency-appliance-and-equipment-standards-and-labelling-programmes