EHPA (European Heat Pump Association) and EPEE (The European Partnership for Energy and the Environment) have welcomed the adoption of the Ecodesign requirements for heaters.
The new rules are expected to boost the uptake of renewable heating solutions and of heat pumps in particular.

EPEE director general, Andrea Voigt, said: 'Following the adoption of the energy label, ecodesign rules for heaters mark a second major step towards the achievement of EU's 2020 targets, in particular improving energy efficiency and the use of renewables in Europe.'

Thomas Nowak, EHPA secretary general, added: 'The Ecodesign measure in its current form is a significant step forward to improve the efficiency of the heating sector and to unleash the potential of energy efficient products such as heat pumps. In combination with the related Energylabel, the efficiency of the products subject to the measure will become visible to the end user.'

Together with the energy label for heaters (ENER Lot 1) and water heaters (ENER Lot 2), which were adopted in mid-February, the ecodesign rules for both product groups are expected to trigger substantial energy and CO2 savings. A lower energy demand can also result in significant reductions in householders' energy bills and the EU's import dependency on fossil fuels.

The associations say that the new rules will directly support the development of more energy efficient products, such as heat pumps, and therefore contribute to maintaining Europe as a technology leader in this segment.

EHPA and EPEE are both looking forward to the implementation of the ecodesign rules for heaters and the impact of the minimum efficiency requirements, from July 2015 onwards.