Refrigerated furniture is widely used for the sale and display of food in all types of food retail outlets, and the range of applications continues to grow. Rising ecological and economic requirements, tightening regulations, and strong international and domestic competition are driving interest in testing this equipment to meet energy labelling requirements for refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function.
refrigerated furniture testing at COCH in Kraków
Refrigerated furniture is widely used for the sale and display of food in all types of food retail outlets, and the range of applications continues to grow. Rising ecological and economic requirements, tightening regulations, and strong international and domestic competition are driving interest in testing this equipment to meet energy labelling requirements for refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function. Detailed guidelines on energy labelling of refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function are set out in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2018 of 11 March 2019 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 of the European Parliament and of the Council. That Regulation has applied since 1 March 2021. The Regulation establishes requirements for the labelling of refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function, including appliances sold for the cooling of articles other than foodstuffs, and applies to the following refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function: supermarket refrigerating appliances (freezers or refrigerators) with an integral condensing unit; supermarket refrigerating appliances (freezers or refrigerators) with a remote condensing unit; beverage coolers; small ice-cream freezers; gelato ice cream freezers; refrigerated vending machines. For energy labelling of professional refrigerated storage cabinets, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/1094 applies.Refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function
According to the definitions contained in the Regulation:- refrigerating appliance with a direct sales function means an insulated cabinet with one or more compartments that maintain a controlled temperature, cooled by natural or forced convection using one or more energy-consuming means, and which is intended to display and sell to customers – with or without assisted dispensing – foodstuffs and other articles stored at a temperature lower than ambient temperature, directly through open sides or through at least one door or at least one drawer, including refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function that have spaces used for storing foodstuffs and other articles not accessible to customers, and excluding minibars and wine storage appliances;
- refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function for food processing means refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function specifically tested and approved for food processing, such as ice-cream makers (…).
a) it has been specifically designed and tested for the stated conditions of use or applications, in accordance with the relevant Union legislation or related legal acts, relevant Member State provisions or relevant European or international standards;
b) it is accompanied by evidence, which shall be included in the technical documentation in the form of a certificate, type-approval mark or test report, confirming that the product has been specifically approved for use under the stated conditions of use or applications;
c) it is placed on the market specifically for the given operating condition or application, as evidenced by at least the technical documentation, product information and any advertising or marketing materials.
Measurement methods and calculations
The EEI of a refrigerating appliance with a direct sales function is established in accordance with the Regulation
Measurements and calculations for the purposes of ensuring conformity and verifying conformity with the requirements of the Regulation referred to in the article shall be made using harmonised standards or other reliable, accurate and reproducible methods that take into account generally recognised state-of-the-art methods and are consistent with the provisions set out below. The reference numbers of those harmonised standards have been published for this purpose in the Official Journal of the European Union. General test conditions:
a) ambient conditions shall correspond to set 1, except for ice-cream freezers and gelato ice cream freezers, which shall be tested under ambient conditions corresponding to set 2 as set out in Table 2;
b) where different compartment temperatures can be set, the appliance shall be tested at the lowest operating temperature;
c) refrigerated vending machines with variable-capacity compartments shall be tested under conditions in which the net volume of the compartment with the highest operating temperature has been adjusted to the minimum net volume of that compartment;
d) for beverage coolers, the cooling speed is stated for the time to recover half the contents.
Return to labels on an “A to G” scale
When energy labels for appliances were first introduced many years ago, most products met the requirements of the lowest classes (E, F, G). However, with technological development, new models began to qualify for ever higher classes, and today most of them fall into the highest classes (from A+ to A+++), while products in the original classes are practically no longer manufactured. This situation made it difficult for consumers to distinguish the most efficient products; adding further pluses hindered recognition. The European Commission therefore decided to restore the well-known uniform energy efficiency label on a scale from A to G – Table 2.
New energy labels and the EPREL database
From 1 March 2021, new labels for appliances should already be visible to European consumers in brick-and-mortar and online shops. A very interesting and useful new element of the labels is the QR code, which allows every consumer to obtain additional product data in a very simple way. These data are entered by manufacturers and importers into the so-called EPREL database. The database was created to facilitate market surveillance compliance checks by national authorities. Prolonged inspections, resulting in non-compliant products remaining on the market, are considered one of the main causes of lost potential energy savings. The database consists of two parts: I. a “closed” database, accessible to market surveillance authorities (UOKiK, UKE and WIIH), containing detailed technical documentation necessary to carry out conformity checks; II. a “public” database, available to consumers, practical and easy to use, containing information on energy labels and product information sheets. Depending on the product type, labels may also convey other non-energy information to the consumer (via intuitive pictograms), allowing comparison of appliances and more informed choices – for example information on emitted noise, etc.Refrigerated furniture testing
Refrigerated furniture testing aimed at determining energy efficiency is carried out in accordance with PN-EN ISO 23953. The standard defines these appliances as cooled by means of refrigerating systems, enabling chilled and frozen food products to be placed in them for display and storage within recommended temperature ranges. The standard distinguishes a number of types of refrigerated furniture, including vertical, semi-vertical, horizontal (counters), island, closed, open, serve-over, self-service, multi-temperature combined units and others. In addition to furniture classification, the standard covers, among other things:
- preparation of the test chamber, including verification of conformity and characteristics of the room with the standard requirements;
- preparation of furniture for testing;
- positioning of the furniture in the room;
- equipping the test chamber and the furniture under test with measuring instruments and apparatus;
- start-up of the furniture;
- establishment of measurement conditions;
- temperature test (including defrost test);
- water vapour condensation test;
- electrical energy consumption test;
- measurement of the refrigerating system capacity of the furniture;
- temperature classification of furniture.
Rising ecological and economic requirements, tightening regulations, and strong international and domestic competition are driving interest in testing this equipment. Central Refrigeration Centre COCH in Kraków, responding to these needs, offers manufacturers, distributors and other interested parties accredited testing in accordance with PN-EN ISO 23953. The scope of testing covers all types of furniture under their conditions of use, with direct or indirect compressor refrigeration systems and plug-in or remote condensing units, closed furniture designed to be switched off at night, and furniture equipped with lighting and night blinds.
Refrigerated furniture testing performed at COCH is covered by accreditation of the Polish testing laboratory system (Polish Centre for Accreditation accreditation No. AB 308) and by a licence to use the international ILAC MRA mark on mutual recognition of test reports issued by accredited laboratories worldwide.
We also invite you to cooperate with us in the testing we perform of:
- professional refrigerated cabinets and counters (according to PN-EN ISO 22041);
- household refrigerating appliances (according to PN-EN 62552);
- ice-cream freezers (according to ISO 22043);
- professional blast chillers and freezers (according to ISO 22042);
- ice-cream machines (according to PN-EN 16764).
COCH offer
Refrigerated display cabinet testing
Energy-label testing in an accredited laboratory.
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