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A new Chinese national standard requiring minimum energy efficiency levels for room air conditioners (RACs) is expected to be released within the next semester and be implemented in June 2010. UPDATE: While the standard has now been officially announced, it is not clear as yet how the subsidy scheme for RACs will be adapted.

A new draft of the Chinese national standard, ‘GB 12021.3: the minimum allowable values of the energy efficiency and energy efficiency grades for room air conditioners (RACs),’ passed a technical examination conference at the end of November in Beijing. The standard, which will be put into practice on 1 June 2010, encompasses revised minimum energy efficiency requirements, evaluating values of energy conservation, energy efficiency grade index, testing measures, and inspection regulations for room air conditioners. The release of the draft came one day after the Chinese government announced its plans to reduce the intensity of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP in 2020 by 40-45 percent compared with the 2005 levels.

More recently (5 March 2010), the new mandatory national standard ‘The Minimum Allowable Values of Energy Efficiency and Energy Efficiency Grades for Room Air Conditioners’ was announced by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and Standardization Administration of China.

The new energy efficiency requirements

According to the new draft, the energy efficiency ratios (EERs) of non-inverter RACs allowed on the Chinese market are classified into 3 grades. As may be inferred from the following table, the minimum allowable value for EER of single-package air conditioners is 2.9, while the minimum allowable values for EER of split type air conditioners ranges between 3.0 and 3.2 depending on the cooling capacity of the product. This means that current grade 2 non-inverter RACs will be set as the new minimum requirement for a RAC to enter the market.

Type	Cooling Capacity (W)	New Minimum Energy Efficiency Ratios by grade
		Grade 3	Grade 2	Grade 1
Single Package		2.90	3.10	3.30
Split Type	CC ≤ 4,500	3.20	3.40	3.60
	4,500 < CC < 7,100	3.10	3.30	3.50
	7,100 < CC ≤ 14,000	3.00	3.20	3.40

The new standard will essentially enhance the market entrance energy efficiency level of room air conditioners by about 23%.

Market implications

The increased requirements on the efficiency levels of non-inverter RACs will prompt the development of inverter air conditioners that consume less electricity and reduce the use of raw materials. With the increase of the inverter market in China, more cooperation between the Japanese industry, which first developed inverter technology, and China may be expected.

Anticipating new energy efficiency requirements, some industry players have already taken corresponding measures. Chinese manufacturer Gree, for example is since October last year only producing Grade 1 air conditioners, while it has also launched a new energy efficient propane production line. Moreover, several manufacturers have decreased substantially the prices of Grades 4 and 5 non-inverter air conditioners, to clear their inventories.

Pending clarification on subsidies for efficient ACs

The Chinese regulatory body has not yet provided any clarifications on how the country’s current energy-saving product subsidy scheme will treat products after June. Under the current scheme, products encompassing energy efficiency Grade 1 and 2 are eligible for a subsidy. However, with the new standard, existing Grade 2 products will be set to Grade 3 and hence should not be subsidised anymore, while Grade 1 products will become Grade 2, meaning they should only receive a reduced level of subsidy.

Increasing energy efficiency requirements for RACs over the years

The Chinese government has been catching up with other world regions in terms of minimum energy efficiency requirements for RACs and producing high-quality products. Products that were classified as energy-saving in 2004 are under the current standard Grade 5 products. Under the newly proposed standard, the energy efficiency requirements in China will be comparable to the U.S. standard of SEER 13, which is equivalent to COP 3.45.

Background

A draft version of the new standard for RACs was initially released in June 2008, when it was also announced that a final version would be formally released in March 2009. However, the release was subsequently postponed because of the global economic crisis among other reasons.