Green initiatives that will affect electrical regulations

Regulatory impact statements (RIS) published with new regulations in Australia generally state that mandatory changes of any kind are carefully scrutinised before they are imposed, to minimise their impost on both industry and the community. That situation is true with regard to electrical regulations, where most mandated requirements revolve around electrical safety. Few mandatory energy-efficiency regulations are enforced upon us.

Energy-efficiency standards and initiatives are generally voluntary in nature, but that’s not to say that the electrical industry shouldn’t adopt and even promote them. The intent of this article is to list a number of energy-efficiency initiatives that are currently in place and to encourage you, as electrical consultants, contractors and suppliers to promote them to your clients.

Waste network-connected power

‘Waste network-connected power’ is the energy consumed when products stay connected to the grid and/or a network, even though no primary function is being performed. With the growth in ‘always-connected’ IP-based technologies, this is significantly counterproductive to reducing energy consumption.

The culprits, found in both residential and commercial environments, include computers, televisions, set-top boxes, game consoles, office equipment and other network-connected products. In standby mode, they consume energy both in the network interface hardware and/or when they are in a ‘higher mode’ due to network connectivity. The wastage relates to the energy squandered by sub-optimal design or inefficient components. The flow-on impact of network connection increases the urgency with which the issue of waste network-connected power needs to be addressed.

The Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency is working to devise new policies to inhibit the growth in waste network-connected energy. A study commissioned by the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP) Standby Power Project will provide global estimates of energy consumption associated with waste network-connected power by mid 2011. Such information will assist policymakers address the problem by identifying the size of the problem; the technological possibilities to curb the energy waste; and the most suitable policy tools to reduce energy consumption without limiting functionality and product innovation. The project will aid the development of efficiency regulations within a policy framework that can be applied globally, in line with the goal of aligning international approaches.

Halogen lamp MEPS

The Department issued a regulatory ruling for MEPS and the energy labelling of mains voltage non-reflector halogen lamps in late 2010. The MEPS was introduced October 2010, but a subsequent review of the marketplace has indicated that the MEPS level for the initial efficacy values for mains voltage halogen lamps qualified in AS/NZS 4934.2 would not allow sufficient product availability if the MEPS levels were implemented.

The Department has therefore ruled that revised MEPS levels, similar to those applied in Europe, would be introduced over the next two years to ensure that sufficient products would be available in the market.

The ruling required suppliers to register all of the mains voltage non-reflector halogen lamps they currently had in the marketplace with the Department by the beginning of January 2011.

The new text in Clause 4.3 of the MEPS regulations reads:

“When tested in accordance with AS/NZS 4934.1, all lamps covered by this interim standard shall have an initial efficacy as follows:

Initial efficacy shall be >2.8 ln (L) - 4.0, where L = initial luminous flux of the lamp in lumens.

“Until 30 September 2012, when tested in accordance with AS/NZS 4934.1, mains voltage halogen non-reflector lamps covered by this interim standard shall have an initial efficacy as follows:

Initial efficacy shall be >0.95 x (2.8 ln [L] - 4.0.)

“Note: no level of ‘testing tolerance’ is to be claimed or applied to values obtained for use in the calculation of initial efficacy used for registration.”

Cancellation of Green Start program

On 21 December 2010, the Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Greg Combet, announced that it would not be proceeding with Rounds 1 and 2 of the Green Start program, an initiative that was to provide energy assessments to assist households become sustainable through information and advice. To assist currently contracted assessors, the Green Loans program was extended to 28 February 2011 as a transitional period for the current assessor workforce to identify opportunities to diversify or prepare to undertake training for new employment opportunities in the sector.

According to the Minister, the Government made this decision following consideration of a number of reports and departmental assessments: “One of the major risks associated with Round 1 of the Green Start program was a reliance on poor quality data on assessments collected under the Green Loans program. The Department found that these risks could not be mitigated to a satisfactory extent. This advice has informed the Government’s decision not to proceed with the program.”

To further assist those affected by this decision, $30 million set aside from the Green Start program will be used to provide assistance to uncontracted Green Loans assessors and to assist accredited assessors receive further training. This includes a $15 million professional-development scheme to assist accredited assessors further develop their professional skills and credentials.

Under this scheme, the Government will refund 50% of the tuition fees (up to $2500) for accredited assessors that enrol in the new Certificate IV in Home Sustainability Assessment courses commencing before 30 June 2012.

Changes to solar credits

Following a review of the regulations concerning rooftop solar installations under the Renewable Energy Target (RET), the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency announced changes to Solar Credits last December. These changes will:

• Provide greater certainty about the level of up-front support for householders and installers;
• Start the phase down of assistance under Solar Credits one year earlier than originally anticipated;
• Ensure households make an appropriate co-contribution to the costs of rooftop solar installations;
• Moderate the impact of the support on electricity prices; and
• Set the small-scale scheme liability to provide early certainty to the market.

The changes to the regulations will reduce the level of assistance from 1 July 2011. This timeframe will enable existing supply arrangements - based on the current level of market activity - to be fulfilled and ensure industry has time to adjust to the changes. The changes will mean that support for a 1.5 kW system in most capital cities would be reduced from around $6200 to around $5000.

Since Solar Credits was introduced, demand for small-scale products like solar panels have been boosted by state government incentives such as feed-in-tariffs. The numbers of solar installations supported by the RET has grown from less than 15,000 systems in 2008, to over 60,000 in 2009 and over 120,000 in 2010. With all of this demand, the cost of installed solar systems is lower than it was when Solar Credits was first announced in December 2008. This is particularly due to:

• Economies of scale in both manufacturing and the domestic installation industry;
• Innovative business models for packaging solar products to a mass market; and
• A high Australian dollar.

The government will continue to collect information and monitor the impact of these changes and the extent to which state and territory feed-in tariffs provide additional support to households and drive the demand for rooftop solar.

Other MEPS initiatives

Numerous other electrical appliances and devices are either qualified or in the process of being qualified for MEPS and energy labelling. Individuals specifying, selecting or installing electrical equipment should be aware of any energy-efficiency criteria they may need to comply with. Currently, this affects electric motors, lighting, external power supplies, transformers, household refrigeration and non-ducted air conditioners and desktop computers and their monitors.