World’s Best MEPS: Tracking Leaders in Appliance Energy Efficiency Standards
Minimum energy performance standards (MEPS), which set performance requirements for the maximum amount of energy an appliance can consume, are an essential tool for decreasing carbon emissions and improving energy access around the world.
This tool assesses MEPS for six high energy-consuming appliances across ten economies and indicates whether existing standards exceed, meet, or are on the cusp of meeting the recommended efficiency and energy consumption levels outlined in United for Efficiency’s Model Regulation Guidelines. In the absence of an existing model regulation, we performed a market analysis and analyzed Best Available Technologies (BAT) to develop our own benchmark. Read the full methodology in our accompanying report.
Non-directional general service lighting products
Lighting
Target: 90 lm/W
Achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 will require widespread deployment of light emitting diodes (LEDs) in all economies by 2025. Setting MEPS that eliminate the sale of inefficient compact fluorescent lamps (CLFs) and incandescent lamps is essential to achieving this goal. Technology-neutral standards treat all appliances fairly and prevent carveouts for legacy technologies (e.g., CFLs) that limit the energy savings potential of a policy and expose populations and ecosystems to dangerous pollutants like mercury.
All economies should adopt technology-neutral MEPS at 90 lm/W or greater to phase out CFLs and incandescent lamps. Economies already meeting this requirement should strive for more stringent MEPS of at least 120 lm/W.
Electric Motors
Target: Efficiency Class IE3
Electric motor-driven systems are responsible for more than 50% of global electricity use. The IEA estimates that all new industrial electric motors must be best-in-class technologies by 2035 to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. There are opportunities for greater energy savings through widespread use of best-in-class motors, variable speed drives, energy management systems, and other interventions, for which we have awarded an additional half point.
All economies should require a minimum efficiency class of IE3, while leading economies should strive for IE4 or IE5. Economies should also consider adopting requirements for additional components such as variable speed drives or for industrial pumps, fans, and air compressors.
Air Conditioners
Target: 6.1 Wh/Wh
In the last three decades, energy demand for space cooling has tripled and accounted for 16% of final electricity consumption in the buildings sector in 2021. To achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, the IEA estimates the average efficiency of AC units must increase by 50% in all economies by 2030. Evidence from the Global Cooling Prize indicates AC technology has the potential to reach efficiency levels of ISO CSPF 8.5 to 9.0 Wh/Wh, which may indicate new opportunities for more ambitious standards.
At a minimum, all countries should adopt technology-neutral MEPS of 6.1 Wh/Wh or greater. Additionally, any economy using an energy efficiency ratio (EER) should switch to a seasonal performance metric for fixed and variable-speed ACs.
Refrigerators
Target: 279 kWh/year
Refrigerators make up a sizable portion of household energy consumption behind space heating/cooling, water heating, and lighting. To achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, the IEA estimates that nearly all household appliances sold worldwide by mid 2030 must be as efficient as the most efficient models available today.
At a minimum, all economies should set MEPS at 279 kWh/year or lower. Economies that have already achieved this target should increase their stringency to match U4E’s intermediate target of 223 kWh/year or less.
Water Heating
Target: 5% of Market Subject to Ambitious Policies
Decarbonizing water heating will be essential to meeting net-zero goals. The IEA estimates that the share of electricity in water heating must exceed 40% by 2050 and fossil fuel products must become more efficient to achieve net-zero emissions. We define an economy’s MEPS as ambitious if at least 5% of new water heaters are required to be ≥ 86% efficient for fossil fuel water heaters and > 100% efficient for electric storage water heaters.
Economies should adopt these MEPS and look for additional opportunities to promote the electrification of water heating in line with IEA targets.
Space Heating
Target: 50% of Market Subject to Ambitious Policies
Space and water heating together represent almost half of building energy demand. Transitioning from fossil fuels to electricity can lower fossil fuel use and improve energy security. To achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, 40% of all building space heating must be electric. We define an economy’s MEPS as ambitious if 50% of the fossil fuel space heating market is required to have an efficiency ≥ 90% and 50% of the electric space heating market is required to have an efficiency > 100%.
Economies should require condensing efficiency requirements for space heating. They should also encourage electrification through the adoption of heat pumps.
We hope governments, NGOs, and researchers will use this tool to improve MEPS and align with international benchmarks. We encourage all governments to meet or exceed the target MEPS outlined in this analysis in national and/or regional policies and integrate these new efficiency targets into Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Climate Agreement and national net-zero emissions roadmaps. A detailed methodology may be found in our accompanying report.
To aid the policymaking process, CLASP offers governments, NGOs, and researchers free tools to browse existing policies and model the energy and climate impacts of MEPS. To learn about new updates and features to these tools sign up for CLASP’s general newsletter and tools newsletter.
CLASP Compliance Toolkit
The clean energy, and appliance efficiency and quality sectors are working tirelessly towards a more sustainable world. These efforts are significant, but it is critical that professionals and policymakers account for compliance in their strategies – a critical activity that helps to protect the anticipated benefits of energy efficiency policies and sustainable technologies for consumers, the market, and the planet.
Learn more about Why Compliance Counts.
The CLASP Compliance Toolkit offers up-to-date, accessible and interactive resources to help countries design effective policy implementation and enforcement strategies and mechanisms to improve compliance and lock in the benefits of adopting clean energy technologies and energy efficiency and quality standards.
Introduction to Compliance
CLASP has developed a series of general resources to educate policymakers, practitioners, researchers and the public on the basics of policy compliance.
Learn about each step of a robust compliance strategies for on- and off-grid markets.
Thought Piece: Why Compliance Counts
Videos: Introduction to Compliance (General, Off-Grid and On-Grid)
Informational Two-Pagers:
Non-Compliance Risk Assessment Tool
The Non-Compliance Risk Assessment Tool (NC-RAT) allows users to evaluate energy efficiency policy enforcement efforts and associated market non-compliance risk.
NC-RAT is an easy-to-use tool that is based on a qualitative assessment of national policy implementation and enforcement mechanisms.
The Non-Compliance Risk Assessment Tool (NC-RAT) is an easy-to-use tool that is based on a qualitative assessment of national compliance programs and organized under five Indicators: Regulation, Resources, Certification & Registration, Market Surveillance & Enforcement, and Compliance Communication. Each Indicator includes relevant questions for the user to respond to, based on which, the Tool calculates scores for 1) each Indicator and 2) a corresponding overall score for market non-compliance risk. The tool also provides initial recommendations for how policymakers can strengthen compliance programs, based on individual user responses
To learn more about how to use the NC-RAT, watch this how-to video for a step-by-step tutorial.
Additional Compliance Resources
Check out some of CLASP and partners' recent work in supporting policy compliance worldwide.
Discover insights on activities like testing, labelling and more.
Mepsy
Visit Mepsy, CLASP’s energy impact modeling tool, to access its compliance feature that provides projections based on Low to Excellent policy compliance variability.
Conformity Assessment
Conformity Assessment for Off-Grid Solar Products: Opportunities & Recommendations for Stakeholders; VeraSol
Market Surveillance
ASEAN Market Surveillance Guidelines for Air Conditioners; CLASP
Guidelines for Market Surveillance and Enforcement; VeraSol
Labelling
Study to Evaluate Online Energy Labelling Compliance in the EU; CLASP
Product Registration Systems
Guidance and Resources on PRSs; U4E
Testing
SEAD Testing Costs Manual; CLASP
Guide to Building Sustainable Testing Capacity in ECOWAS; CLASP
Want to access more of CLASP’s compliance resources? Visit our research library.
For questions & feedback, please contact Lina Kelpsaite at lkelpsaite@clasp.ngo.
On-Mode Computer Testing Tool
This software tool allows individuals to test the performance and power consumption of personal computers.
Personal computers are essential to the functionality and productivity of society today across Europe and around the world. But how well do they perform their tasks and how much energy do they use?
To help answer these questions as they pertain to one of our most frequently used devices, CLASP and GTD, with input from DIGITALEUROPE and their members, developed a software tool to measure active power and performance of personal computers (I.e., products covered under Lot 3).
This updated software tool is designed to:
- accurately assess the energy use and performance of the computer when executing tasks;
- be agnostic of operating system, architecture and configuration;
- be low cost and easy to use for manufacturers and market surveillance authorities alike; and
- be open source so it may become part of independently reviewed and updated performance testing software
To learn more about the tool and how to use it, please view this recording and slide deck from our September 2022 webinar.
Software Download and Usage Instructions
Learn how to download and use the tool
Click the “Download Tool” button above to access the tool and create a USB key containing the Computer Efficiency Test Software. The file is 9GB and must be downloaded prior to creating the USB key.
If you already have a previous version of the software, you can update your USB key by running the update script as outlined in the Software Manual, section 3.4.
Software Manual: Read this manual for instructions on using the software – including information on required equipment, hardware setup, and software execution.
To learn more about the tool and how to use it, please view this recording and slide deck from our September 2022 webinar.
Additional Resources
Learn more about the tool and its metrics.
Metric White Paper: An informational document on the justification for the tool’s energy efficiency metric
Introductory Presentation: View CLASP’s presentation on the tool’s purpose, test setup, and initial outcomes.
This tool is the result of a multiyear partnership between CLASP, and DIGITALEUROPE.
CLASP thanks Unity, and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) for their support in providing high-quality content to be utilised within the software.
Current version 2022-09-19
This tool has been under development for over two years. Please visit the GTD site to access archived versions of the tool and a log of revisions made between the earlier drafts.
CLASP Policy Resource Center
A clear picture of global efficiency policies facilitates a wide range of decision-making and analysis by policymakers, researchers, members of the appliance industry, and other practitioners.
A Hub for Appliance and Equipment Policy Information
The CLASP Policy Resource Center (CPRC) is a freely available digital tool that:
- Stands as the most comprehensive global policy platform of its kind. The CPRC serves as a single point of access for appliance and equipment policy data across more than 130 economies
- Allows visitors to develop customizable, aggregated lists of policies, or examine individual policies in more detail
- Makes it easy for policymakers and practitioners to explore efficiency policies from countries around the globe, enabling internationally informed decisions
- Is continually expanding in terms of features and content. CLASP will update the CPRC by country every 6-18 months and make ad-hoc updates as soon we become aware of policy changes. Users can submit updates to us and subscribe to receive CPRC updates and news (e.g. new features and events) from CLASP every 1-2 months.
Sort & Filter
The Policy Search table allows users to filter searches, sort results, and show/hide columns based on relevance.
Use filters to refine search by geography, products covered, adopted and revised dates, and more
Policy Detail
Policy Detail pages allow users to see policy scopes, responsible agencies, and more. Users can also view policy sources, test methods applied, and label pictures when applicable and available.
Examine individual policies in more detail with Policy Detail pages
Download Data
Users can download the contents of Policy Detail pages and the Policy Search as a .xlsx file. Policy Search downloads will reflect the contents seen in the table, based on filters and columns shown/hidden.
View, compare, download data to support policy development, product prioritization, and other technical analyses.
Provide Feedback
We encourage users to share their feedback so that we can make the CPRC as useful as possible. Users can submit new policies to add to the CPRC, updates to existing policies, and overall feedback on features.
Share your questions, comments, and feedback
For more information on how to use the CPRC see our FAQs and watch the tool walkthrough below.
To explore the taxonomy used in the CPRC see the Methodology.
More questions about the CPRC? Contact us.
An Introduction to the CLASP Policy Resource Center
Mepsy: The Appliance & Equipment Climate Impact Calculator
For efficiency policy practitioners, accurate data and predictive models provide insight into how policy decisions translate to real-world impacts
Setting policies and achieving their benefits requires accurate, actionable data. Mepsy’s dynamic, user-friendly interface guides researchers and policymakers in identifying efficiency policy opportunities and analyzing their energy and carbon impacts.
- Choose a country or region, product, and expected effective date to calculate policy benefits through 2050
- Use pre-loaded data from CLASP research and other sources, or enter your own data
- Download calculation results as a CSV file for further use
Mepsy calculates product energy use according to a “bottom-up” accounting approach which factors in the number of appliances in use in a country, the energy performance of representative products, the climate-intensity of the local power grid, and other variables to analyze the electricity use, carbon dioxide emissions, and consumer energy costs associated with a given policy scenario.
The tool supports policy analysis for space heating equipment, air conditioners, refrigerators, fans, motors, televisions, lighting, and residential water heaters. Coming soon: commercial refrigeration, distribution transformers, and refrigerated display cases.
Explore global and national policy scenarios
Compare major global carbon emitters or select a country for regional analysis to explore a range of business-as-usual and efficiency policy scenarios for energy use, carbon dioxide emissions, and the number of appliances in use
See the CO₂ reductions, energy use, and number of appliances in use under business-as-usual or efficiency policy scenarios
Select a country to project the results of efficiency policy choices there and compare it with other countries in the region. Explore at the country level using the map interface, or dive deeper in the data for a single country.
Use pre-loaded data or input your own
The Mepsy model is based on a bottom-up stock accounting method that incorporates country-specific data on appliance energy use, markets, economic indicators and other policy factors
Data for Mepsy is drawn from several market research firms and other public and private data sources
Wherever possible, Mepsy references precise stock, sales, and energy performance data from recent CLASP in-country market studies, or country-level estimates from reputable market research firms. Where country-level data for a particular product are not available, calculations are based on estimates from regional or global averages, accounting for differences in country population, economics, or climate as relevant to a particular appliance. Future and past shipments are extrapolated based on recent trends.
View model outputs by country
At the country level, view customer-level policy impacts such as appliance lifecycle costs, as well as national-level changes to energy use, carbon dioxide emissions, and the number of appliances in use as a result of the chosen policy scenario
Mepsy's calculation methodology has been used for decades to evaluate efficiency policy options
The model inputs and results can be downloaded as a data file to support further analysis offline.
Analyzing policies with multiple tiers
Sometimes multiple-tiered policies need to be analyzed, where a package of increasingly stringent policies is implemented over several years. With the downloadable data, you can view combined impacts all in one place.
Combine multiple sets of data into one multiyear policy package with our how-to
To use Mepsy to analyze policies that have changing efficiency requirements over a number of years, follow our how-to guide and download the template. Please contact us at mepsy@clasp.ngo with any questions.
More questions about Mepsy? Check out the FAQ or contact us.
Other Resources
Guides
Introduction to Mepsy
Mepsy Quick-Start Guide
How to Evaluate and Prioritize Efficiency Policies with Mepsy webinar – 27 April 2021
How Mepsy Can Transform Your Energy Efficiency Policy Development webinar – 16 March 2022
Methodology
Mepsy Methodology and Assumptions – A summary of the methodology used for appliance model forecasting
Methodology FAQ – More detailed explanations of the methodologies
Extending Mepsy Past 2030 – Full methodology for our extension model (currently until the year 2050)
Global Refrigerant Impact from 6 Appliances in 22 Countries – Full methodology for calculating the impacts of conventional refrigerants, to be integrated into Mepsy in the future
Past Updates
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VeraSol Product Database
Independent, Trusted, Third-Party Data
The VeraSol Product Database is a freely available digital tool that:
- Makes it easy to identify and compare off-grid solar solutions by consolidating information for solar energy kits and off-grid appliances on a single platform
- Enables manufacturers to increase the visibility of their products with distributors and development partners through standardized and searchable product listings
- Allows for easy product benchmarking on performance and quality that can drive market competition and innovation
All products in the database have undergone rigorous testing according to international standards by approved test laboratories. All listed pico-solar products and solar home system kits are certified to the leading international quality standards.
Using the Product Database
View
Use grid-view to see snapshots of product information, or list-view to see multiple products in a tabular form.
Choose your preferred viewing style.
Compare
Compare up to four products side-by-side to easily differentiate technical and performance details.
Make side-by-side product comparisons
Sort & Filter
Sort products by certain criteria such as model, brand, size and retail price. Filter data by size, power consumption, location and price to quickly identify products that meet your needs.
Quickly identify products that meet your criteria
Download
Download a spreadsheet for a single product, compared products, or all products to conduct your own analysis.
Save your data for future analysis
How to Use our Data
Manufacturers
Benchmark your product's performance and quality against your competitors. Use your product listing to communicate key attributes to buyers and signal a commitment to quality.
Distributors
Make faster, informed sourcing and procurement decisions. Identify reputable suppliers by comparing the performance, quality, and price of off-grid solar solutions.
Investors
Validate product quality and inform the due-diligence process when assessing products or companies to support. Easily screen products to reduce risk across investment portfolios.
Governments
Access certification documents and other important solar energy kits product attributes. Use off-grid appliance data to develop a market baseline, track progress, and craft policies
Development Institutions
Easily confirm product quality when assessing products or companies to support in programs and initiatives.
Ready to start browsing?
Visit the Product Database to begin comparing hundreds of independently-tested or certified solar home systems, televisions, fans, refrigerators, and solar water pumps.