Air conditioners and heat pumps
Air conditioners and heat pumps are required to comply with minimum energy performance standards (MEPS), including labelling requirements.
The New Zealand government is considering making amendments to the MEPS and labelling requirements for heat pumps / air conditioners - these are outlined below.
On this page:
- Current MEPS and labelling requirements
- Regulatory steps
- Standards
- Scope of the Standard
- Proposed changes to MEPS and labelling
- ENERGY STAR® for heat pumps
- Heat pump installation guide
Current MEPS and labelling requirements
MEPS requirements
Importers and manufacturers may not sell air conditioners/heat pumps unless they are tested and registered, and meet or exceed Minimum Energy Performance Standards, in order to comply with the Energy Efficiency (Energy Using Products) Regulations 2002.
Labelling requirements
Energy rating labels are also required for air conditioners / heat pumps.
Single phase non-ducted air conditioners must display energy rating labels when available for sale (including "dummy fronts" for display purposes in retail outlets). Three-phase air conditioners and ducted single-phase units do not have to be labelled.
Importers, manufacturers, retailers and people selling new appliances have obligations to ensure that energy rating labels are afixed or supplied when appliances are available for sale.
Regulatory requirements
There are steps you must take to meet the requirements of the Energy Efficiency (Energy Using Products) Regulations 2002.
Check out:
Standards
The relevant Standards below are cited in the Energy Efficiency (Energy Using Products) Regulations 2002. These MEPS state the minimum energy performance requirements for heat pumps/air conditioners. Standards are available from the Standards New Zealand.
The energy efficiency standards for air conditioners are:
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AS/NZS 3823.1.1:1998 (Inc. Amendments 1, 2 & 3) Performance of electrical appliances - Airconditioners and heat pumps Part 1.1: Non-ducted air conditioners and heat pumps - Testing and rating of performance;
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AS/NZS 3823.1.2:2001 (Inc. Amendments 1, 2 & 3) Performance of electrical appliances - Airconditioners and heat pumps Part 1.2 Test methods - Ducted air conditioners and heat pumps - Testing and rating of performance;
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AS/NZS3823.2:2009 Performance of electrical appliances - Air conditioners and heat pumps Part 2: Energy labelling and minimum energy performance standard (MEPS) requirements;
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AS/NZS 3823.3:2002 Performance of electrical appliances - Airconditioners and heat pumps - Calculation of performance for minimum energy performance standard (MEPS) requirements.
Scope and exemptions to Standard
Check out the scope and exemptions for air conditioners/heat pumps.
Proposed changes to MEPS and labelling requirements
The New Zealand government is considering revising the regulations for heat pumps and air conditioners.
Energy efficiency standards are jointly developed between New Zealand and Australia. In 2009 Australia and New Zealand consulted on introducing more stringent MEPS levels for for heat pumps / air conditioners. Australia introduced these new levels on 1 April 2010. New Zealand is considering adopting similar levels.
Under the proposed changes, products would be required to meet revised minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) and labelling requirements described in the Standard AS/NZS 3823.2:2009.
This means that air conditioners / heat pumps would need to meet the proposed minimum Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) and Coefficient of Performance (COP) levels as shown below. Where levels have increased, the figures appear in bold.
The increased MEPS and labelling requirements will continue to encourage more efficient products onto the market and allow customers to identify efficient models).
Overview of proposed MEPS levels
| Configuration | Phase | Rated cooling capacity (kW) |
Minimum EER |
Minimum EER and COP |
| 1 October 2007 | Proposed new levels | |||
| Non-ducted unitary (window/wall) | All | <10 | 2.75 | 2.84 |
| All | 10-19 | 2.75 | 2.75 | |
| Non-ducted split | All | <4 | 3.05 | 3.33 |
| All | 4-10 | 2.75 | 2.93 | |
| All | 10-19 | 2.75 | 2.75 | |
| Ducted | All | <19 | 2.50 | 2.75 |
| All configurations, all phases | 19-39 | 3.05 | 3.05 | |
| 39-65 | 2.75 | 2.75 | ||
Changes to energy rating labels
If the amended standards are introduced, it is expected that new side-by-side energy rating labels will be used. The table below shows how the star ratings would be calculated from this time.
| EER and COP | 2.75 | 3.00 | 3.25 | 3.50 | 3.75 | 4.00 | 4.25 | 4.50 | 4.75 | 5.00 | 5.25 |
| Star rating | 1 | 1.5 | 2 | 2.5 | 3 | 3.5 | 4 | 4.5 | 5 | 5.5 | 6 |
Because many products are sold both in Australia and New Zealand, consumers may find that both the old and new labels are appearing on products for sale.
Manufacturers and importers should also note that if amended standards are implemented, old stock may be sold showing the older label, but new units imported or manufactured will need to meet the new MEPS and labelling requirements.
New side-by-side air conditioner and heat pump energy rating label
Download a fact sheet on the new energy rating label.
ENERGY STAR® for heat pumps
EECA has introduced the ENERGY STAR mark on whiteware and other home appliances - including heat pumps. This voluntary, international endorsement mark enables consumers to identify which models are the most energy efficient.
Because some heat pumps struggle to work effectively when the weather is very cold, winter performance of heat pumps has recently been included in the ENERGY STAR requirements..This means that a heat pump has been tested and works well at 2ºC.
Find out more about ENERGY STAR Partners and product listings.
Heat pump installation guide
EECA, in conjunction with BRANZ and with input from industry, has developed a good practice guide to installing heat pumps, aimed at experienced installers of heat pumps. Good design and installation are fundamental to a heat pump system's effectiveness and efficiency.
Find out more about the good practice guide to heat pump installation.
More information
