Commercial chillers
To be sold in New Zealand, commercial chillers rated at least 350 kW must meet minimum energy performance standards (MEPS), effective from 9 June 2011.
If you're an importer, manufacturer, retailer or seller of an affected product, this page tells you what you need to know.
Why have standards for commercial chillers?
The MEPS, which is effective from 9 June 2011, encourages improvement in the efficiency of commercial chillers and prevents poorly performing products from entering our market.
Commercial chillers are generally used in large commercial buildings to provide chilled water or air for space cooling equipment. Chillers are typically the largest energy using space conditioning equipment in a commercial building.
The systems are typically purchased by someone other than the end-user (building occupant), so purchase decisions tend to be based on capital cost rather than lifetime energy costs. The MEPS ensures that end-users end up with better performing systems, which saves them on energy and running costs over the life of the system.
It is expected that, through the new standards for commercial chillers, New Zealand will save $110 million in energy (460 GWh) and avoid 321 kt of CO2 emissions by 2020.
The MEPS for commercial chillers follows a comprehensive consultation and development process, and takes into consideration public comment.
Which products are affected
Generally speaking, products affected by the MEPS include water- and air-cooled packaged chillers with a capacity of 350kW or more. There are some exceptions - find out more about the commercial chillers MEPS scope and requirements.
A detailed description of which commercial chillers are affected by the MEPS is also available in the Standard AS/NZS 4776 1.2-2008, available from Standards New Zealand.
All affected commercial chillers imported into, or manufactured in, New Zealand from 9 June 2011 must comply with the standard AS/NZS 4776.2:2008 to be legally sold. Existing stocks of chillers imported before this date do not have to meet these requirements.
How to meet the regulatory requirements
If you import, manufacture or sell commercial chillers affected by the MEPS, there are regulatory requirements you must meet under the Energy Efficiency (Energy Using Products) Regulations 2002.
For manufacturers and importers, this means checking your products meet the standards, registering your products, and providing annual sales data to EECA.
- Find out more about the steps for importers and manufacturers.
- Go straight to product registration on the energy rating website.
For retailers, this means ensuring that the products you're carrying are legal for sale.
- Find out more about steps for retailers.
Which standards apply
The energy performance standards for commercial chillers are:
- AS/NZS 4776.2-2008 which covers MEPS and compliance requirements
- AS/NZS 4776 1.1-2008 which covers the method for rating
- AS/NZS 4776 1.2-2008 which covers the method for testing.
Standards are available from Standards New Zealand.
