Stakeholders Endorse Labels, Standards for Energy Efficient Appliances

Stakeholders converged in Lagos recently to determine appropriate labels and standards to be used in identify appliances that are energy efficient.

This is a high-point in the campaign to promote energy efficiency in residential and public sector buildings in the country.

The endorsement session, which held recently in Lagos, was under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Global Environment Facility (GEF) sponsored Energy Efficiency Programme.

Participants at the two-day event were able to review proposed designs of energy labels for end-user electrical appliances, and after deliberating, reached a consensus and agreed on a label.
Also, a technical committee reviewed and endorsed minimum energy standards for household refrigerating appliances (IEC 62552 series).

The UNDP Country Director, Pa Lamin Beyai said, “The review meeting is significant because minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) contributes to energy security and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The development of these minimum energy performance standards not only build investors and consumers’ confidence in energy efficient products available in the country, but are also important for large scale sustainable deployment of energy efficient solutions.”

The UNDP Country Director, represented by Muyiwa Odele, added that “The UNDP has in the past successfully partnered with the SON to develop the MEPS for household lighting sector, which are already being enforced with lots of success stories such as considerable improvement in the quality of light bulbs in the Nigerian market.”

The overall objective of the project is to improve the energy efficiency of series of end-use appliances used in residential and public sectors in Nigeria through the introduction of standards and labels and demand-side management programmes.

Besides setting MEPS by using policy and legislative instruments, the project also aims at assisting government in the enforcement of energy efficiency policies and laws – through the setting up of internationally accredited energy efficiency testing centres for light bulbs, air conditioners, refrigerators and other appliances.

While supporting processes and programmes that will upscale the penetration of energy saving equipment, the project is creating awareness to change behaviour and to build stakeholder capacity to imbibe energy efficiency best practices for national development.

According to the Coordinator of the Programme, Mr. Etiosa Uyigue, “We are integrating energy efficiency into an existing standard,” and that the adopted energy labels would be tailored for different appliances.

The aim, Uyigue said is to transform the energy efficiency sector by building confidence in people and developing standards to be utilised by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).

Uyigue lists some of the outcomes of the programme to include: Draft National Energy Efficiency Policy: The draft National Energy Efficiency Policy (NEEP) was developed and presented to over 300 national stakeholders. The NEEP was developed under the project in partnership with the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN); Minimum Energy Performance Standard for Lighting: The project working in collaboration with SON has developed the MEPS for CFLs. The draft MEPS for lighting has since been approved by the Nigerian Standard Board and it is now enforceable in Nigeria; Lighting Performance Testing Procedure & Infrastructure: Two complete set of light testing analysis equipment were procured and installed in the laboratories of SON and the National Centre for Energy Efficiency and Conservation (NCEEC). The testing facilities will enhance the ability of SON to enforce the newly approved lighting standard; Draft Energy Efficiency Training Manual: The draft Energy Efficiency Training Manual was developed under the project and it is being reviewed to position it as an acceptable teaching document used in tertiary institutions. Subsequently, the draft training manual has been sent to the National Universities Commission (NUC) for consideration as training module used in Nigerian universities.

Others are: Inauguration of Baseline Studies: Several baseline studies were inaugurated and implemented for monitoring and evaluating the impacts of the EE interventions; MEPS for Refrigerators: In collaboration with SON, the project has supported the process of developing minimum energy performance standard (MEPS) for refrigerators; Testing Equipment for Refrigerators: Energy efficient testing chamber for refrigerator procured for SON for the enforcement of MEPS of refrigerators; and Nigeria Lighting Compliance Study: Inaugurated the Nigeria Lighting Compliance Study to access the quality of lighting products in the Nigerian market.