Reliable energy test procedures and test facilities are the foundation of successful standards-setting and labeling initiatives.
Countries and regulatory bodies ensure the integrity of their test procedures and the marketplaces by establishing testing and compliance regimes – reliable systems for accurately measuring and reporting the energy performance of the equipment covered by the labels or standards. Elements of successful testing and compliance regimes include test procedures, compliance, enforcement, and sometimes harmonization.
CLASP supports countries and testing facilities in energy efficiency testing and compliance by providing technical assistance for the development and revision of test procedures; helping to establish and improve test facilities; supporting the improvement of testing practices and compliance; and supporting the harmonization of test procedures regionally or globally.
Developing and Revising Test Procedures
Test procedures describe how to measure the energy use of a product, providing an accurate and consistent comparison of energy use among different manufacturers' products. Effective test procedures are characterized by the reflection of typical usage conditions; the repeatability, reproducibility and accuracy of their results; and relative affordability.
CLASP provides technical support to countries and testing facilities developing new in-country test procedures as well as to those countries and testing facilities adopting and customizing existing protocols. The benefits of adopting existing test procedures include a minimal up-front investment; no need for high-level technical capacity or access to accredited testing facilities; and using procedures with known accuracy, well-defined benefits, complications, and risks.
Establishing and Improving Test Facilities
To reduce costs and delays, governments often rely heavily on private testing while still conducting their own audits to ensure compliance. CLASP helps countries assess existing test facilities through building testing capacity and assisting both countries and testing facilities in the improvement of their testing methods and capabilities.
Improving Testing Practices and Compliance
CLASP helps countries and industries improve testing practices and compliance by providing support for round robin and check testing as well as assisting in the development of best practices for these methods that can be applied broadly to industry and independent third-party facilities.
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Round robin testing ensures that testing facilities are accurately implementing all required test procedures. In round robin testing, several facilities test the same sample product and compare results. The conclusions of these tests can identify adjustments a facility must make in its procedures, equipment, or test procedure interpretation to comply with the relevant protocol.
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Check testing is an audit method to ensure that manufacturers are accurately conveying energy test results. To perform check testing, a sample of products is taken from the factory or from a store for independent third-party testing. Non-compliance can result in financial penalties or legal orders to cease production of the product in some countries or regions.
Check testing is an important method for identifying incidents of marketplace non-compliance. The long-term effects of marketplace non-compliance with standards-setting and labeling requirements include weakened S&L initiatives and lowered energy savings.
For more information on S&L compliance, read Compliance Counts: A Practitioner's Guidebook on Best Practice Monitoring, Verification, and Enforcement for Appliance Standards & Labeling.
Supporting the Harmonization of Test Procedures
CLASP further assists countries and regulatory bodies by facilitating the harmonization of test procedures. Harmonization describes the adoption of the same test procedure or performance standard level or energy labeling criteria or design as that of an international organization or trading partner or the mutual recognition of test results for a particular appliance through a multilateral forum or compact. The harmonization of test procedures has the potential to lower costs for energy test facilities worldwide and lower trade barriers by providing manufacturers a single method for the energy testing of a given product. "Harmonizing up" to the best available test procedure among a set of economies provides the potential benefit of lengthening the period of time between scheduled revisions of energy efficiency test procedures, a time-consuming process requiring consensus and expense.
Example: CLASP Supports Check Testing and Round Robin Testing in China
The China National Institute of Standardization (CNIS) has a large program of energy efficiency standards and labels along with a complimentary system for verifying the energy information required and examining industry compliance with test procedures. CNIS' testing and compliance regime – supported by CLASP – illustrates the elements of ongoing testing, monitoring and compliance that are an integral part of successful energy efficiency standards and labels initiatives.
In 2006 and 2007, CNIS organized check testing for room air conditioners and other products. To ensure the consistency of the check testing results, CNIS initiated round robin testing (RRT) for room air conditioners in 2009 and 2010. In collaboration with CNIS and a foremost international expert on testing, CLASP coordinated the 2009 RRT and analysis. The 2009 RRT indicated that the participating Chinese laboratories produced quality energy efficiency measurements of the products tested but also revealed opportunities for improvement. As a result of these findings, CLASP coordinated a second-stage RRT and analysis in partnership with CNIS in order to improve the implementation and accuracy of the outcomes.