Press Release: Energy savings and reduced emissions from new efficiency requirements for transformers

On 21 May 2014, the Ecodesign Regulation adopted by the European Commission will ensure that transformers become progressively more efficient as new power transformers put into service in the EU internal market will have to fulfil minimum energy efficiency requirements from 1 July 2015.

The resulting energy savings have been estimated at 16TWh per year from 2020 onwards, which corresponds to 3.7 Mt of avoided CO2 emissions. This is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of Denmark: 32 TWh per year. Although power transformers are generally very efficient devices, cost-effective marginal improvements in their efficiency can yield substantial energy savings, taking into account their typical service life of 30 years or more. Given that the number of installed transformers in Europe in 2011 has been estimated at 3.6 million, a figure that is expected to increase to almost 4.7 million in 2025, the impact of the decision taken on 21 May 2014 will be considerable.

ESO: Background information: Energy savings and reduced emissions from new efficiency requirements for transformers http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-energy-savings-and-reduced-emissions-from-new-efficiency-requirements-for-transformers/

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