New EU regulations could spell disaster for energy-consuming 8K TVs.

EU energy regulations have come into effect that could spell trouble for power-hungry 8K displays. Stuart Corner looks at the new laws and what they might mean for Australia.

According to the Federal Government’s Your Home website, TVs and home entertainment equipment account for 5% of household energy use. That figure is likely to have increased as, spurred on by COVID-19 restrictions and the lack of alternative spending opportunities, more households have invested in TVs with bigger screens and higher resolutions.

Aside from the greater, energy-consuming, processing power needed to display an 8K image compared to 4K, the backlighting needs to be much brighter to achieve the same level of viewing brightness through the greater pixel density.

For many years, governments around the world have had legislation setting maximum energy consumption limits for televisions, and electrical and electronic equipment of all kinds, accompanied by legislated labelling requirements so consumers understand the energy consumption of the appliances they are buying.

Australia is no exception, but Australia’s legislation and standards have not kept up with technological advances. Australian Standard AS/NZS 62087.2.2, which sets minimum energy performance standards and energy rating labelling requirements for television sets, dates from 2011.

However, in February 2022 the Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (DISER), on behalf of the Equipment Energy Efficiency (E3) Program, announced plans to review the minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) and energy rating labelling requirements for televisions, computer monitors, and digital signage displays.

An issues paper was released, and submissions invited. However only three public ones had been received when the window for submissions closed in April 2022: from the Australian Retailers Association, the Consumer Electronics Supply Association (CESA) and the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman.

It asked three questions about 8K: “What level of MEPS would be appropriate for 8K televisions? Are there any issues in including 8K televisions in a new efficiency regulation? Do you have any data or information about the expected future market for 8K televisions?”

The only response to these questions was in the CESA submission, which said: “The introduction of MEPS for 8K televisions should follow the EU regulations, initially no MEPS requirement when aligning with 2021 EU, then introduction when 2023 EU requirements are introduced.”

The issues paper said DISER was planning to release a consultation regulation impact statement (CRIS) on the MEPS and energy rating labelling requirements for televisions, computer monitors, and digital signage displays.

The E3 program operates under the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012 (the GEMS Act) and the review is one of several of GEMS Act energy efficiency determinations presently under review.

A spokesperson for the GEMS review says the next stage in the process would be publication of the CRIS on the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s consultation hub, expected in the first half of this year.

Things are much more advanced in the European Union where the latest iteration of energy performance requirements for TVs not only impacts the latest big screen 8K TVs but will, according to industry, see many of them banned.

The prospect of 8K products becoming unsaleable in Europe has created the possibility for them to be “dumped” on the Australian market, paralleling accusations levelled at the auto industry of importing into Australia cars that no longer meet increasingly stringent European emission standards.

The EU’s energy efficiency regulation is complex and in March 2019 the EC revised it to specify that, by March 2023, 8K and microLED-based displays would be required to consume the same power as UHD (4K) devices.

Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/2021 details the new rules. In September 2022, the 8K Association reported in its newsletter: “We have confirmed that no current 8K TVs can meet this level of power efficiency and will therefore be banned from selling into the EU market.”

The 8K Association suggested that, because the regulation will apply to products ‘out-of-the-box’, manufacturers could get around it by shipping product with a low brightness setting and telling buyers to tweak the setting.

The 8K Association was also hoping the ban would not eventuate. The organisation’s executive director, Chris Chinnock, said in October: “We are hoping they will schedule a review session before the end of the year.”

However these hopes have not been fulfilled, despite a written commitment by the EU. Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/2021 contained (Article 8) a very specific commitment to such a review:

“The Commission shall review this Regulation in the light of technological progress and shall present the results of the assessment, including, if appropriate, a draft revision proposal, to the Consultation Forum no later than 25 December 2022.”

There was a specific requirement to review: “the need to adapt regulatory requirements as [a] result of new technologies available, such as HDR, 3D mode, high frame rate, resolution levels above UHD-8K.”

However, a 24 November 2022 report in Italian publication D-Day said the EC had expressed its intention to confirm the new limit, which would come into effect on schedule in March 2023.

Accusations levelled at the auto industry alleging importation in Australia of less efficient vehicles that no longer complied with EAU regulation were made by, amongst others, ACT transport minister Chris Steel. ABC News reported him in October 2021 saying, in a submission to a federal parliamentary inquiry into road safety, that Australia’s refusal to mirror EU pollution rules had “led to Australia becoming a dumping ground for manufacturers of less efficient, costly and polluting vehicles.”

While the 8K Association is ringing alarm bells that current products will be unsaleable in Europe, the EU is suggesting manufacturers will be able to adapt to meet the new requirements, which would likely lead to 8K products with other improvements coming onto the market. The EC told D-Day: “The information in the Commission’s possession confirms that it will remain possible for manufacturers to offer compatible 8K TVs … in some cases after manufacturers implement technical or software improvements.”

This is starkly at odds with a comment from TCL Europe’s product development director, Marek Maciejewski, who was quoted by FlatpanelsHD saying “If it [the new energy limit] happens, no more 8K.”

If manufacturers are able to meet the requirement through product development, these new 8K models are likely to incorporate other advances that could be denied to Australian customers if our market continues to accept products that do not comply EU regulations. Again, there are parallels with the auto industry.

Minister Steel’s submission to the federal road safety enquiry went on to say: “vehicles which comply with the latest emissions standards also generally incorporate a range of modern safety features, so the increased uptake of these vehicles would deliver both environmental and safety benefits.”

Chris Chinnock was unable to comment on any impact on the Australian market of the new EU ruling coming into force but says: “If the ban goes into effect, it will have a worldwide impact as the EU is an important market that is needed for sales of advanced technologies.

He added: “If unwise regulation can alter entire ecosystems, developers may get nervous and delay, or change, development efforts or get more politically active to better influence regulators.”

A question on the issue put to CEDIA was referred to Paul Skelton, regional development independent consultant, for Australia and New Zealand who said the organisation could not comment on any local implications of the EU’s ruling.

The Australian Consumers Association was also asked to comment on the possibility of Australia becoming a dumping ground for 8K TV products that could not be sold in the EU, but did not respond.