Expectations are that broadband (BB) equipment will contribute considerably to the electricity consumption of households in European Community in the near future. Depending on the penetration level, the specifications of the equipment and the requirements of the service provider, a total European consumption of up to 50 TWh per year can be estimated for the year 2015. With the general principles and actions resulting from the implementation of this Code of Conduct the (maximum) electricity consumption could be limited to 25 TWh per year, this is equivalent to 5,5 Millions tons of oil equivalent (toe) and to total saving of about € 7,5 Billions per year.

Energy Consumption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is rapidly increasing including the stand-by power consumed by end-use devices when they are switched off or not performing their main function. Stand-by power consumption is an increasing fraction of the European Union’s electricity use and the fast penetration of new and digital technology is likely to increase this share. It is estimated that stand-by power already accounts for about 10% of the electricity use in homes and offices of the EU Member States.

The Uninterruptible Power Systems (UPS) are widespread in the European Industry and service centres. Expectations are that UPS will increase in European Community in the near future. The energy supply with UPS generates energy losses that are higher than the supply of the consumer direct from the low voltage network. With the general principles and actions resulting from the implementation of this Code of Conduct the additional electricity energy losses caused by UPS will be limited.

This Code of Conduct has been prepared by the European Commission, following the discussions and decisions of the ad-hoc working group composed by independent experts, Member States representatives and representatives of industry.

In recent years there has been an increased interest in the provision of energy services to achieve energy and environmental goals. In particular some new companies providing energy services to final energy users, including the supply and installations of energy efficient equipment, and/or the building refurbishment, have started to operate on the European market.

To help all parties to address the issue of energy efficiency whilst avoiding competitive pressures to raise energy consumption of equipments used by service providers, all manufacturers are invited to sign this Code of Conduct. Taking into account that the energy consumption of the equipment is influenced by the services offered, the number of features as well as the components used.