Canadians Take a Second Look at Mandatory Specs

January 12, 2010 - Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) recently announced that it will be modifying its standby power performance standards, scheduled to be published later this year. As mentioned in a Mr. Green blog from February of last year (see: Reducing Standby Power Waste in the Great White North, Eh?), the proposed spec was slated to cover five different product types: televisions, video products, compact audio products, printers, and multi-function devices. What makes the spec especially important is that, unlike ENERGY STAR and others, the spec is mandatory. In order for the products to be sold in Canada, they must meet the spec.

In a memo that went out last month, NRCan announced that it will be excluding printers, and multi-function devices from the spec, citing that "there is insufficient data to characterize the energy savings for the proposed standby mode limits of these products."

In addition, the memo states that the power management requirements (the requirement to switch to off-mode or standby mode after a given period of time of inactivity) for televisions, video products, compact audio products will not be included in the proposed spec. NRCan says that "Further analysis is required to determine the impacts of mandatory power management of these products."

The time table for these proposed changes is that they will be published in Canada Gazette Part I after which there will be a 75-day period for feedback before being finalized Canada Gazette Part II, which will make them official.