RISOptions / FujitsuComments
1.Forairconditioners(A/C)adopttheSEERstandardAS/NZS3823.4 forratingproductswith capacityupto30kW. / Fujitsusupporttheconcept of the proposal.Though moreindustryconsultationisrequired once allcalculation methodsare finalisedprior toadoptingtonewstandards.
2.RemovetheexistingEnergyRatingLabel(ERL)andreplaceitwith aZonedERLthat providesenergy efficiencyinformationforthreedistinctclimatezonesacrossAustraliaandNewZealandto A/Cwith capacityupto30kW.Air enthalpy testswouldbeacceptedfor ducted,three-phaseand certain ‘commercialuse’products. Multi-splitsystems would continuetobe excludedfrom physicallabellingbutwouldbe subjecttotheSEER standard, withratinginformationfortheregisteredcombinationmadeavailableontheEnergyRatingwebsite. / Fujitsusupportsthisproposal withthefollowingprovisions:
  • ZERLshouldonlyberequired tobeplaced onairconditionersthatarecommonlyondisplaysuchasWallMountedairconditioners,cassette, floor andWindowtypeairconditioners,thereforeexcludingductedunits.
  • Forair conditionersthat arenotcommonlyondisplay,thetestingandratingofa starratingshouldbecompletedbywayoftestinanair enthalpy room,however, itshould notbearequirementfor the labeltobeattachedatproduction foreach produced modelasitwill notbeseenbytheconsumer.Fujitsusuggestthefollowingoptionsbeconsidered:
1.For ductedmodels, aQR Code isadded totheoutdoor unit compliancelabeland theoperationmanualsotoreducetheneedofa physicallabel ontheindoor unitthat theconsumerwillnotseeor,
2.Inadditiontopoint1,aQR Codeisappliedtothe indoor unitcartonlabel
3.ForCassetteandunder ceilingthreephasemodels,theQR Codeaddedtoeither theindoororoutdoorcompliancelabelso consumerscan easilyaccesstheZERL.
  • WeagreewithMulti splitsnotbeinglabelledandcontinuing asper thecurrentrequirements.
  • Inregardstothenoiseratingonthelabel,currentlytheonlyAustralia noise labellingrequirementintheNSWtechnicalbasisforNoiseform 1984.TheEPAalsohasnoiseinformationavailable.Fujitsufeel,thatthisisanarea thatneedstobelookedatandwhileplacingnoiseinformationontheZERLisa goodidea,weneedtohaveclarification aroundwhich testingstandards willneed tobe used.

3.DoubleductportableA/CsubjecttotheSEER standardAS/NZS3823.4,ZonedEnergyRatingLabelandareducedMEPSlevel of2.60 based onAEER/ACOP.SingleductportableA/CsubjecttoZonedEnergyRatingLabel(withproxy for operatingtimedata) andtestedtoAS/NZS3823.1.5. / Fujitsusupportsthe introductionof doubleductportableA/Cto bepart oftheSEER Scheme.
However,FujitsudonotsupportthereductionoftheMEPS levelfrom 3.10 to2.60 as wehaveconcernsthatthiswillallowthereintroductionoflessefficientproductback intothemarket.Our preferencewouldbetomaintainthecurrentMEPSlevelin linewith a small splitsystemairconditioner whichiswhatportableACunitsaregenerallycomparedwiththroughout theconsumer’sdecision makingprocess.
4.RemovetheuniqueAustralian/NewZealandchillerteststandardandalignwithUSteststandardAHRI551/591:2011 / Fujitsudonothaveproductsinthismarketspaceandthereforehavenocomment.
8.Singleduct portableA/Csubjecttoa MEPS levelof2.60basedon AEER/ACOP. / Fujitsusupportstheintroductionof singleductportableA/Ctobepartof theSEERScheme.
However,FujitsudonotsupportthereductionoftheMEPS levelfrom 3.10 to2.60 as wehaveconcernsthat thiswillallow thesaleoflessefficient productinthemarket. Our preferencewouldbe to maintainthecurrentMEPS levelinlinewith a small splitsystemair conditioner which is what portableACunitsaregenerally comparedwiththroughout theconsumer’sdecisionmaking process.
9. AlignNew Zealand’sresidentialcooling MEPS tomatchAustralia’s levels. / FujitsuGeneralAustralia supportstheconcept ofthisproposal,thoughmoreconsultationisrequiredwithkeyindustrymembersandEECA.
10.AligntheMEPS levelsfor fixedandvariablespeedairconditioners, by removingthe‘part load’complianceoption. / Fujitsuagreethat thereare stepstoimprovethe partloadrequirementsbut disagreewith itscompleteremoval.Wehaveconcerns thatanychangemayhaveanadverseeffectandthereforerequestfurtherinvestigationwithmanufacturersofvariablespeedproducttocomeupwith a mutuallybeneficialoutcomeforGovernment,IndustryandConsumers.
11.SEERratingof A/C≥30kWcapacity,withratinginformationmadeavailable ontheEnergyRatingwebsite. / Fujitsuagreeswiththisproposal.
Other issues
1.Timeframe / Thereisnofixedtimeframein thedocument. Whileweareextremelyhappy withtheGovernmentrepresentative’scommunication, wewouldlike tosee a firm date of the proposedintroduction. Fujitsuwouldliketoseethisintroductionoccur from the1stofApril (after summer) inthat regulatoryyear.
2.AirConditionervs Gas Appliancelabelling / Fujitsufeelsthereneedstobe moreinvestigationcompleted inregardstocomparinggasheatingapplianceswith airconditioners.Recentstudies fromEnergy SaveVictoriastatethatAirconditioners(heatpumps) aregenerallymoreefficientthan thecompetinggasappliance.However,astheyhavedifferentstarlabelling schemes,aconsumer cannotmakean educateddecision whencomparingtheseproducts.Wefeelthereneedstobeworktoalignthealgorithmssoconsumerscanmakeeducateddecisionwhenselectingthemostefficient producttosuit their needs.
Page4-VRFIndoor Connectability / Thedocumentstatesthat systemscanonlyhaveup to50 Indoor unitsconnected.Thisis incorrectastherearemodelsonthemarketthatcanup to64Indoor unitsconnected. Fujitsuhaveaproductlikethis.Thiswouldneedtobeupdatedwiththecorrectdatainthe decisionRIS.
Page10–DifferenceinGems vsNCCMEPS Levels / Furtherconsultationwithkeyindustrymembersisrequiredprior toformallychangingcurrentregulationstoassistwithdeterminingthemostappropriatecourseofaction.
Page11–PartloadComplianceoption / Asper our commentsintheoptions area, Fujitsuagreesthatsomeworkneedstooccur butdonotsupportthepartloadallowancebeingremoved.
Pages11/12–InconsistentMEPSlevels / FujitsusupportstheproposaltoincreasetheNEWZealandMEPS levelstotheAustralian levels.
Page16–Policyoptions / Fujitsusupportstheconceptofoption B2,though moreindustryconsultationisrequiredonceallcalculation methodsare finalisedprior toadoptingtonewstandards.
Page21–NoiseLevel / Asperpreviouscomment,FujitsuhasconcernsaroundthecurrentNoiserequirements. Thiswouldneedtobeclarifiedclearlyinanylegislative outcome.
Page23–PortableMEPS Levels / As per Fujitsu’s previous comments,we wouldsupport MEPS forthese models tobe consistentwiththecurrentsplitsystemequivalent.Thesearedirectcompeting modelsandthereforeshouldhavesimilarrequirements.
Technical/Administrativequestions
FullyAligningInternationalStandardswhereappropriate / FujitsuGeneralAustralia wouldsupporttheadoption ofinternationalstandardswhereappropriate.Thiswould havetobedoneonacasebycasebasisandagreedtobyindustryandGovernmentregulatorsalikeandwherenecessarymakeamendmentstosuitour localmarket.Therewould alsoneedtobesomechangestotheGEMSacttoallowfor review ofthedraftdeterminationwithout theneedfora formalstandardsprocess.
Updatinginternationalbasedteststandards / FujitsuGeneralAustralia wouldsupportthisrequestontheprovisionthat consultationismadewithindustryandtheneedtomove toa formalRIS processbecompletedonacasebycaseprocess.
WaterSourcedHeat Pumps / (a)FujitsuGeneralAustraliasupport NewZealandconsideringthecosts of aligning with Australia
(b)FujitsuGeneralAustraliasupportupdatingAS/NZS3823.1.3iftheISO13256isupdated,however,ifchangesarerequiredtomeetthe localmarket, aformalreviewprocessshouldoccur.
RemoveH2MEPSRequirements / FujitsuGeneralAustraliasupporttheremovalofH2 testingiftheSEER ratingisintroduced.However,consultationbetweenEECAandNewZealandStake holderswould havetooccur toensure thatmanufacturerscan stillcomplywith energy starrequirements.
MultiSplitRegistration / FujitsuGeneralAustralia agreeswiththisproposal
Noiseteststandard / FujitsuGeneralrecognisestheneedfor auniform noisetestingstandardasmanufacturers areusingdifferenttestingstandardssinceAS1217hasbeenoutdatedfor sometime.Our preference istoadopt EN12102:2013.
NoiseTestpoints / FujitsuGeneralAustraliaagreewith thisproposal
NoiseTestrequirements / FujitsuGeneralAustraliaagreewith thisproposal.
Measurementofnon-operativepowerconsumption / FujitsuGeneralfeelthateitherofthecalculationmethods(AS/NZS3823.2orAS/NZS3823.4)shouldbeabletobe selected bythemanufacturer fortestingpurposes.Ifallproductswererequired toberetested tocomplywiththecalculationmethodinAS/NZS3823.4.Thiswillleadtomoretestingmeaningincreasedcosttoindustry.
Heatpumpandreversecycleliquidchillingpackages / FujitsuGeneralAustralia supportthemeritsofinvestigationfor theseproductstobeincludedintheGEMSprocessinfutureRISdocuments.
Inverterovercapacity / FujitsuGeneralAustralia doesn’t believethisisa productissuebutmoresoanapplicationandsizingissuethatcouldbeimprovedbyfinalisingthe AirconditionerinstallationstandardandpromotingitheavilythroughARConthebenefits ofsizingair conditioners effectively.
Conclusion
Recommendedoption isoptionB2 / FujitsuGeneralAustralia supportsthisoption withsomechangesas notedinour aboveresponses.Moreconsultationisrequiredinregardstotheareaswehaveraised.
Implementationandreview
Timeframes / Weneedfirm datesfor projected introductiontoallowsufficientengineeringtimetomeettherequirements oftheproposals inthisRIS.Fujitsu Generalwouldliketoproposethatanyintroductionfornewregulationwouldcommencefrom the1stofApril oftheyearitisbeingintroduced.
Compliancemonitoring / FujitsuGeneralAustraliawouldsupportagreaterchecktestingprogramthanwhatiscurrentlyavailable.For example,Fujitsu havebeencheckedtested severaltimesover thelastcoupleofyearswhenotherwhenothermanufacturershavenotbeentestedasregularly