22.6.92 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 167/17 COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 92/42/EEC of 21 May 1992 on efficiency requirements for new hot-water boilers fired with liquid or gaseous fuels THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (!), In cooperation with the European Parliament (2), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3), Whereas Decision 91/565/EEC (*) provides for the promotion of energy efficiency in the Community under the SAVE programme; Whereas it is important to promote measures aimed at the progressive establishement of the internal market in the period up to 31 December 1992; whereas the internal market encompasses an area without internal frontiers, in which the free circulation of goods, persons, services and capital is assured; Whereas the Council resolution of 15 January 1985 on the improvement of energy-saving programmes in the Member States (%) invites Member States to pursue and where necessary increase their efforts to promote the more rational use of energy by the further development of integrated energy-saving policies; Whereas the Council resolution of 16 September 1986 concerns new Community energy-policy objectives for 1995 and convergence of the policies of the Member States (¢), and in particular the objective of improving the efficiency of final energy demand by at least 20 %; Whereas Article 130r of the Treaty provides that action by the Community relating to the environment shall have the objective of ensuring a prudent and rational utilization of natural resources; Whereas it is appropriate to take as a base a high level of protection in proposals for the approximation of the provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States and concerning health, safety, environmental protection and consumer protection; (1) OJ No C 292, 22. 11. 1990, p. 8. (2) O] No C 129, 20. 5. 1991, p. 97 and OJ No C 94, 13. 4. 1992. (3) O] No C 102, 18. 4. 1991, p. 46. (*) OJ No L 307, 8. 11. 1991, p. 34. (5) O] No C 20, 22. 1. 1985, p. 1. (5) OJ No C 241, 25. 9. 1986, p. 1. Whereas the Council resolution of 21 June 1989 declares ‘that the Community should take proper account of potential climatic change linked to the greenhouse effect’ (7) and the Council’s conclusions of 29 October 1990 state that CO, emissions in the year 2000 should be stabilized throughout the Community at their 1990 level; Whereas the importance of the domestic and tertiary sector, which absorbs a major proportion of the final consumption of energy in the Community, is considerable; Whereas this sector will become even more important through trends towards more central heating and a general increase in thermal comfort; Whereas better boiler efficiency is in the consumer’s interest; - whereas energy saving will be reflected in fewer imports of hydrocarbons; whereas reduction in the Community’s energy dependence will have a positive impact on its trade balance; Whereas Council Directive 78/170/EEC of 13 February 1978 on the performance of heat generators for space heating and the production of hot water in new or existing non-industrial buildings and on the insulation of heat and domestic hot-water distribution in new non-industrial builings (8), has given rise to the establishment of substantially different efficiency levels between one Member State and another; Whereas the requirement of high efficiency for hot-water boilers will reduce the range. of technical properties of equipment placed on the market, thus facilitating series production and making for economies of scale; whereas the absence of a measure laying down energy requirements at a sufficiently high level may result, with the completion of the internal market, in a significant drop in the efficiency levels of heating installations through the spread on the market of low-efficiency boilers; Whereas local climatic conditions and the energy and occupancy characteristics of buildings differ greatly within the Community; whereas Member States must take this diversity into account when determining the conditions for putting boilers into service in implementation of this Direcitve; whereas these circumstances justify the fact that Member States where back-boilers and boilers designed to be installed in the living space are widely installed at the date of (7) OJ No C 183, 20. 7. 1989, p. 4. (3) OJNoL 52,23.2.1978,p. 32.Directive amended by Directive 82/885/EEC (O] No L 378, 31. 12. 1982, p. 19). “