Proposed European Union rules to cut the energy wasted by dormant electronic devices took a step closer to the statute books this week.

But influential industry bodies in the UK and US say legal limits on standby power would be misguided and a disincentive to manufacturers to strive for even greater reductions.

The Eco-design Regulatory Committee this week endorsed standby limits proposed by the European Commission. These limits would be introduced through the 2005 Eco-design Directive, which provides a framework for rules covering any class of electrical device used in households and offices, such as TVs, computers and microwave ovens. The next stage in the EU legislative process will see the proposals debated by the European Parliament.

The proposals aim to set a maximum power consumption for standby of either one or two watts from 2010, depending on the type of product. In 2013, the admissible power consumption levels would drop to 0.5W or 1W.

According to a statement from the Committee, the regulation will reduce standby electricity consumption in the EU by approximately 50 terawatt-hours a year by 2020, equal to Denmark's annual electricity consumption. This would cut emissions by approximately 14 mega-tonnes of carbon a year.

“This first measure under the Eco-design Directive will drastically reduce standby electricity consumption of household and office products,” said Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs. “It is a concrete contribution to reach the EU's energy efficiency and climate protection targets, while saving citizens' money.”

However, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), which represents US manufacturers and retailers, says a one-size-fits-all approach will make for poor regulation

“Some products need a minimal amount of energy in stand-by, some require more. Products develop quickly and regulation can’t keep pace,” said Doug Johnson, senior director for technology policy and international affairs at the CEA. “For example, what about multifunction products, such as a combo-scanner-printer-copier, which may require more than 1W in stand-by but [overall would] consume far less power than three discrete products?”

The CEA’s position is supported by UK technology trade body Intellect.

Johnson and George Fullman, head of consumer electronic technical affairs for Intellect, are lobbying for the EU to adopt the Energy Star scheme used in the US.

Johnson admitted that this would benefit US manufacturers, who will otherwise have a new set of regulations to manage when doing business in the EU. But Energy Star is well-established in Europe and was adopted for IT products by the European Commission in 2006.

Johnson and Fullman argued that the Eco-design Directive will encourage all manufacturers to meet the regulatory power levels only. But the Energy Star scheme would encourage them to keep developing products which perform better than their competitors’ and thus create a market mechanism which drives down energy consumption with each new generation of products.

“Products can be developed faster than regulations,” Fullman told BusinessGreen.com