Mitsubishi Electric announced on 10 October 2022 that its Seasonal Efficiency Guide has been published. The guide covers the Ecodesign Directive for Energy Related Products (ErP), which the company describes as "a European legislation designed to improve the energy efficiency of all products which 'generate, transfer or measure energy'"1.
The company said the guide sets out how air conditioning products are affected by ErP "in terms of manufacturing, testing and reporting"1. It is presented as a document for people involved in specifying and installing more efficient equipment in buildings, and is available to view and download from the company's site1.
"This guide provides an overview of the Ecodesign Directive for Energy Related Products (ErP)"
The announcement gives no figures for seasonal efficiency, no product ratings and no list of the specific models covered. It also does not state which version of the ErP rules the guide reflects, or whether it addresses heating products such as heat pumps as well as air conditioning. Those details have not been reported1. The guide sits alongside the wider body of work on how energy products are tested and how their datasheets are produced, which determines the efficiency figures a householder sees when comparing equipment.
Why it matters for households
Efficiency claims for home energy equipment rest on standardised testing and reporting rules, not on marketing descriptions. The ErP framework is the mechanism behind the efficiency labels and datasheet values attached to products that generate, transfer or measure energy1. For a household considering a heat pump or air conditioning unit, the seasonal efficiency figure is one of the few comparable numbers available across brands, and it is produced under these rules rather than by the manufacturer alone.
A guide aimed at the trade does not change any household's bills or independence directly. Its relevance is indirect: installers and specifiers who understand how efficiency is defined and reported are better placed to match equipment to a property, and the same definitions underpin the figures householders use to judge whether a system will cut the energy a home draws from the grid. The announcement does not say whether the guide covers domestic heating products, so its bearing on heat pump specification in UK homes has not been reported1.
What happens next
No further dates, revisions or consultation steps are given in the announcement. The guide is available to view and download from Mitsubishi Electric's site1.
Sources1 cited
- [](https://les.mitsubishielectric.co.uk/latest-news/the-new-mitsubishi-electric-seasonal-efficiency-guide-has-officially-launched), les.mitsubishielectric.co.uk