Energy label and the product information sheet
The energy label and a product information sheet provide consumers with new information about smartphones and slate tablets, such as the battery runtime per full charge, the battery endurance (number of charging cycles until capacity has dropped to 80%).
Two important tools in this new regulation are:
- The energy label
- The product information sheet (PIS)
The energy label
The new energy label resembles the one that already exists for household appliances (like fridges and washing machines) but contains additional useful information such as:
- The repeated free-fall reliability class.
The product's "rboustness"-class is determined on the basis of the number of falls from 1 meter that the device can withstand without functionality problems. The scale goes from A to E (slate tablets), where A is the most robust and E the least robust, and A to D (smartphones). - Battery runtime per charging cycle
This icon means, the number of hours a smartphone or tablet can operate with a fully charged battery until the device automatically shuts down due to an empty battery.
For example, if a smartphone has a battery runtime of 10 hours per cycle, it means that an average operation for around 10 hours before recharging can be expected (to note that the 10 hours of this example have been determined on the basis of a standardised test of usage).
- The repairability class of the product
The repairability class indicates how easy and potentially cheap it is to repair a specific product model. A scale is used from A to E, where A is the most repairable, and E is the least repairable. - The Ingress protection rating
This icon is an indication of the resistance of the product to water and dust axpressed as level 1-8, where 1 = very little and 8 = very well protected. - The battery endurance (battery service life)
The number of charges a battery can withstand until its capacity has reduced to 80% of its rated capacity.
The Product Information Sheet (PIS)
For each product in scope of the energy labelling regulation a "Product information sheet" (PIS) must be available.
The purpose of the PIS is to make additional product information about specific energy performance and environmental-related aspects not provided on the energy label available for the consumer..
You can find and download a PIS for a specific product in EPREL (European Product Registry for Energy Labelling)
Below you find a list of parameters in a PIS, including an explanation in the right column.
Product Information Sheet COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2023/1669 with regard to the energy labelling of smartphones and slate tablets | Comments | ||
This headline is the same for all Product Information Sheets (PIS) for smartphones and slate tablets | |||
1. Trademark
| 2. Model identifier | Both must be identical to the data in the energy label | |
3. General product parameters: | Just a headline (should not have an own number) | ||
Parameter | Value | Headline for the rest of the table (should be bold) | |
4. Device type | [smartphone/tablet] | Devices in scope with diagonal size below 7 inches are “smartphones”, above “tablets” | |
5. Operating system | [Android/iOS/other] | Devices with operating systems other than Android and iOS are just indicated as “other”; for details you need to consult other data sources | |
6. Energy efficiency class | [A/B/C/D/E/F/G] | must be identical to the indication in the energy label | |
7. Battery user-replaceable | [yes/no] | Battery can be replaced without special tools or knowledge | |
8. Battery endurance per cycle [h] | Duration until device turns off due to low battery, starting from fully charged battery, measurement based on a standardized test; in real life the value can be different | ||
9. Battery endurance in cycles - default settings [cycles] | Stands for the number of full charging cycles until only 80% of rated capacity are left; rounded down to full 100 | ||
10. Rated battery capacity (Crated [mAh]) | |||
11. Shipped with protective cover | [yes/no] | ||
12. Repeated free fall reliability test - falls without defect [n] | Number of falls from 1m height without damage to the device | ||
13. Repeated free fall reliability test - falls without defect, tested in fully extended state [n] | Not available for non-extendable devices | ||
14. Repeated free fall reliability class | [A/B/C/D/E] | must be identical to the data in the energy label; no class E for smartphones | |
15. Ingress protection rating | IPxx | The first numeral refers to the protection against solid objects and is rated on a scale from 0 (no protection) to 6 (dust-tight).
The second numeral rates the enclosure’s protection against liquids and uses a scale from 0 (no protection) to 8 (continuous immersion, 1 m or more depth). | |
16. Specified immersion depth in water, in case of IPx8 [m] | [x,xx/n.a.] | Only for devices with the highest protection (8) against liquids, else “n.a.” | |
17. Screen scratch resistance on Mohs hardness scale | Scale goes up to 10 (in theory), typical values between 4 and 7, the higher the more resistant | ||
18. Charger | Required output power [W] | The higher, the faster the device is charged | |
Receptacle type (at device end) | [USB-A/USB-Micro B/USB-C/other] | ||
Repairability information: | |||
19. Minimum guaranteed availability of operating system security updates, corrective updates and functionality updates (years) | Must be at least 5 years | ||
20. Repairability Class (based on the index below) | [A/B/C/D/E] | must be identical to the data in the energy label | |
21. Repairability Index | 0,00 to 5,00 | Average of the six scores (21a. to 21f.) below giving 21a. a weight of 25% and all others 15% | |
21a. Disassembly Depth (SDD) score | 0,00 to 5,00 | Explaining how many steps are needed to remove a part from the device, weighted average of 10 parts, battery and display assembly being the most important ones | |
21b. Fasteners (type) score (SF) | 0,00 to 5,00 | Same weighting as 21a. | |
21c. Tools (type) score (ST) | 0,00 to 5,00 | Same weighting as 21a. | |
21d. Spare Part score (SSP) | 0,00 to 5,00 | The more parts available to consumers (and not only to professional repairers), the better score | |
21e. Software Updates (duration) score (SSU) | 0,00 to 5,00 | Between 5 and 7 years after the last unit of the model is placed on the market (i.e. in reality longer duration than stated for newer models) | |
21f. Repair Information score (SRI) | 0,00 to 5,00 | Higher score when no costs are charged for repair information | |
22. Weblink to information on spare parts availability for professional repairers and end users | https:// | ||
23. Weblink to repair instructions for end-users | https:// | ||
24. Weblink to indicative pre-tax prices | https:// | ||
Additional information: | |||
25. Minimum duration of the guarantee offered by the supplier [months] |