China notifies WTO/TBT of proposed revisions of MEPS for microcomputer 
State Administration for Market Regulation of China issued a WTO/TBT notification on April 8, 2021 on the proposed revision to the mandatory national standard “Minimum Allowable Values of Energy Efficiency and Energy Grades for Microcomputers” (GB 28380-2012). The deadline for submitting comments is 60 days after the date of notification. The date of publication has not been determined at this time (TBD). The main changes in the revision are as follows
- The scope of application of the standard has been revised.
- Citation standards have been added.
- The definition of “energy efficiency rating value of microcomputers” has been deleted.
- “Energy Efficiency Rating” and “Inspection Rules” were deleted.
- The formula for calculating the typical amount of electricity has been revised.
The scope of application, the classification of microcomputers and the energy efficiency class of microcomputers are as follows
Scope of application
This standard specifies the energy efficiency class, energy efficiency limit and test method for desktop microcomputers, integrated desktop microcomputers with display function and portable computers (before the revision the underlined text is “the energy efficiency limit value, energy efficiency rating value and inspection rules”).
This standard applies to general-purpose microcomputers.
It does not apply to workstations and industrial microcomputers.
This does not apply to microcomputers with two or more independent graphic display units.
It also does not apply to microcomputers with a power supply rating of more than 750W.
It also does not apply to portable microcomputers and integrated devices with a display diagonal of less than 0.2946 m (11.6 inches).
Classification of microcomputers
| Microcomputer | Type | Description. |
|---|---|---|
| desktop microcomputer | I1 class | Integrated display unit, or switchable display unit with P≤8 |
| I2 class | Integrated display unit or switchable display unit with P>8 | |
| D-1 class | Independent display unit and P≤8 | |
| D2 class | Independent display unit and P > 8 | |
| Integrated Desktop Microcomputer | 1 | P≤8 |
| 2 | P > 8 | |
| portable computer | 0 | P≦2 |
| 1 | 2<P<8 | |
| 2 | P≥8 | |
| Note: P = (Number of CPU cores) x (CPU clock frequency (GHz)); Number of cores represents the number of physical CPU cores; CPU clock frequency refers to the maximum core frequency of TDP, not the automatic overclocking frequency. | ||
Energy efficiency grade of microcomputer
There are three energy efficiency classes for microcomputers, and the class with the highest energy efficiency is Class 1. The typical energy consumption of a microcomputer in each class of energy efficiency shall not exceed the value specified in the table below.
Unit: kilowatt hour (kWh)
| microcomputer | energy consumption | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| first-class | second -class | Third-class | ||
| Desktop microcomputer | I1 class | 11.0+∑Efa | 26.0+∑Efa | 54.0+∑Efa |
| I2 class | 26.0+∑Efa | 46.0+∑Efa | 74.0+∑Efa | |
| D-1class | 20.0+∑Efa | 35.0+∑Efa | 63.0+∑Efa | |
| D2 class | 25.0+∑Efa | 45.0+∑Efa | 73.0+∑Efa | |
| Integrated desktop microcomputer | 1 | 3.0+∑Efa | 9.0+∑Efa | 15.0+∑Efa |
| 2 | 14.0+∑Efa | 27.0+∑Efa | 40.0+∑Efa | |
| Portable computer | 0 | 2.0+∑Efa | 6.5+∑Efa | 11.0+∑Efa |
| 1 | 3.5+∑Efa | 8.0+∑Efa | 12.5+∑Efa | |
| 2 | 9.5+∑Efa | 14.0+∑Efa | 18.5+∑Efa | |
| Note: ∑Efa is the sum of the power consumption coefficients of the additional functions of the microcomputer. | ||||
The original WTO/TBT Working Paper on the proposed revision to the “Minimum Allowable Values of Energy Efficiency and Energy Grades for Microcomputers” can be viewed at the following URL (in simplified Chinese)
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2021/TBT/CHN/21_2522_00_x.pdf
For more information on the WTO notification (G/TBT/N/CHN/1558), please refer to the following link (in English)
https://web.wtocenter.org.tw/Page.aspx?nid=13317&pid=354722
