Selection Criteria Storage Refrigerators and Freezers

Methodology

Topten.eu presents the most energy efficient professional storage refrigerators and freezers on the European market. All listed products use natural climate-friendly refrigerants.

Scope

The products listed:

• are plug-in cabinets (remote cabinets are not considered)
• are storage cabinets (not for the display to and access by customers)
• are available on the European market

Technical criteria

All models on Topten.eu meet the following criteria:

• Natural refrigerant with global warming potential (GWP) ≤ 3 (e.g. R290/propane, R600a/isobutane, R744/CO2)
• Energy efficiency index (EEI) according to EU regulation 2015/1094 not higher than given in the following table.

Addition to the technical criteria: Storage refrigerator-freezers and static storage cabinets are exempt from the EU energy label. In the Topten product lists they can nevertheless be listed, under the condition that their energy consumption is determined according to the here mentioned harmonised testing standards. With the standard values, the energy efficiency index EEI can be calculated according to the EU energy label in the same way as for the other cabinets. Storage refrigerator-freezers are to be classified as vertical freezers for the calculation.

Topten accepted test standards

The test standards for the declaration of the energy consumption of storage refrigerators and freezers are regulated in EU regulation 2015/1094. Topten accepted standards for storage refrigerator-freezers and static storage cabinets can be found here.

Order of presentation

Products are ranked according to energy efficiency index. The order of presentation can be changed by clicking on "sort by". Compare models by checking them and clicking on compare.

EU energy label

Glossary

Brand, Model, Other models

Brand with link to website. All other models (different sizes etc.) that are named meet the Topten technical criteria as well.

Electricity costs

Costs for electricity during product's life time. Assumptions:

• Typical life time: 8 years
• Annual energy consumption: Calculated according to EU energy label in kWh/year
• Tariff of electricity: 0.3 €/kWh (there however can be large differences depending on country or electrical utility)

Net volume

Net volume in liters.

Storage temperatures

Storage temperature range in °C.

Climate class

Energy efficiency class

Energy efficiency class according to EU regulation 2015/1094. Most efficient is A+++ (no products available yet), least efficient is G. Class G products have not not permitted on the market since January 2018. Class F products are banned since 1.Juli 2019 (with the exemption of heavy-duty products).

Classes in parentheses are "energy-class-equivalents" for products that are not covered by the scope of the official regulation - such as static storage appliances - but have been tested according to EN16825.

Energy efficiency index

Energy efficiency index (EEI) according to EU regulation 2015/1094. Value in percent (%). The lower the value, the more efficient the product.

Energy

Annual energy consumption in kWh/year. Accepted measuring protocols see above.

Refrigerant

• R600a (isobutane, natural climate-friendly refrigerant)
• R290 (propane, natural climate-friendly refrigerant)
• R744 (CO2, natural climate-friendly refrigerant)
• Inefficient models: R134a, R404A or R507 (fluorinated refrigerants with high global warming potential)

Cooling

• Static
• Forced-air

Dimensions

Width x depth x height in cm.

Countries available

This item displays the availability of models in European countries according to producers’ information. "EU" means that the model is available in all or most European countries. If the model is available in a number of countries only they are indicated by country codes according to ISO. "On demand" means that producers could not indicate the availability and that consumers have to ask in their countries on their own.

Infoplus

Publications

• The first energy labels for professional cooling appliances - lessons learnt. Steffen Hepp, Maike Hepp. EEDAL 2022, Paper and presentation
• Memo on product declaration to Topten
• ProCold Publishable Report, project results 2016-2018, July 2018
• ProCold Technical Report, market overview and development 2016-2018, April 2018

Standards and labels

• European Comission: FAQ of May 2018 related to Regulation (EU) No 2015/1094 (Labelling of professional refrigerated storage cabinets) and Regulation (EU) No 2015/1095 (Ecodesign for professional refrigerated storage cabinets)
• EN 16825:2015 Refrigerated storage cabinets and counters for professional use - Classification, requirements and test conditions
• European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC), CEN-CENELEC

Energy label and ecodesign requirements:

• Commission delegated regulation (EU) 2015/1094 of 5 May 2015 supplementing Directive 2010/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the energy labelling of professional refrigerated storage cabinets
• Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/1095 of 5 May 2015 implementing Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for professional refrigerated storage cabinets, blast cabinets, condensing units and process chillers
• Impact Assessment and Preparatory Studies for professional refrigeration equipment.
• Ecodesign Preparatory Study ENTR Lot 1 and TREN Lot 12 - Refrigerating and Freezing Equipment.
• Topten Policy Recommendations for professional refrigerated storage cabinets from May 2021

Other public product lists with standard data:

• The Energy Technology List ETL: Product lists 'Professional Refrigerated Storage Cabinets' and 'Refrigerated Display Cabinets'.
• Energy Rating Australia / New Zealand: Product lists 'Commercial Refrigerators'

Links

• Energy efficiency measures by the European Commission.
• eceee, the European council for an energy efficient economy, provides a status overview on all products in the Ecodesign & Energy Labelling process.
• Coolproducts informs about the EU ecodesign process. It is a coalition of NGOs' campaign for a stronger, fast Ecodesign Directive to save the climate and money.
• ECOS (Ecostandard) is an international NGO with a network of members and experts advocating for environmentally friendly technical standards, policies and laws.
• EPREL (European Product Registry for Energy Labelling) is the European product database. Products with an energy label are registered in EPREL in order to provide consumers with detailed product information.

Manufacturers and dealers are kindly asked to contact info(at)topten.info to inform about more products meeting the Topten selection criteria.

Submission Excel for Storage Cabinets for manufacturers - list your efficient products on Topten

06/2025 Hepp