23.7.2009 Official Journal of the European Union L 191/53 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 643/2009 of 22 July 2009 implementing Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for household refrigerating appliances (Text with EEA relevance) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2005 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy- using products and amending Council Directive 92/42/EEC and Directives 96/57/EC and 2000/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ('), and in particular Article 15(1) thereof, After consulting the Ecodesign Consultation Forum, Whereas: (1)  Directive 96/57/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 September 1996 on energy efficiency requirements for household electric refrigerators, freezers and combinations thereof () lays down provisions regarding  household refrigerating appliances. The requirements laid down in that Directive, which have been applicable since 1999, are now outdated. (2)  Under Directive 2005/32/EC ecodesign requirements should be set by the Commission for energy-using products representing significant volumes of sales and trade, having significant environmental impact and pre- senting significant potential for improvement in terms of their environmental impact without entailing excessive costs. (3) Article 16(2), first indent, of Directive 2005/32/EC provides that, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 19(3) and the criteria set out in Article 15(2), and after consulting the Ecodesign Consul- tation Forum, the Commission shall, as appropriate, introduce a new implementing measure for household refrigerating appliances repealing Directive 96/57/EC. (4)  The Commission has carried out a preparatory study to analyse the technical, environmental and economic aspects of refrigerating appliances typically used in households. The study has been developed together () O] L 191, 22.7.2005, p. 29. () O] L 236, 18.9.1996, p. 36. (10) (11) with stakeholders and interested parties from the Community and third countries, and the results have been made publicly available on the Commission’s website on EUROPA. The energy efficiency of absorption-type refrigerators and thermoelectric cooling refrigerating appliances, such as mini drink chillers, can be significantly improved. Those appliances should therefore be included in this Regulation. The environmental aspects identified as significant for the purposes of this Regulation are energy consumption in the use phase and product features designed to ensure more environmentally friendly use of household refrig- erating appliances by the end-user. The preparatory study shows that requirements regarding other ecodesign parameters referred to in Annex [, Part 1, to Directive 2005/32/EC are not necessary. The annual electricity consumption of products subject to this Regulation in the Community was estimated to have been 122 TWh in 2005, corresponding to 56 million tonnes of CO, equivalent. While the projected energy consumption of household  refrigerating appliances will decrease by 2020, this reduction is expected to slow as a result of outdated requirements and energy labels. The cost-effective energy-savings potential would therefore not be achieved if no further measures are introduced to update the existing ecodesign requirements. The electricity consumption of products subject to this Regulation should be made more efficient by applying existing non-proprietary cost-effective technologies that reduce the combined cost of purchasing and operating these products. This Regulation should quickly ensure the placing on the market of more energy-efficient products subject to this Regulation. The ecodesign requirements should not affect func- tionality from the end-user’s perspective and should not negatively affect health, safety or the environment. In particular, the benefits of reducing electricity consumption during the use phase should more than offset any additional environmental impacts during the production of products subject to this Regulation.