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Update to Costa Rican Energy Efficiency Refrigeration Standard

To access Costa Rica, household refrigerators and freezers must comply with the energy efficiency regulation, according to the latest standard issued by Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE).

Father holding a child and opening a refrigerator door

UL Mexico CO received approval from Costa Rican Accreditation Entity (ECA) to carry out activities of evaluation of conformity for the latest standard for household refrigeration and freezer products in Costa Rica. UL Mexico CO is accredited as a certification body and can now issue energy efficiency certificates to cover the mandatory requirements to access Costa Rica.

On Dec. 10, 2022, the latest changes to testing standards INTE E11-1: 2021, INTE E11-2: 2021 and InTE E11-3: 2021 went into effect. For a new certificate to be issued, all importers and manufacturers of household refrigerators and freezers must comply with the latest versions of the standards. An accredited certification body, such as UL Solutions, must perform the necessary testing and provide a required certificate showing the updates, as well as an energy efficiency label.

In recent years, Latin American countries have implemented new energy efficiency regulations. Costa Rica has mandated an energy efficiency requirement for certain types of electrical products, appliance refrigerators and freezers that operate with hermetic motor compressors. Costa Rica’s mandatory regulations are called RTCA 482:2015 and consist of energy efficiency regulations covering household refrigerator appliances.

UL Solutions is closely engaging with local regulators in order to get the latest updates and help manufacturers and importers reach their desired countries. As part of this commitment, UL Solutions can evaluate certain refrigerator and freezer products going to market in Costa Rica. After verifying products comply with the mandatory requirements of the latest energy efficiency standards, a certificate can be issued.

To comply with the regulation, products must be evaluated and meet the requirements set under the latest standards. Once the manufacturer or the importer has submitted their compliant test report to the certification body, a certificate must be obtained, as well as an energy efficiency label that must be placed on the product.

The standards include:

  • INTE E11-1: 2021 – Energy efficiency. Appliance refrigerators and freezers. Part 1: Requirements
  • INTE E11-2: 2021 – Amendment 1 from 2022: Energy efficiency. Appliance refrigerators and freezers. Part 2: Labeling
  • INTE E11-3: 2021 – Energy efficiency. Appliance refrigerators and freezers. Part 3: Test Methods

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