Brussels, 22/03/2005 (Agence Europe) - Europump, the European Association of Pump Manufacturers, launched a voluntary energy labelling system on Monday for electric circulator pumps which allow hot water to be pumped around central heating circuits for greater efficiency in terms of energy consumption. The four largest manufacturers of pumps, the German company Wilo, the British CP and the Danish firms Grundfos and Smedegard, have signed a voluntary unilateral agreement with the aim of setting stricter standards in the production of circulator pumps, and more generally, more binding objectives for sustainable production. This initiative for self-regulation in the pump manufacturing industry is along the same lines of what has already been done for many different kinds of domestic electrical equipment (washing machines, ovens, refrigerators etc): the aim is to show consumers which circulator pumps are the greenest and the most energy-efficient, by means of a label which will put each appliance in an energy category from A to G. This labelling system will be in line with technical specifications drawn up by the signatories of the agreement, obliging the manufacturer to undergo qualification tests and to certify that their equipment is in line with the label allocated to it. According to Europump, circulator pumps for heating systems use, on average, up to 15% of the electrical consumption of a European household, and the use of more energy-efficient electrical heating pumps could help to cut household energy consumption by as much as 10%. Currently, 120 million circulator pumps are used in the EU, with ten per cent of the market renewing each year. The price of more energy-efficient circulator pumps is likely to be twice as high as that of pumps currently on the market, but Europump believes that this extra cost will be offset by the energy savings made over a period of one to three years. Europump's voluntary agreement also aims to encourage competition between the manufacturers of circulator pumps by promoting the development of products with more energy-efficient performance. Although this self-regulation initiative is compatible with European energy efficiency legislation, as Europump states, it is still not technically an environmental agreement with the Commission's official stamp of approval. Europump therefore calls upon the European Commission to become involved in the committee set up to make sure that this voluntary agreement is being properly implemented. The committee is also to be made up of signatories and representatives of Europump. It will, moreover, be possible for consumer associations to monitor this programme. However, Europump would like the Commission to propose a directive in this field, if the results of the voluntary agreement do not turn out to be in line with expectations.