Blast cabinet standard included in energy labelling assessment

At the end of January 2026, the European Commission officially published in the Official Journal of the European Union that there is now a harmonised standard for testing blast cabinets as part of the eco design regulation (Regulation (EU) 2015/1095[1]).

EN ISO 22042:2021/A1:2024 (Blast chiller and freezer cabinets for professional use. Classification, requirements and test conditions) is now the official European standard for blast cabinets. Although this confirms that EN ISO 22042:2021/A1:2024 shall be used for testing, it does not change what is currently contained in the eco design regulation, which only prescribes that the following information shall be provided in the instruction booklet for installers and end-users, and in the free access websites of manufacturers, their authorised representatives and importers:

• Full load capacity of the cabinet expressed in kg of foodstuffs and rounded to two decimal places.
• The standard temperature cycle, meaning from which temperature in °C down to which temperature in °C foodstuffs are intended to be cooled and in how many minutes.
• The energy consumption, in kWh per kg of foodstuffs per standard temperature cycle and rounded to two decimal places.
• In the case of integral equipment, type, name and GWP of the refrigerant fluid contained in the cabinet and refrigerant charge (kg) rounded to two decimal places. In the case of equipment designed to be used with a remote condensing unit (not supplied with the blast cabinet itself), the intended refrigerant charge when used with a recommended condensing unit and the intended refrigerant fluid type, name and GWP.

In Great Britain, The Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information Regulations 2021 and The Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information (Amendment) Regulations 2021 include blast cabinets and replicate Regulation (EU) 2015/1095.

It is therefore now possible to apply the harmonised standard (EN ISO 22042:2021/A1:2024) to generate the information required by the Eco design regulation.  However, there is still no method to energy label a blast cabinet. Although having a harmonised testing standard seems a small step it means that there is a standard method to assess blast cabinets and that performance can be compared across different models. Ultimately it is likely to result in more available data to enable blast cabinets to be energy labelled.

If you would like further information of testing blast cabinets or would like to optimise performance of a blast cabinet, then please contacts RD&T’s Judith Evans (j.a.evans@rdandt.co.uk).

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