New Laws from September 2013

Hehehe, trust Germany to set new laws three weeks before they go to the polls to elect a new government. Anyhu, here’s what’s changing this September:

1. Non Academics in Bayern who’re working towards their Master qualification (Meister) or equivalent will get a rent bonus of €1000

2. Companies and employers will have to not only issue the payslips through the online platform ELStAM but also start sending in the safety certificates to the Finance Office. (Read about ELSTER)

3. Rent in all big cities in Germany especially Hamburg will only be allowed to increase the rent by 15% in three years. (Read about new Rent laws).

4. Light bulbs will now come with the same rating as refrigerators, with the most energy efficient being A++ the least efficient bulbs, class E will be withdrawn from the market.

Light Emitting Diodes (LED) will now be under class A++ and A+; Energy saving lamps will be in class A and Halogen lamps get class C. The inefficient lamps under class D will also be withdrawn from the market progressively.

Clear bulbs with omnidirectional light will at least be class C and for matt omnidirectional light will be at least class A, all others will be withdrawn from the market.

Bulbs will now have a description of the Lumen (measure of visible light emitted by a source), the higher the lumen the brighter the bulb; and the Watts (measure of rate of energy conversion), the higher the watt, the more energy a bulb requires to “produce” light.

Bulbs will also be classified according to their CRI or Ra-value. CRI (Color Rendering Index) is the ability of a light source to reproduce the colors of various objects faithfully in comparison with an ideal or natural light source. It reaches a maximum of 100 and shouldn’t go below 80.

Another value is the colour temperature given on the package as Kelvin (K). This is the temperature at which the light is produced thus warm or cold light. Bulbs with a temperature value of 5300K are best for working areas.

5. Laws on importing biocides have been changed. Clients are allowed 45days to enquire about biocides for free. Anyone wishing to import biocides will have to send an application to European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).

6. The laws on exporting weapons have also been revised with a penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment for those that go against the new laws.