Commission Regulation (EU) No 932/2012

of 3 October 2012

implementing Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for household tumble driers

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-related products(1), and in particular Article 15(1) thereof,

After consulting the Ecodesign Consultation Forum,

Whereas:

(1) Under Directive 2009/125/EC, ecodesign requirements should be set by the Commission for energy-related products representing significant volumes of sales and trade, having significant environmental impact and presenting significant potential for improvement in terms of their environmental impact without entailing excessive costs.

(2) Article 16(2)(a) of Directive 2009/125/EC provides that the Commission should, as appropriate, introduce an implementing measure for domestic appliances, including household tumble driers.

(3) The Commission has carried out a preparatory study to analyse the technical, environmental and economic aspects of household tumble driers typically used in households. The study has been developed together with stakeholders and interested parties from the Union and third countries, and the results have been made publicly available.

(4) This Regulation should cover products designed for drying laundry in households.

(5) Household combined washer-driers have particular characteristics and should therefore be exempted from the scope of this Regulation.

(6) The environmental aspect of household tumble driers, identified as significant for the purposes of this Regulation, is energy consumption in the use phase. The annual electricity consumption of household tumble driers is estimated to have been 21 TWh in the European Union in 2005. Unless specific measures are taken, annual electricity consumption is predicted to be 31 TWh in 2020. The preparatory study shows that the energy consumption of products subject to this Regulation can be significantly reduced.

(7) The preparatory study shows that requirements regarding other ecodesign parameters as referred to in Annex I, Part 1, to Directive 2009/125/EC are not necessary, as the energy consumption of household tumble driers in the use phase is by far the most important environmental aspect. In accordance with Article 6(2) of Directive 2009/125/EC, Member States shall not prohibit, restrict or impede the placing on the market and/or putting into service, within their territories, of household tumble driers on grounds of ecodesign requirements relating to those ecodesign parameters referred to in Annex I, Part 1, of that Directive for which this Regulation provides that no ecodesign requirement is necessary.

(8) The energy consumption of household tumble driers should be made more efficient by applying existing non-proprietary cost-effective technologies that can reduce the combined costs of purchasing and operating those products.

(9) The ecodesign requirements should not affect functionality from the end-user’s perspective and should not negatively affect health, safety or the environment. In particular, the benefits of reducing energy consumption during the use phase should more than offset any additional environmental impacts during the production and disposal phases.

(10) The ecodesign requirements should be introduced gradually in order to provide a sufficient timeframe for manufacturers to redesign products subject to this Regulation. The timing should be such as to avoid negative impacts on the functionalities of equipment on the market, and to take into account cost impacts for end-users and manufacturers, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, while ensuring timely achievement of the objectives of this Regulation.

(11) Measurements of the relevant product parameters should be performed using reliable, accurate and reproducible measurement methods which take into account the recognised state-of-the-art measurement methods including, where available, harmonised standards adopted by the European standardisation bodies, as listed in Annex I to Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations and of rules on Information Society services(2).

(12) In accordance with Article 8 of Directive 2009/125/EC, this Regulation should specify the applicable conformity assessment procedures.

(13) In order to facilitate compliance checks, manufacturers should provide information in the technical documentation referred to in Annexes V and VI to Directive 2009/125/EC in so far as that information relates to the requirements laid down in this Regulation.

(14) In addition to the legally binding requirements laid down in this Regulation, indicative benchmarks for best available technologies should be identified to ensure the wide availability and easy accessibility of information on the life-cycle environmental performance of products subject to this Regulation.

(15) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 19(1) of Directive 2009/125/EC,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1U.K.Subject matter and scope

1.This Regulation establishes ecodesign requirements for the placing on the market of electric mains-operated and gas-fired household tumble driers and built-in household tumble driers, including those sold for non-household use.

2.This Regulation shall not apply to household combined washer-driers and household spin-extractors.

Article 2U.K.Definitions

[F1The definitions set out in the Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products Regulations 2010 apply; and for any term that is not defined in those Regulations, the definitions set out in Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-related products, as it had effect immediately before IP completion day, apply. The following definitions also apply—]

(1)

‘household tumble drier’ means an appliance in which textiles are dried by tumbling in a rotating drum through which heated air is passed and which is designed to be used principally for non-professional purposes;

(2)

‘built-in household tumble drier’ means a household tumble drier intended to be installed in a cabinet, a prepared recess in a wall or a similar location, requiring furniture finishing;

(3)

‘household combined washer-drier’ means a household washing machine which includes both a spin extraction function and also a means for drying the textiles, usually by heating and tumbling;

(4)

‘household spin-extractor’, also known commercially as ‘spin-drier’, means an appliance in which water is removed from the textiles by centrifugal action in a rotating drum and drained through an automatic pump and which is designed to be used principally for non-professional purposes;

(5)

‘air-vented tumble drier’ means a tumble drier that draws in fresh air, passes it over the textiles and vents the resulting moist air into the room or outside;

(6)

‘condenser tumble drier’ means a tumble drier which includes a device (either using condensation or any other means) for removing moisture from the air used for the drying process;

(7)

‘automatic tumble drier’ means a tumble drier which switches off the drying process when a certain moisture content of the load is detected, for example through conductivity or temperature sensing;

(8)

‘non-automatic tumble drier’ means a tumble drier which switches off the drying process after a predefined period, usually controlled by a timer, but which may also be manually switched off;

(9)

‘programme’ means a series of operations that are predefined and which are declared by the manufacturer as suitable for drying certain types of textile;

(10)

‘cycle’ means a complete drying process, as defined for the selected programme;

(11)

‘programme time’ means the time that elapses from the initiation of the programme until the completion of the programme, excluding any end-user programmed delay;

(12)

‘rated capacity’ means the maximum mass in kilograms, indicated by the manufacturer in 0,5 kilogram increments of dry textiles of a particular type, which can be treated in a household tumble drier with the selected programme, when loaded in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions;

(13)

‘partial load’ means half of the rated capacity of a household tumble drier for a given programme;

(14)

‘condensation efficiency’ means the ratio between the mass of moisture condensed by a condenser tumble drier and the mass of moisture removed from the load at the end of a cycle;

(15)

‘off-mode’ means a condition where the household tumble drier is switched off using appliance controls or switches accessible to and intended for operation by the end-user during normal use to attain the lowest power consumption that may persist for an indefinite time while the household tumble drier is connected to a power source and used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions; where there is no control or switch accessible to the end-user, ‘off-mode’ means the condition reached after the household tumble drier reverts to a steady-state power consumption on its own;

(16)

‘left-on mode’ means the lowest power consumption mode that may persist for an indefinite time after completion of the programme without any further intervention by the end-user besides unloading of the household tumble drier;

(17)

‘equivalent household tumble drier’ means a model of household tumble drier placed on the market with the same rated capacity, technical and performance characteristics, energy consumption, condensation efficiency where relevant, standard cotton programme time and airborne acoustical noise emissions during drying as another model of household tumble drier placed on the market under a different commercial code number by the same manufacturer.

(18)

‘standard cotton programme’ means the cycle which dries cotton laundry with an initial moisture content of the load of 60 % up to a remaining moisture content of the load of 0 %.

Textual Amendments

Article 3U.K.Ecodesign requirements

The generic ecodesign requirements for household tumble driers are set out in point 1 of Annex I. The specific ecodesign requirements for household tumble driers are set out in point 2 of Annex I.

No ecodesign requirement is necessary regarding any other ecodesign parameter referred to in Annex I, Part 1, of Directive 2009/125/EC.

Article 4U.K.Conformity assessment

[F21.For the purposes of regulation 4(2)(a) of the Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products Regulations 2010, the procedure for assessing whether an energy-related product complies with this implementing measure is the internal design control system set out in Part 1 of Schedule 1A to the Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products Regulations 2010 or the management system for assessing conformity set out in Part 2 of Schedule 1A to those Regulations.]

2.For the purposes of [F3regulation 4(2)(a) of the Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products Regulations 2010], the technical documentation shall include a copy of the calculations set out in Annex II to this Regulation.

Where the information included in the technical documentation for a particular household tumble drier model has been obtained by calculation on the basis of design or by extrapolation from other equivalent household tumble driers, or both, the technical documentation shall include details of such calculations or extrapolations, or both, and of tests undertaken by manufacturers to verify the accuracy of the calculations undertaken. In such cases, the technical documentation shall also include a list of all other equivalent household tumble drier models where the information included in the technical documentation was obtained in the same way.

Textual Amendments

[F4Article 5U.K.Verification procedure for market surveillance purposes

When performing market surveillance checks to assess compliance with the requirements set out in Annex 1, the authorities of Great Britain must apply the verification procedure described in Annex 3.]

Textual Amendments

Article 6U.K.Benchmarks

The indicative benchmarks for best-performing household tumble driers available on the market at the time of entry into force of this Regulation are set out in Annex IV.

F5Article 7U.K.Revision

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

Article 8U.K.Entry into force and application

1.This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

2.It shall apply from 1 November 2013.

However:

(a)the generic ecodesign requirements set out in points 1.1 and 1.2 of Annex I shall apply from 1 November 2014;

(b)the specific ecodesign requirements set out in point 2.2 of Annex I shall apply from 1 November 2015.

F6...

Textual Amendments

ANNEX IU.K. Ecodesign requirements

1. Generic ecodesign requirements U.K.

1.1.For the calculation of the energy consumption and other parameters for household tumble driers, the cycle which dries cotton laundry (with an initial moisture content of the load of 60 %) up to a remaining moisture content of the load of 0 % (hereinafter the ‘standard cotton programme’) shall be used. That cycle shall be clearly identifiable on the programme selection device(s) of the household tumble drier or the household tumble drier display, if any, or both, and indicated as ‘standard cotton programme’ or by a uniform symbol or an appropriate combination thereof, and shall be set as the default cycle for household tumble driers equipped with automatic programme selection or any function for automatically selecting a drying programme or maintaining the selection of a programme. If the tumble drier is automatic tumble drier the ‘standard cotton programme’ shall be automatic.U.K.

1.2.The booklet of instructions provided by the manufacturer shall provide:U.K.

(a)

information about the ‘standard cotton programme’ and shall specify that it is suitable to dry normal wet cotton laundry and that it is the most efficient programme in terms of energy consumption for drying wet cotton laundry;

(b)

the power consumption of the off-mode and the left-on mode;

(c)

indicative information on the programme time and energy consumption for the main drying programmes at both full, and, if applicable, partial load;

2. Specific ecodesign requirements U.K.

Household tumble driers shall comply with the following requirements:

2.1.From 1 November 2013:U.K.

2.2.From 1 November 2015:U.K.

The energy efficiency index (EEI) and the weighted condensation efficiency are calculated in accordance with Annex II.

ANNEX IIU.K. Method for calculating the energy efficiency index and weighted condensation efficiency

1.CALCULATION OF THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY INDEXU.K.

For the calculation of the energy efficiency index (EEI) of a household tumble drier model, the weighted annual energy consumption of a household tumble drier for the standard cotton programme at full and partial load is compared to its standard annual energy consumption.

(a)The energy efficiency index (EEI) is calculated as follows and rounded to one decimal place:U.K.

where:

— AEC

=

weighted annual energy consumption of the household tumble drier,

— SAEC

=

standard annual energy consumption of the household tumble drier.

(b)The standard annual energy consumption (SAEC ) is calculated in kWh/year as follows and rounded to two decimal places:U.K.

where:

(c)The weighted annual energy consumption (AEC ) is calculated in kWh/year as follows and is rounded to two decimal places:U.K.

(i)

where:

— Et

=

weighted energy consumption, in kWh and rounded to two decimal places,

— Po

=

power in ‘off-mode’ for the standard cotton programme at full load, in W and rounded to two decimal places,

— Pl

=

power in ‘left-on mode’ for the standard cotton programme at full load, in W and rounded to two decimal places,

— Tt

=

weighted programme time, in minutes and rounded to the nearest minute,

— 160

=

total number of drying cycles per year.

(ii)

When the household tumble drier is equipped with a power management system, with the household tumble drier reverting automatically to ‘off-mode’ after the end of the programme, the weighted annual energy consumption (AEC ) is calculated taking into consideration the effective duration of the ‘left-on mode’, according to the following formula:

where:

— Tl

=

duration of the ‘left-on mode’ for the standard cotton programme at full load, in minutes and rounded to the nearest minute.

(d)The weighted programme time (Tt ) for the standard cotton programme is calculated in minutes as follows and rounded to the nearest minute:U.K.

where:

— Tdry

=

programme time for the standard cotton programme at full load, in minutes and rounded to the nearest minute,

— Tdry½

=

programme time for the standard cotton programme at partial load, in minutes and rounded to the nearest minute.

(e)The weighted energy consumption (Et ) is calculated in kWh as follows and rounded to two decimal places:U.K.

where:

— Edry

=

energy consumption of the standard cotton programme at full load, in kWh and rounded to two decimal places,

— Edry½

=

energy consumption of the standard cotton programme at partial load, in kWh and rounded to two decimal places.

(f)For gas-fired household tumble driers, the energy consumption for the standard cotton programme at full and partial load is calculated in kWh, rounded to two decimal places, as:U.K.

where:

— Egdry

=

gas consumption of the standard cotton programme at full load, in kWh and rounded to two decimal places,

— Egdry½

=

gas consumption of the standard cotton programme at partial load, in kWh and rounded to two decimal places,

— Egdry,a

=

auxiliary electricity consumption of the standard cotton programme at full load, in kWh and rounded to two decimal places,

— Egdry½,a

=

auxiliary electricity consumption of the standard cotton programme at partial load, in kWh and rounded to two decimal places,

— fg

=

2,5.

2.CALCULATION OF THE WEIGHTED CONDENSATION EFFICIENCYU.K.

The condensation efficiency of a programme is the ratio between the mass of moisture condensed and collected in the container of a condenser household tumble drier and the mass of moisture removed from the load by the programme, the latter being the difference between the mass of the wet test load before drying and the mass of the test load after drying. For calculating the weighted condensation efficiency, the average condensation efficiency of the standard cotton programme at both full and partial load is considered.

The weighted condensation efficiency (Ct ) of a programme is calculated as a percentage and rounded to the nearest whole percent as:

where:

— Cdry

=

average condensation efficiency of the standard cotton programme at full load,

— Cdry½

=

average condensation efficiency of the standard cotton programme at partial load.

The average condensation efficiency C is calculated from the condensation efficiencies of test runs and expressed as a percentage:

where:

[F7ANNEX IIIU.K. Product compliance verification by market surveillance authorities

Textual Amendments

The verification tolerances defined in this Annex relate only to the verification of the measured parameters by [F8Great Britain] authorities and shall not be used by the manufacturer or importer as an allowed tolerance to establish the values in the technical documentation or in interpreting these values with a view to achieving compliance or to communicate better performance by any means.

Textual Amendments

[F9When verifying the compliance of a product model with the requirements laid down in this Regulation, for the requirements referred to in this Annex the authorities of Great Britain must apply the following procedure—]

Textual Amendments

(1)

The [F8Great Britain] authorities shall verify one single unit of the model.

(2)

The model shall be considered to comply with the applicable requirements if:

(a)

the values given in the technical documentation pursuant to [F10paragraph 1(2) of Part 1 of Schedule 1A to the Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products Regulations 2010], and, where applicable, the values used to calculate these values, are not more favourable for the manufacturer or importer than the results of the corresponding measurements carried out pursuant to [F11paragraph 1(2)(b)(vii) of Part 1 of Schedule 1A to those Regulations]; and

(b)

the declared values meet any requirements laid down in this Regulation, and any required product information published by the manufacturer or importer does not contain values that are more favourable for the manufacturer or importer than the declared values; and

(c)

when the [F8Great Britain] authorities test the unit of the model, the determined values (the values of the relevant parameters as measured in testing and the values calculated from these measurements) comply with the respective verification tolerances as given in Table 1.

(3)

If the results referred to in point 2(a) or (b) are not achieved, the model and all models that have been listed as equivalent household tumble drier models in the manufacturer's or importer's technical documentation shall be considered not to comply with this Regulation.

(4)

If the result referred to in point 2(c) is not achieved, the [F8Great Britain] authorities shall select three additional units of the same model for testing. As an alternative, the three additional units selected may be of one or more different models that have been listed as equivalent models in the manufacturer's or importer's technical documentation.

(5)

The model shall be considered to comply with the applicable requirements if, for these three units, the arithmetical mean of the determined values complies with the respective verification tolerances given in Table 1.

(6)

If the result referred to in point 5 is not achieved, the model and all models that have been listed as equivalent household tumble drier models in the manufacturer's or importer's technical documentation shall be considered not to comply with this Regulation.

(7)

F12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

[F13The authorities of Great Britain must use measurement procedures which take into account the generally recognised, state-of-the-art, reliable, accurate and reproducible measurement methods and must use the measurement and calculation methods set out in Annex 2.]

Textual Amendments

The [F8Great Britain] authorities shall only apply the verification tolerances that are set out in Table 1 and shall use only the procedure described in points 1 to [F146] for the requirements referred to in this Annex. No other tolerances, such as those set out in [F15designated] standards or in any other measurement method, shall be applied.

Textual Amendments

Table 1

Verification tolerances

Parameters Verification tolerances
Weighted annual energy consumption (AE C ) The determined value shall not exceed the declared value of AE C by more than 6 %.
Weighted energy consumption (E t ) The determined value shall not exceed the declared value of E t by more than 6 %.
Weighted condensation efficiency (C t ) The determined value shall not be less than the declared value of C t by more than 6 %.
Weighted programme time (T t ) The determined values shall not exceed the declared values of T t by more than 6 %.
Power consumption in off mode and left-on mode ( P o and P l ) The determined values of power consumption P o and P l of more than 1,00 W shall not exceed the declared values of P o and P l by more than 6 %. The determined values of power consumption P o and P l of less than or equal to 1,00 W shall not exceed the declared values of P o and P l by more than 0,10 W.
Duration of the left-on mode (T l ) The determined value shall not exceed the declared value of T l by more than 6 %.]

ANNEX IVU.K. Benchmarks

At the time of entry into force of this Regulation, the best available technology on the market for household tumble driers, in terms of their energy consumption and airborne acoustical noise emissions during drying for the standard cotton programme, is identified as follows:

(1)

Air-vented household tumble drier with a rated capacity of 3 kg:

(a)

energy consumption: 1,89 kWh/cycle for the standard cotton cycle at full load, equal to about 247 kWh/year(3);

(b)

airborne acoustical noise emissions: 69 dB.

(2)

Air-vented household tumble drier with a rated capacity of 5 kg:

(a)

energy consumption: 2,70 kWh/cycle for the standard cotton cycle at full load, equal to about 347 kWh/year(3);

(b)

airborne acoustical noise emissions: not available.

(3)

Gas fired air-vented household tumble driers with a rated capacity of 5 kg:

(a)

Gas energy consumption: 3,25 kWhGas/cycle equivalent to 1,3 kWh for the standard cotton cycle at full load. Annual energy consumption not available.

(b)

airborne noise emissions: not available.

(4)

Condenser household tumble drier with a rated capacity of 5 kg:

(a)

energy consumption: 3,10 kWh/cycle for the standard cotton cycle at full load, equal to about 396 kWh/year(3);

(b)

airborne acoustical noise emissions: not available.

(5)

Air-vented household tumble drier with a rated capacity of 6 kg:

(a)

energy consumption: 3,84 kWh/cycle for the standard cotton cycle at full load, equal to about 487 kWh/year(3);

(b)

airborne acoustical noise emissions: 67 dB.

(6)

Condenser household tumble drier with a rated capacity of 6 kg:

(a)

energy consumption: 1,58 kWh/cycle for the standard cotton cycle at full load, equal to about 209 kWh/year(3);

(b)

airborne acoustical noise emissions: not available.

(7)

Air-vented household tumble drier with a rated capacity of 7 kg:

(a)

energy consumption: 3,9 kWh/cycle for the standard cotton cycle at full load, equal to about 495 kWh/year(3);

(b)

airborne acoustical noise emissions: 65 dB.

(8)

Gas fired air-vented household tumble driers with a rated capacity of 7 kg:

(a)

Gas energy consumption: 3,4 kWhGas/cycle equivalent to 1,36 kWh for the standard cotton cycle at full load. Annual energy consumption not available.

(b)

airborne noise emissions: not available

(9)

Condenser household tumble drier with a rated capacity of 7 kg:

(a)

energy consumption: 1,6 kWh/cycle for the standard cotton cycle at full load, equal to about 211 kWh/year(3);

(b)

airborne acoustical noise emissions: 65 dB.

(10)

Air-vented household tumble drier with a rated capacity of 8 kg:

(a)

energy consumption: 4,1 kWh/cycle for the standard cotton cycle at full load, equal to about 520 kWh/year (*);

(b)

airborne acoustical noise emissions: 65 dB.

(11)

Condenser household tumble drier with a rated capacity of 8 kg:

(a)

energy consumption: 2,30 kWh/cycle for the standard cotton cycle at full load, equal to about 297 kWh/year (*);

(b)

airborne acoustical noise emissions: not available.

(3)

Calculated assuming 160 drying cycles per year with an energy consumption for the standard cotton programme at partial load equal to 60 % of the energy consumption at full load, and an additional annual energy consumption in low power modes of 13,5 kWh.