Commission Regulation (EU) No 666/2013 of 8 July 2013 implementing Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for vacuum cleaners Text with EEA relevance

Commission Regulation (EU) No 666/2013of 8 July 2013implementing Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for vacuum cleaners(Text with EEA relevance)

Article 1Subject matter and scope1.This Regulation establishes eco-design requirements for the placing on the market of electric mains-operated vacuum cleaners, including hybrid vacuum cleaners.2.This Regulation shall not apply to:(a)wet, wet and dry, battery operated, robot, industrial, or central vacuum cleaners;(b)floor polishers;(c)outdoor vacuums.

Article 2DefinitionsIn addition to the definitions set out in Article 2 of Directive 2009/125/EC, the following definitions shall apply for the purpose of this Regulation:(1)"vacuum cleaner" means an appliance that removes soil from a surface to be cleaned by means of an airflow created by underpressure developed within the unit;(2)"hybrid vacuum cleaner" means a vacuum cleaner that can be powered by both electric mains and batteries;(3)"wet vacuum cleaner" means a vacuum cleaner that removes dry and/or wet material (soil) from the surface by applying water-based detergent or steam to the surface to be cleaned, and removing it, and the soil by an airflow created by underpressure developed within the unit, including types commonly known as spray-extraction vacuum cleaners;(4)"wet and dry vacuum cleaner" means a vacuum cleaner designed to remove a volume of more than 2,5 litres, of liquid, in combination with the functionality of a dry vacuum cleaner;(5)"dry vacuum cleaner" means a vacuum cleaner designed to remove soil that is principally dry (dust, fibre, threads), including types equipped with a battery operated active nozzle;(6)"battery operated active nozzle" means a cleaning head provided with an agitation device powered by batteries to assist dirt removal;(7)"battery operated vacuum cleaner" means a vacuum cleaner powered only by batteries;(8)"robot vacuum cleaner" means a battery operated vacuum cleaner that is capable of operating without human intervention within a defined perimeter, consisting of a mobile part and a docking station and/or other accessories to assist its operation;(9)"industrial vacuum cleaner" means a vacuum cleaner designed to be part of a production process, designed for removing hazardous material, designed for removing heavy dust from building, foundry, mining or food industry, part of an industrial machine or tool and/or a commercial vacuum cleaner with a head width exceeding 0,50 m;(10)"commercial vacuum cleaner" means a vacuum cleaner for professional housekeeping purposes and intended to be used by laymen, cleaning staff or contracting cleaners in office, shop, hospital and hotel environments, declared by the manufacturer as such in the Declaration of Conformity pertaining to the Directive 2006/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the CouncilOJ L 157, 9.6.2006, p. 24.;(11)"central vacuum cleaner" means a vacuum cleaner with a fixed (not movable) underpressure source location and the hose connections located at fixed positions in the building;(12)"floor polisher" means an electrical appliance that is designed to protect, smoothen and/or render shiny certain types of floors, usually operated in combination with a polishing means to be rubbed on the floor by the appliance and commonly also equipped with the auxiliary functionality of a vacuum cleaner;(13)"outdoor vacuum" means an appliance that is designed for use outdoors to collect debris such as grass clippings and leaves into a collector by means of an airflow created by underpressure developed within the unit and which may contain a shredding device and may also be able to perform as a blower;(14)"full size battery operated vacuum cleaner" means a battery operated vacuum cleaner which when fully charged, can clean 15 m2 of floor area by applying 2 double strokes to each part of the floor without recharge;(15)"water filter vacuum cleaner" means a dry vacuum cleaner that uses more than 0,5 litre of water as the main filter medium, whereby the suction air is forced through the water entrapping the removed dry material as it passes through;(16)"household vacuum cleaner" means a vacuum cleaner intended for household or domestic use, declared by the manufacturer as such in the Declaration of Conformity pertaining to Directive 2006/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the CouncilOJ L 374, 27.12.2006, p. 10.;(17)"general purpose vacuum cleaner" means a vacuum cleaner supplied with a fixed or at least one detachable nozzle designed for cleaning both carpets and hard floors, or supplied with both at least one detachable nozzle designed specifically for cleaning carpets and at least one detachable nozzle for cleaning hard floors;(18)"hard floor vacuum cleaner" means a vacuum cleaner supplied with a fixed nozzle designed specifically for cleaning hard floors, or supplied solely with one or more detachable nozzles designed specifically for cleaning hard floors;(19)"carpet vacuum cleaner" means a vacuum cleaner supplied with a fixed nozzle designed specifically for cleaning carpets, or supplied solely with one or more detachable nozzles designed specifically for cleaning carpets;(20)"equivalent vacuum cleaner" means a model of vacuum cleaner placed on the market with the same input power, annual energy consumption, dust pick up on carpet and hard floor, dust re-emission, sound power level, hose durability and operational motor lifetime as another model of vacuum cleaner placed on the market under a different commercial code number by the same manufacturer.

Article 3Ecodesign requirements1.The ecodesign requirements for vacuum cleaners are set out in Annex I. They shall apply in accordance with the following timetable:(a)from 1 September 2014: as indicated in Annex I, point 1(a) and point 2;(b)from 1 September 2017: as indicated in Annex I, point 1(b) and point 2.2.Compliance with ecodesign requirements shall be measured and calculated in accordance with the methods set out in Annex II.

Article 4Conformity assessment1.The conformity assessment procedure referred to in Article 8 of Directive 2009/125/EC shall be the internal design control system set out in Annex IV to that Directive or the management system set out in Annex V to that Directive.2.For the purposes of conformity assessment pursuant to Article 8 of Directive 2009/125/EC, the technical documentation file shall contain a copy of the calculations set out in Annex II to this Regulation.3.Where the information included in the technical documentation for a particular vacuum cleaner model has been obtained by calculation on the basis of an equivalent vacuum cleaner, the technical documentation shall include details of such calculations 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 vacuum cleaner models where the information included in the technical documentation was obtained on the same basis.

Article 5Verification procedure for market surveillance purposesMember States shall apply the verification procedure described in Annex III to this Regulation when performing the market surveillance checks referred to in Article 3(2) of Directive 2009/125/EC for compliance with requirements set out in Annex I to this Regulation.

Article 6Indicative benchmarksThe indicative benchmarks for best-performing vacuum cleaners available on the market at the time of entry into force of this Regulation are set out in Annex IV.

Article 7Revision1.The Commission shall review this Regulation in the light of technological progress and present the result of that review to the Consultation Forum no later than five years after its entry into force. The review shall in particular assess the verification tolerances set out in Annex III, whether full size battery operated vacuum cleaners should be included in the scope and whether it is feasible to set annual energy consumption, dust pick-up and dust re-emission requirements that are based on measurement with a partly loaded rather than an empty receptacle.2.The Commission shall review the specific ecodesign requirements on the durability of the hose and the operational motor lifetime and present the result of that review to the Consultation Forum no later than 1 September 2016.

Article 8Amendment to Regulation (EU) No 327/2011Regulation (EU) No 327/2011 is amended as follows:The following is added in the end of Article 1(3):"(e)designed to operate with an optimum energy efficiency at 8000 rotations per minute or more."The following is deleted in Article 3(4):"(a)with an optimum energy efficiency at 8000 rotations per minute or more."

Article 9Entry into forceThis Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.ANNEX IEcodesign requirements1.Specific Ecodesign requirementsVacuum cleaners shall comply with the following requirements:(a)From 1 September 2014:annual energy consumption shall be less than 62,0 kWh/year,rated input power shall be less than 1600 W,dust pick up on carpet (dpuc) shall be greater than or equal to 0,70. This limit shall not apply to hard floor vacuum cleaners,dust pick up on hard floor (dpuhf) shall be greater than or equal to 0,95. This limit shall not apply to carpet vacuum cleaners.These limits shall not apply to water filter vacuum cleaners.(b)From 1 September 2017:annual energy consumption shall be less than 43,0 kWh/year,rated input power shall be less than 900W,dust pick up on carpet (dpuc) shall be greater than or equal to 0,75. This limit shall not apply to hard floor vacuum cleaners,dust pick up on hard floor (dpuhf) shall be greater than or equal to 0,98. This limit shall not apply to carpet vacuum cleaners,dust re-emission shall be no more than 1,00 %,sound power level shall be less than or equal to 80 dB(A),the hose, if any, shall be durable so that it is still useable after 40000 oscillations under strain,operational motor lifetime shall be greater than or equal to 500 hours.The annual energy consumption, rated input power, dpuc (dust pick up on carpet), dpuhf (dust pick up on hard floor), dust re-emission, sound power level, durability of the hose and operational motor lifetime are measured and calculated in accordance with Annex II.2.Information to be provided by manufacturers(a)The technical documentation, booklet of instructions and free access websites of manufacturers, their authorised representatives, or importers shall contain the following elements:any information required to be published in respect of the vacuum cleaner under any delegated acts adopted under Directive 2010/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the CouncilOJ L 153, 18.6.2010, p. 1.,short title or reference to the measurement and calculation methods used to establish compliance with the above requirements,for hard floor vacuum cleaners, mention that they are not suitable for use on carpets with the delivered nozzle,for carpet vacuum cleaners, mention that they are not suitable for use on hard floors with the delivered nozzle,for appliances that are enabled to function also for other purposes than vacuum cleaning, the electric input power relevant to vacuum cleaning if this is lower than the rated input power of the appliance,as which of the following three groups the vacuum cleaner should be tested: general purpose vacuum cleaner, hard floor vacuum cleaner or carpet vacuum cleaner.(b)The technical documentation and a part for professionals of the free access websites of manufacturers, their authorised representatives, or importers shall contain the following elements:information relevant for non-destructive disassembly for maintenance purposes, in particular in relation to the hose, suction inlet, motor, casing and cable,information relevant for dismantling, in particular in relation to the motor and any batteries, recycling, recovery and disposal at end-of-life.ANNEX IIMeasurement and calculation methods1.For the purposes of compliance and verification of compliance with the requirements of this Regulation, measurements and calculations shall be made using a reliable, accurate and reproducible methods that take into account the generally recognised state-of-the-art measurement and calculation methods, including harmonised standards the reference numbers of which have been published for the purpose in the Official Journal of the European Union. They shall meet the technical definitions, conditions, equations and parameters set out in this Annex.2.Technical definitions(a)"hard floor test" means a test of two cleaning cycles where the cleaning head of a vacuum cleaner operating at maximum suction setting passes over a wooden test plate test area with width equal to the cleaning head width and appropriate length, featuring a diagonally (45o) placed test crevice, where the time elapsed, electric power consumption and the relative position of the centre of the cleaning head to the test area are continuously measured and recorded at an appropriate sample rate and where at the end of each cleaning cycle the mass decrease of the test crevice is appropriately assessed;(b)"test crevice" means a removable U-shaped insert with appropriate dimensions filled at the beginning of a cleaning cycle with appropriate artificial dust;(c)"carpet test" means a test with an appropriate number of cleaning cycles on a Wilton carpet test rig where the cleaning head of a vacuum cleaner operating at maximum suction setting passes over the test area with width equal to the cleaning head width and appropriate length, soiled with equally distributed and appropriately embedded test dust of appropriate composition, where the time elapsed, electric power consumption and the relative position of the centre of the cleaning head to the test area are continuously measured and recorded at an appropriate sample rate and at the end of each cleaning cycle the mass increase of the appliance dust receptacle is appropriately assessed;(d)"cleaning head width" in m, at an accuracy of 3 decimal places, means the external maximum width of the cleaning head;(e)"cleaning cycle" means a sequence of 5 double strokes of the vacuum cleaner on a floor-specific test area ("carpet" or "hard floor");(f)"double stroke" means one forward and one backward movement of the cleaning head in a parallel pattern, performed at a uniform test stroke speed and with a specified test stroke length;(g)"test stroke speed" in m/h means the appropriate cleaning head speed for testing, preferably realized with an electromechanical operator. Products with self-propelled cleaning heads shall try to come as close as possible to the appropriate speed, but a deviation is permitted when clearly stated in the technical documentation;(h)"test stroke length" in m means the length of the test area plus the cleaning head distance covered by the centre of the cleaning head when moving over the appropriate acceleration zones before and after the test area;(i)"dust pick up" (dpu), at an accuracy of 3 decimal places, means the ratio of the mass of the artificial dust removed, determined for carpet through the mass increase of the appliance dust receptacle and for hard floor through the mass decrease of the test crevice, after a number of double strokes of the cleaning head to the mass of artificial dust initially applied to a test area, for carpet corrected for the specific test conditions and for hard floor corrected for the length and positioning of the test crevice;(j)"reference vacuum cleaner system" means electrically operated laboratory equipment used to measure the calibrated and reference dust pick-up on carpets with given air related parameters to improve the reproducibility of test results;(k)"rated input power" in W means the electric input power declared by the manufacturer, whereby for appliances that are enabled to function also for other purposes than vacuum cleaning only the electric input power relevant to vacuum cleaning applies;(l)"dust re-emission" means the ratio, expressed as a percentage at an accuracy of 2 decimal places, of the number of all dust particles of a size from 0,3 to 10 μm emitted by a vacuum cleaner to the number of all dust particles of the same size range entering the suction inlet when fed with a specific amount of dust of that particle size range. The value includes not only dust measured at the vacuum cleaner outlet but also dust emitted elsewhere either from leaks, or generated by the vacuum cleaner;(m)"sound power level" means airborne acoustical noise emissions, expressed in dB(A) re 1 pW and rounded to the nearest integer.3.Annual energy consumptionThe annual energy consumption AE is calculated, in kWh/year and rounded to one decimal place, as follows:for carpet vacuum cleaners:for hard floor vacuum cleaners:for general-purpose vacuum cleaners:where:ASEc is the average specific energy consumption in Wh/m2 during carpet test, calculated as provided belowASEhf is the average specific energy consumption in Wh/m2 during hard floor test, calculated as provided belowdpuc is the dust pick-up on carpet, determined in accordance with point 4 of this Annexdpuhf is the dust pick-up on hard floor, determined in accordance with point 4 of this Annex50 is the standard number of one-hour cleaning tasks per year87 is the standard dwelling surface to be cleaned in m24 is the standard number of times that a vacuum cleaner passes over each point on the floor (two double strokes)0,001 is the conversion factor from Wh to kWh1 is the standard dust pick-up0,20 is the standard difference between dust pick-up after five and after two double strokes.Average specific energy consumption (ASE)The average specific energy consumption during carpet test (ASEc) and during hard floor test (ASEhf) shall be determined as an average of the specific energy consumption (SE) of the number of cleaning cycles that constitute the carpet and hard floor test, respectively. The general equation for the specific energy consumption SE in Wh/m2 test area, at an accuracy of 3 decimal places, applicable for carpet, hard floor and general purpose vacuum cleaners with the appropriate suffixes, is:where:P is the average power in W, at an accuracy of 2 decimal places, during the time in a cleaning cycle that the centre of the cleaning head is moving over the test areaNP is the average power equivalent in W, at an accuracy of 2 decimal places, of battery operated active nozzles, if any, of the vacuum cleaner, calculated as provided belowt is the total time in hours, at an accuracy of 4 decimal places, in a cleaning cycle during which the centre of the cleaning head, i.e. a point halfway between the side, front and back edges of the cleaning head, is moving over the test areaA is the surface area in m2, at an accuracy of 3 decimal places, passed over by the cleaning head in a cleaning cycle, calculated as 10 times the product of the head width and the appropriate length of test area. If a household vacuum cleaner has a head width of over 0,320 m, then the figure of 0,320 m shall be substituted for head width in this calculation.For the hard floor tests the suffix hf and parameter names SEhf, Phf, NPhf, thf and Ahf shall be used in the above equation. For the carpet tests the suffix c and parameter names SEc, Pc, NPc, tc and Ac shall be used in the above equation. For each of the cleaning cycles, values of SEhf, Phf, NPhf, thf, Ahf and/or SEc, Pc, NPc, tc, Ac, as applicable, shall be included in the technical documentation.Power equivalent of battery operated active nozzles (NP)The general equation for the average power equivalent of battery operated active nozzles NP in W, applicable for carpet, hard floor and general purpose vacuum cleaners with the appropriate suffixes, is:where:E is the electricity consumption in Wh at an accuracy of 3 decimal places of the battery operated active nozzle of the vacuum cleaner necessary to return the initially fully charged battery to its originally fully charged state after a cleaning cycle;tbat is the total time in hours, at an accuracy of 4 decimal places, in a cleaning cycle in which the battery operated active nozzle of the vacuum cleaner is activated, in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions;In case the vacuum cleaner is not equipped with battery operated active nozzles the value of NP equals zero.For the hard floor tests the suffix hf and parameter names NPhf, Ehf, tbathf shall be used in the above equation. For the carpet tests the suffix c and parameter names NPc, Ec, tbatc shall be used in the above equation. For each of the cleaning cycles, values of Ehf, tbathf and/or Ec, tbatc, as applicable, shall be included in the technical documentation.4.Dust pick-upThe dust pick-up on hard floor (dpuhf) shall be the determined as the average of the results of the two cleaning cycles in a hard floor test.The dust pick-up on carpet (dpuc) shall be the determined as the average of the results of the cleaning cycles in a carpet test. To correct for deviations from a test carpet’s original properties, the dust pick-up on carpet (dpuc) shall be the calculated as follows:where:dpum is the measured dust pick-up of the vacuum cleaner;dpucal is the dust pick-up of the reference vacuum cleaner system measured when the test carpet was in original condition;dpuref is the measured dust pick-up of the reference vacuum cleaner system.Values of dpum for each of the cleaning cycles, dpuc, dpucal and dpuref shall be included in the technical documentation.5.Dust re-emissionThe dust re-emission shall be determined while the vacuum cleaner is operating at its maximum air flow.6.Sound power levelSound power level shall be determined on carpet.7.Durability of the hoseThe hose shall be considered useable after 40000 oscillations under strain if it is not visibly damaged after those oscillations. Strain shall be applied by means of a weight of 2,5 kilogram.8.Operational motor life-timeThe vacuum cleaner shall run with a half-loaded dust receptacle intermittently with periods of 14 minutes and 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off. Dust receptacle and filters shall be replaced at appropriate time intervals. The test may be discontinued after 500 hours and shall be discontinued after 600 hours. The total run-time shall be recorded and included in the technical documentation. Air flow, vacuum and input power shall be determined at appropriate intervals and values shall, along with the operational motor lifetime, be included in the technical documentation.9.Hybrid vacuum cleanersFor hybrid vacuum cleaners all measurements shall be executed with the vacuum cleaner powered by the electric mains and any battery operated active nozzle only.ANNEX IIIProduct compliance verification by market surveillance authoritiesThe verification tolerances defined in this Annex relate only to the verification of the measured parameters by Member State 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.When verifying the compliance of a product model with the requirements laid down in this Regulation pursuant to Article 3(2) of Directive 2009/125/EC, for the requirements referred to in this Annex, the authorities of the Member States shall apply the following procedure:(1)The Member State 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 point 2 of Annex IV to Directive 2009/125/EC (declared values), 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 paragraph (g) thereof; 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 Member State 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 vacuum cleaner 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 Member State 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 vacuum cleaner 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 vacuum cleaner models in the manufacturer's or importer's technical documentation shall be considered not to comply with this Regulation.(7)The Member State authorities shall provide all relevant information to the authorities of the other Member States and to the Commission without delay after a decision being taken on the non-compliance of the model according to points 3 and 6.The Member State authorities shall use the measurement and calculation methods set out in Annex II.The Member State authorities shall only apply the verification tolerances that are set out in Table 1 and shall only use the procedure described in points 1 to 7 for the requirements referred to in this Annex. No other tolerances, such as those set out in harmonised standards or in any other measurement method, shall be applied.

Table 1Verification tolerances

Parameters	Verification tolerances
Annual energy consumption	The determined value shall not exceed the declared value by more than 10 %.
Dust pick up on carpet	The determined value shall not be lower than the declared value by more than 0,03.
Dust pick up on hard floor	The determined value shall not be lower than the declared value by more than 0,03.
Dust re-emission	The determined value shall not exceed the declared value by more than 15 %.
Sound power level	The determined value shall not exceed the declared value.
Operational motor lifetime	The determined value shall not be lower than the declared value by more than 5 %.

ANNEX IVBenchmarksAt the time of entry into force of this Regulation, the best available technology on the market for domestic vacuum cleaners, in terms of their specific energy consumption, is an upright vacuum cleaner of 650 W at a cleaning head width of 0,28 m, which translates into a specific energy consumption of 1,29 Wh/m2, although with sound power level rated at over 83 dB.Dust pick-up and dust re-emission data for the above machine, compliant with the methods defined and referenced in this Regulation are not available. Best dust pick-up currently available on the market is around 1,08 for hard floor with crevice, and 0,90 on carpet. Best dust re-emission currently available on the market is around 0,0002 %. Best sound power level is 62 dB.

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