European Union – Upcoming Standard Changes for Appliances Products

Written by: Ylenia Merli - Europe Regulatory Program Expert

Harmonized Standards Dates of Withdrawal

Electrical equipment which is in conformity with a harmonized European Standard (EN) cited in the Official Journal of the European Union may be presumed to be in conformity with the corresponding requirements of harmonization legislation.

New European harmonized standard editions or amendments become mandatory starting from the “Date of cessation of presumption of conformity of superseded standard” as published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Generally, this date is the same as the “Date of Withdrawal” (DOW) as published in the individual superseding standards.

This date marks the end of the period during which both the old and the new version of the standard can be used to claim presumption of conformity to the essential requirements of the relevant directive. After that date, presumption of conformity can no longer be claimed for a product manufactured according to the old version of the standard.

Here is an overview of the recent and expected changes in harmonized standards.

Electromagnetic compatibility and low voltage requirements

EN 55014-1:2017/A11:2020 DOW 2022-11-27 – New Amendment

The EN 55041-1 deals with electromagnetic compatibility emission testing for household appliances, electric tools and similar apparatus. A new amendment, Annex ZZ, has been added as mandated by the Commission showing the relation between the coverage of the standard and the individual parts of the essential requirements of the directives so that the standard can be listed in the Official Journal of the European Union under the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Directive 2014/30/EU. This aligns the standard with the new legislative framework of the Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) Directive.

EN 60335-2-6:2015/A1:2020 DOW 2023-04-17 – New Amendment

EN 60335-2-6:2015 deals with the safety of stationary electric cooking ranges, hobs, ovens and similar appliances for household use, their rated voltage being not more than 250 V for single-phase appliances connected between one phase and neutral, and 480 V for other appliances. This standard is in alignment with IEC 60335-2-6:2014/A1:2018 (EQV)

EN 60335-2-6:2015/A11:2020 DOW 2023-04-24 – New amendment

The amendment A11:2020 replaces the fourth paragraph including warnings items related to the common hazards presented by appliances that are encountered by all persons in household and similar environments, as for examples:

• Children playing with the appliance
• The use of the appliance by very young children
• The use of the appliance by young children without supervision

EN 60335-2-30:2009/A1:2020 DOW 2023-02-12 – supersedes EN 50408:2008 and EN 50408:2008/A1:2011

The EN 60335-2-30:2009/A1:2020 deals with the safety of room heaters and it is in alignment with IEC 60335-2-30:2009/A1:2016 (modified).

EN 60730-2-6:2016/A1:2020 DOW 2023-05-01 – New Amendment

The EN 60730-2-6/A1:2020 deals with particular requirements for automatic electrical pressure sensing controls including mechanical requirements and it is equivalent to IEC 60730-2-6:2015/A1:2019. 

EN IEC 60730-2-7:2020 DOW 2023-05-01 – supersedes EN 60730-2-7:2010

The EN IEC 60730-2-7:2020 applies to timers and time switches for household and similar use that may use electricity, gas, oil, solid fuel, solar thermal energy, etc. or a combination thereof, including heating, air conditioning and similar applications. This standard is also applicable to individual timers utilized as part of a control system or timers which are mechanically integral with multifunctional controls having nonelectrical outputs. It is equivalent to IEC 60730-2-7:2015.

EN IEC 60730-2-8:2020 DOW 2023-05-01 – Supersedes EN 60730-2-8:2002 and EN 60730-2-8:2002/A1:2003

The EN 60730-2-8:2020 applies to electrically operated water valves for use in, on, or in association with equipment for household and similar use, including heating, air-conditioning and similar applications. The equipment can use electricity, gas, oil, solid fuel, solar thermal energy, etc., or a combination thereof. It is equivalent to IEC 60730-2-8:2018.

EN IEC 60730-2-11:2020 DOW 2023-05-01 – Supersedes EN 60730-2-11:2008

The EN IEC 60730-2-11:2020 applies to energy regulators for use in, on, or in association with equipment, including energy regulators for heating, air conditioning and similar applications. The equipment may use electricity, gas, oil, solid fuel, solar thermal energy, etc. or a combination thereof. This standard applies to the inherent safety, to the operating values, operating times and operating sequence where these are associated with equipment safety, and to the testing of automatic electrical energy regulator devices used in, or in association with, equipment. It is equivalent to IEC 60730-2-11:2019.

Performance and Energy Efficiency Requirements

EN 60436:2020 DOW 2023-03-27 Supersedes EN 50242:2016

EN 60436:2020 is in alignment with IEC 60436:2015 with modifications and it applies to electric dishwashers for household and similar use that are supplied with hot and/or cold water. This standard is concerned neither with safety nor with minimum performance requirements. This edition constitutes a technical revision and includes the following significant technical changes:

1. 1. Addition of a specification of the reference dishwasher G1222, addition of the microwave oven 752C, inclusion of standby/low power modes and updated cutlery and tableware items.
   2. Combined cleaning and drying: combining the cleaning and drying performance evaluations into one test, along with the energy and water consumption evaluation, prevents an opportunity for circumvention if tests were performed separately. A dishwasher can detect whether soil is present (cleaning evaluation) or not (drying evaluation) and adjust the cycle to favor performance; combining the tests addresses this.
   3. New dish load items: new dish load items were incorporated which reflect consumer use. New items are: stainless pots, coffee mugs, melamine plastic items and glass bowls. The new load items provide different shapes which challenge a dishwasher water spray patterns and provide additional surfaces for soil removal assessment.
   4. Detergent: a new detergent type "D" is specified which mirrors current tablet formulations available on the market. Detergent type D is phosphate free, with percarbonate instead of perborate bleach and more active enzymes. Repeatability and reproducibility improvements.
   5. Addition of annexes for the evaluation of soil sensing programs, rinsing performance, dishwasher filtration and of an annex on the inlet water temperature influence on energy consumption.

EN 60704-2-4:2012/A11:2020 DOW 2023-01-13 – New amendment

The EN 60704-2-4:2012/A11:2020 deals with the determination of airborne acoustical noise, particular requirements for washing machines and spin extractors. These particular requirements apply to single unit electrical washing machines and the washing and spinning function of combined appliances for household and similar use and to spin extractors for household and similar use.

EN IEC 60034-2-3:2020  DOW 2023-04-23

EN IEC 60034-2-3:2020 deals with specific test methods for determining losses and efficiency of converter-fed AC motors. It is equivalent to IEC 60034-2-3:2020.

EN 62552-1:2020, EN 62552-2:2020 and EN 62552-3:2020 - DOW: 2023-02-24 - Supersede EN 62552:2013

These standards deal with test methods for performance requirements and energy consumption and volume of household refrigerating appliances.

• EN 62552-1:2020 Household refrigerating appliances - Characteristics and test methods - Part 1: General requirements. It is based on IEC 62552-1:2015 (modified).
• EN 62552-2:2020 Household refrigerating appliances - characteristics and test methods - Part 2: Performance requirements, It is based on IEC 62552-2:2015 (modified).
• EN 62552-3:2020 Household refrigerating appliances - Characteristics and test methods - Part 3: Energy consumption and volume. It is based on IEC 62552-2:2015 (modified).

EN 62552-1:2020 specifies the essential characteristics of household refrigerating appliances cooled by internal natural convection or forced air circulation and establishes test methods for checking the characteristics. For the purposes of declaration, the tests defined in this part of EN 62552 are considered to be type tests to assess the fundamental design and operation of a refrigerating appliance.

EN 62552-2:2020 specifies the essential characteristics of household refrigerating appliances cooled by internal natural convection or forced air circulation and specifies test methods for checking the characteristics. This part of EN 62552 describes the methods for the determination of performance requirements. Although there is some commonality in the setups for different tests (and so it may be an advantage to apply them all to one sample), these are separate tests to evaluate specific characteristics of the sample being tested.

EN 62552-3:2020 specifies the essential characteristics of household and similar refrigerating appliances cooled by internal natural convection or forced air circulation and establishes test methods for checking these characteristics. This part of EN 62552 describes the methods for the determination of energy consumption characteristics and defines how these can be assembled to estimate energy consumption under different usage and climate conditions. This part of EN 62552 also defines the determination of volume.

EN 62552-1, EN 62552-2 and EN 62552-3 cancel and replace the first edition of EN 62552 published in 2013. EN 62552-1, EN 62552-2 and EN 62552-3 together constitute a technical revision and contain numerous significant modifications.

EN 15181:2017+A1:2020 DOW 2020-11-30 – New amendment

EN 15181:2017+A1:2020 specifies the method of test for determining the gas energy consumption in gas-fired domestic ovens when they are being used in one or more of the oven cooking modes defined in the standard. EN 15181 is harmonized under Regulation (EU) No. 65/2014 with regard to the energy labelling of domestic ovens and range hoods and the Regulation (EU) No. 66/2014 with regard to eco-design requirements for domestic ovens, hobs and range hoods, which means that it may be used by manufactures in order to assess and declare the conformity to the regulations requirements covered. The publication in the official journal of the new amendment will grant presumption of conformity.

How we can help

We are expertly qualified to help companies demonstrate their products meet the essential requirements of EU directives and regulations and help customers to achieve compliance testing according to the applicable harmonized standards.

In addition, we also provide product certification marks such as the D-mark, UL-EU and ENEC marks. Widely recognized throughout Europe, the D-mark, UL-EU and ENEC marks are voluntary for appliances and they demonstrate compliance of products with harmonized European standards verified by an independent third party. Therefore, they could be complementary marks to the mandatory CE marking, which is basically based on a self-declaration