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12.10.2012 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union
L
278/1
II
(Non-legislative acts)
REGULATIONS
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,
(6) The
environmental
aspect
of
household
tumble
driers,
identified as significant for the purposes of this Regu
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
lation, is energy consumption in the use phase. The
Union,
annual electricity consumption of household tumble
driers is estimated to have been 21 TWh in the
Having regard to Directive 2009/125/EC of the European
European Union in 2005. Unless specific measures are
Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing
taken, annual electricity consumption is predicted to be
a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for
31 TWh in 2020. The preparatory study shows that the
energy-related products (
energy consumption of products subject to this Regu

1 ), and in particular Article 15(1)
thereof,
lation can be significantly reduced.
After consulting the Ecodesign Consultation Forum,
(7) The
preparatory
study
shows
that
requirements
regarding
other ecodesign parameters as referred to in Annex I,
Whereas:
Part 1, to Directive 2009/125/EC are not necessary, as
the energy consumption of household tumble driers in
(1) Under
Directive
2009/125/EC,
ecodesign
requirements
the use phase is by far the most important environmental
should be set by the Commission for energy-related
aspect. In accordance with Article 6(2) of Directive
products representing significant volumes of sales and
2009/125/EC, Member States shall not prohibit, restrict
trade, having significant environmental impact and pres
or impede the placing on the market and/or putting into
enting significant potential for improvement in terms of
service, within their territories, of household tumble
their environmental impact without entailing excessive
driers on grounds of ecodesign requirements relating to
costs.
those ecodesign parameters referred to in Annex I, Part 1,
of that Directive for which this Regulation provides that
no ecodesign requirement is necessary.
(2) Article
16(2)(a)
of
Directive
2009/125/EC
provides
that
the Commission should, as appropriate, introduce an
implementing measure for domestic appliances,
(8) The
energy
consumption
of
household
tumble
driers
including household tumble driers.
should be made more efficient by applying existing
non-proprietary cost-effective technologies that can
(3) The
Commission
has
carried
out
a
preparatory
study
to
reduce the combined costs of purchasing and operating
analyse the technical, environmental and economic
those products.
aspects of household tumble driers typically used in
households. The study has been developed together
with stakeholders and interested parties from the Union
(9) The
ecodesign
requirements
should
not
affect
func
and third countries, and the results have been made
tionality from the end-user’s perspective and should not
publicly available.
negatively affect health, safety or the environment. In
particular, the benefits of reducing energy consumption
(4) This
Regulation
should
cover
products
designed
for
during the use phase should more than offset any
drying laundry in households.
additional environmental impacts during the production
and disposal phases.
(5)
Household combined washer-driers have particular char
acteristics and should therefore be exempted from the
(10) The ecodesign requirements should be introduced
scope of this Regulation.
gradually in order to provide a sufficient timeframe for
manufacturers to redesign products subject to this Regu
( 1 ) OJ L 285, 31.10.2009, p. 10.
lation. The timing should be such as to avoid negative

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Official Journal of the European Union
12.10.2012
impacts on the functionalities of equipment on the
(1) ‘household tumble drier’ means an appliance in which
market, and to take into account cost impacts for end-
textiles are dried by tumbling in a rotating drum
users and manufacturers, in particular small and
through which heated air is passed and which is
medium-sized enterprises, while ensuring timely
designed to be used principally for non-professional
achievement of the objectives of this Regulation.
purposes;
(11) Measurements
of
the
relevant
product
parameters
should
(2) ‘built-in household tumble drier’ means a household
be performed using reliable, accurate and reproducible
tumble drier intended to be installed in a cabinet, a
measurement methods which take into account the
prepared recess in a wall or a similar location, requiring
recognised state-of-the-art measurement methods
furniture finishing;
including, where available, harmonised standards
adopted by the European standardisation bodies, as
listed in Annex I to Directive 98/34/EC of the
(3) ‘household combined washer-drier’ means a household
European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June
washing machine which includes both a spin extraction
1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of
function and also a means for drying the textiles, usually
information in the field of technical standards and regu
by heating and tumbling;
lations and of rules on Information Society services ( 1 ).
(4) ‘household spin-extractor’, also known commercially as
(12) In
accordance
with
Article
8
of
Directive
2009/125/EC,
‘spin-drier’, means an appliance in which water is
this Regulation should specify the applicable conformity
removed from the textiles by centrifugal action in a
assessment procedures.
rotating drum and drained through an automatic pump
and which is designed to be used principally for non-
professional purposes;
(13) In
order
to
facilitate
compliance
checks,
manufacturers
should provide information in the technical documen
tation referred to in Annexes V and VI to Directive
(5) ‘air-vented tumble drier’ means a tumble drier that draws
2009/125/EC in so far as that information relates to
in fresh air, passes it over the textiles and vents the
the requirements laid down in this Regulation.
resulting moist air into the room or outside;
(14) In
addition
to
the
legally
binding
requirements
laid
down
(6) ‘condenser tumble drier’ means a tumble drier which
in this Regulation, indicative benchmarks for best
includes a device (either using condensation or any other
available technologies should be identified to ensure the
means) for removing moisture from the air used for the
wide availability and easy accessibility of information on
drying process;
the life-cycle environmental performance of products
subject to this Regulation.
(7) ‘automatic tumble drier’ means a tumble drier which
switches off the drying process when a certain moisture
(15) The
measures
provided
for
in
this
Regulation
are
in
content of the load is detected, for example through
accordance with the opinion of the Committee estab
conductivity or temperature sensing;
lished by Article 19(1) of Directive 2009/125/EC,
(8) ‘non-automatic tumble drier’ means a tumble drier which
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
switches off the drying process after a predefined period,
usually controlled by a timer, but which may also be
manually switched off;
Article 1
Subject matter and scope
(9) ‘programme’ means a series of operations that are
1. This Regulation establishes ecodesign requirements for the
predefined and which are declared by the manufacturer
placing on the market of electric mains-operated and gas-fired
as suitable for drying certain types of textile;
household tumble driers and built-in household tumble driers,
including those sold for non-household use.
(10) ‘cycle’ means a complete drying process, as defined for the
selected programme;
2. This
Regulation
shall
not
apply
to
household
combined
washer-driers and household spin-extractors.
(11) ‘programme time’ means the time that elapses from the
initiation of the programme until the completion of the
Article 2
programme, excluding any end-user programmed delay;
Definitions
(12) ‘rated capacity’ means the maximum mass in kilograms,
In addition to the definitions set out in Article 2 of Directive
indicated by the manufacturer in 0,5 kilogram increments
2009/125/EC, the following definitions shall apply for the
of dry textiles of a particular type, which can be treated in
purpose of this Regulation:
a household tumble drier with the selected programme,
when loaded in accordance with the manufacturer’s
( 1 ) OJ L 204, 21.7.1998, p. 37.
instructions;

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EN
12.10.2012 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union
L
278/3
(13) ‘partial load’ means half of the rated capacity of a
2. For
the
purposes
of
conformity
assessment
pursuant
to
household tumble drier for a given programme;
Article 8 of Directive 2009/125/EC, the technical documen
tation shall include a copy of the calculations set out in
Annex II to this Regulation.
(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
Where the information included in the technical documentation
a cycle;
for a particular household tumble drier model has been
obtained by calculation on the basis of design or by extra
polation from other equivalent household tumble driers, or
(15) ‘off-mode’ means a condition where the household tumble
both, the technical documentation shall include details of such
drier is switched off using appliance controls or switches
calculations or extrapolations, or both, and of tests undertaken
accessible to and intended for operation by the end-user
by manufacturers to verify the accuracy of the calculations
during normal use to attain the lowest power
undertaken. In such cases, the technical documentation shall
consumption that may persist for an indefinite time
also include a list of all other equivalent household tumble
while the household tumble drier is connected to a
drier models where the information included in the technical
power source and used in accordance with the manufac
documentation was obtained in the same way.
turer’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
Article 5
reverts to a steady-state power consumption on its own;
Verification procedure for market surveillance purposes
Member States shall apply the verification procedure described
(16) ‘left-on mode’ means the lowest power consumption mode
in Annex III to this Regulation when performing the market
that may persist for an indefinite time after completion of
surveillance checks referred to in Article 3(2) of Directive
the programme without any further intervention by the
2009/125/EC for compliance with requirements set out in
end-user besides unloading of the household tumble drier;
Annex I to this Regulation.
(17) ‘equivalent household tumble drier’ means a model of
Article 6
household tumble drier placed on the market with the
same rated capacity, technical and performance character
Benchmarks
istics, energy consumption, condensation efficiency where
The indicative benchmarks for best-performing household
relevant, standard cotton programme time and airborne
tumble driers available on the market at the time of entry
acoustical noise emissions during drying as another
into force of this Regulation are set out in Annex IV.
model of household tumble drier placed on the market
under a different commercial code number by the same
manufacturer.
Article 7
Revision
(18) ‘standard cotton programme’ means the cycle which dries
The Commission shall review this Regulation in the light of
cotton laundry with an initial moisture content of the
technological progress no later than five years after its entry
load of 60 % up to a remaining moisture content of the
into force and present the result of that review to the
load of 0 %.
Ecodesign Consultation Forum. The review shall in particular
assess the verification tolerances set out in Annex III and the
efficiency of air-vented appliances.
Article 3
Ecodesign requirements
Article 8
The generic ecodesign requirements for household tumble driers
Entry into force and application
are set out in point 1 of Annex I. The specific ecodesign
requirements for household tumble driers are set out in point
1.
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day
2 of Annex I.
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Union.
No ecodesign requirement is necessary regarding any other
ecodesign parameter referred to in Annex I, Part 1, of
2. It
shall
apply
from
1
November
2013.
Directive 2009/125/EC.
However:
Article 4
Conformity assessment
(a) the generic ecodesign requirements set out in points 1.1 and
1.2 of Annex I shall apply from 1 November 2014;
1. The
conformity
assessment
procedure
referred
to
in
Article 8 of Directive 2009/125/EC shall be the internal
design control set out in Annex IV to that Directive or the
(b) the specific ecodesign requirements set out in point 2.2 of
management system set out in Annex V to that Directive.
Annex I shall apply from 1 November 2015.

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L 278/4
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Official Journal of the European Union
12.10.2012
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 3 October 2012.
For the Commission
The President
José Manuel BARROSO
ANNEX I
Ecodesign requirements
1. Generic
ecodesign
requirements
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.
1.2. The booklet of instructions provided by the manufacturer shall provide:
(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
Household tumble driers shall comply with the following requirements:
2.1. From 1 November 2013:
— the energy efficiency index (EEI) shall be less than 85,
— for condenser household tumble driers the weighted condensation efficiency shall be not lower than 60 %.
2.2. From 1 November 2015:
— for condenser household tumble driers the energy efficiency index (EEI) shall be less than 76,
— for condenser household tumble driers, the weighted condensation efficiency shall be not lower than 70 %.
The energy efficiency index (EEI) and the weighted condensation efficiency are calculated in accordance with
Annex II.

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EN
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Journal
of
the
European
Union
L
278/5
ANNEX II
Method for calculating the energy efficiency index and weighted condensation efficiency
1. CALCULATION OF THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY INDEX
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:
AE
EEI

C
SAE C 100
where:
— AE C = weighted annual energy consumption of the household tumble drier,
— SAE C = standard annual energy consumption of the household tumble drier.
(b) The standard annual energy consumption (SAE C ) is calculated in kWh/year as follows and rounded to two decimal
places:
— for all household tumble driers that are not air-vented:
SAE C 140 c 0,8
— for air-vented household tumble driers:
T
SAE
t

C 140 c 0,8 – 8 > :30 9
60 > ;
where:
— c is the rated capacity of the household tumble drier for the standard cotton programme,
— T t is the weighted programme time for the standard cotton programme.
(c) The weighted annual energy consumption (AE C ) is calculated in kWh/year as follows and is rounded to two
decimal places:
(i)

B
525 600 –
525 600 –
P
T t
T t
o
160
160
2
2
AE

P l
C E t 160
60 1 000

where:
— E t = weighted energy consumption, in kWh and rounded to two decimal places,
— P o = power in ‘off-mode’ for the standard cotton programme at full load, in W and rounded to two
decimal places,
— P l = power in ‘left-on mode’ for the standard cotton programme at full load, in W and rounded to two
decimal places,
— T t = 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 (AE C ) is calculated taking into consideration the effective duration of the ‘left-on mode’,
according to the following formula:

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L 278/6
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Official Journal of the European Union
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AE C E t 160 fP l T l 160 P o 525 600 – T t 160 – T l 160g
60 1 000
where:
— T l = 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 (T t ) for the standard cotton programme is calculated in minutes as follows and
rounded to the nearest minute:
T t 3 T dry 4 T dry =7
where:
— T dry = programme time for the standard cotton programme at full load, in minutes and rounded to the nearest
minute,
— T dry = programme time for the standard cotton programme at partial load, in minutes and rounded to the
nearest minute.
(e) The weighted energy consumption (E t ) is calculated in kWh as follows and rounded to two decimal places:
E t 3 E dry 4 E dry =7
where:
— E dry = energy consumption of the standard cotton programme at full load, in kWh and rounded to two
decimal places,
— E dry = 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:
Eg
E
dry

dry f g Eg dry;a
Eg
E
dry

dry f g Eg dry;a
where:
— Eg dry = gas consumption of the standard cotton programme at full load, in kWh and rounded to two decimal
places,
— Eg dry = gas consumption of the standard cotton programme at partial load, in kWh and rounded to two
decimal places,
— Eg dry,a = auxiliary electricity consumption of the standard cotton programme at full load, in kWh and rounded
to two decimal places,
— Eg dry,a = auxiliary electricity consumption of the standard cotton programme at partial load, in kWh and
rounded to two decimal places,
— f g = 2,5.
2. CALCULATION OF THE WEIGHTED CONDENSATION EFFICIENCY
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.

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The weighted condensation efficiency (C t ) of a programme is calculated as a percentage and rounded to the nearest
whole percent as:
C t 3 C dry 4 C dry =7
where:
— C dry = average condensation efficiency of the standard cotton programme at full load,
— C dry = 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:
1
n
W
C
wj

8
n – 1 X W 100
j
>
2 > : i – W f 9 > ;
where:
— n is the number of test runs, comprising at least four valid test runs for the selected programme,
— j is the test run number,
— W wj is the mass of water collected in the condenser reservoir during test run j,
— W i is the mass of the wet test load before drying,
— W f is the mass of the test load after drying.

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L 278/8
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Official Journal of the European Union
12.10.2012
ANNEX III
Verification procedure for market surveillance purposes
For the purposes of compliance and verification of compliance with the requirements of this Regulation, measurements
and calculations shall be made using harmonised standards the reference numbers of which have been published in the
Official Journal of the European Union, or other reliable, accurate and reproducible methods, which take into account the
generally recognised state of the art methods, and whose results are deemed to be of low uncertainty.
For the purposes of checking conformity with the requirements laid down in Annex I, Member State authorities shall test
a single household tumble drier. If the measured parameters do not meet the values declared in the technical docu
mentation file within the meaning of Article 4(2) by the manufacturer within the ranges set out in Table 1, the
measurements shall be carried out on three more household tumble driers. The arithmetic mean of the measured
values of those three household tumble driers shall meet the requirements within the ranges set out in Table 1.
Otherwise, the model and all other equivalent household tumble driers models shall be considered not to comply with the
requirements laid down in Annex I.
Table 1
Measured parameter Verification
tolerances
Weighted annual energy consumption The
measured
value
shall
not
be
greater
than
the
rated
value
(*)
of AE C
by more than 6 %.
Weighted energy consumption
The measured value shall not be greater than the rated value of E t by
more than 6 %.
Weighted condensation efficiency The
measured
value
shall
not
be
less
than
the
rated
value
of C t by more
than 6 %.
Weighted programme time The
measured
value
shall
not
be
longer
than
the
rated
values
of T t by
more than 6 %.
Power consumption in off-mode and left-on The measured value of power consumption P o and P l of more than 1,00
mode
W shall not be greater than the rated value by more than 6 %. The
measured value of power consumption P o and P l of less than or equal to
1,00 W shall not be greater than the rated value by more than 0,10 W.
Duration of the left-on mode
The measured value shall not be longer than the rated value of T l by
more than 6 %.
(*) ‘rated value’ means a value that is declared by the manufacturer. The 6 % uncertainty in the measurement represent the current
acceptable testing laboratory error in measuring the declared parameters with the new measurement method used for the new
labelling/ecodesign requirements including full and partial load cycles.

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ANNEX IV
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 (*);
(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 (*);
(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 kWh Gas /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 (*);
(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 (*);
(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 (*);
(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 (*);
(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 kWh Gas /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 (*);
(b) airborne acoustical noise emissions: 65 dB.
(*) 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.

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(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.

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