Household Appliances - 86/594/EEC
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
of 1 December 1986
on airborne noise emitted by household appliances
(86/594/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Article 100 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee
(3),
Whereas the European Communities' 1973 (4) and 1977 (5) action
programmes on the environment highlight the importance of the problem of
noise pollution and, in particular, the need to take action with regard to
the source of the noise;
Whereas the public should be informed, in a way which is as readily
understandable and uniform as possible, of the level of noise emitted by
household appliances; whereas accurate, pertinent and comparable
information may serve to guide the public towards selecting less noisy
household appliances; whereas manufacturers will then be driven, as a
result, to take measures to reduce the sound emissions of the household
appliances they manufacture;
Whereas, for practical reasons and in order to avoid the appearance
of a profusion of labels on household appliances, information on noise
level should be included on the label provided for by the implementing
Directives adopted under Council Directive 79/530/EEC of 14 May 1979 on
the indication by labelling of the energy consumption of household
appliances (6) where the same family of household appliance is concerned;
Whereas, in the present case, legislative harmonization must be
confined to those requirements necessary to measure the airborne noise
emitted by household appliances and to carry out checks on the declared
level; whereas such requirements must replace the national provisions in
this field;
Whereas this Directive defines only the requirements strictly
necessary; whereas it will be presumed that these requirements are
complied with as long as the harmonized standards are applied;
whereas it is therefore indispensable to have available these
standards concerning the measurement and checking of the declared level of
airborne noise emitted by household appliances while they are being
operated;
Whereas the Comité européen de normalisation (CEN)
(European Standardization Committee) and the Comité européen
de normalisation électrotechnique (CENELEC) (European
Electrotechnical Standardization Committee) are acknowledged to be the
bodies competent to lay down and adopt the harmonized standards (European
standards or harmonization documents), on instruction from the Commission,
in accordance with Council Directive 83/189/EEC of 28 March 1983 laying
down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of
technical standards and regulations (7) and with general guidelines for
cooperation between the Commission and both these bodies, signed on 13
November 1984;
Whereas, pending adoption of harmonized standards, free circulation
of goods will be assured by the acceptance of products which comply with
national standards and technical regulations which are recognized, by
means of a monitoring procedure, as satisfying the requirements of this
Directive;
Whereas the Standing Committee set up by Article 5 of Directive
83/189/EEC would be ideally designated to ensure the checking for
conformity of harmonized standards and national standards and technical
regulations,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
1. This Directive shall cover provisions relating to:
- the general principles regarding the publication of information on
the airborne noise emitted by household appliances,
- the measuring methods for determining the airborne noise emitted by
household appliances,
- the arrangements for monitoring the levels of airborne noise
emitted by household appliances.
2. This Directive shall not apply to:
- appliances, equipment or machines designed exclusively for
industrial or professional purposes,
- appliances which are integrated parts of a building or its
installations such as equipment for air conditioning, heating and
ventilating (except household fans, cooker hoods and free-standing heating
appliances), oil burners for central heating and pumps for water supply
and for sewage systems,
- equipment components such as motors,
- electroacoustic appliances.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Directive:
(a) 'household appliance' means any machine, portion of a machine or
installation manufactured principally for use in dwellings, including
cellars, garages and other outbuildings, in particular household
appliances for upkeep, cleaning purposes, preparation and storage of
foodstuffs, production and distribution of heat and cold, air
conditioning, and other appliances used for non-professional purposes;
(b) 'family' of household appliances means all models (or types) of
various household appliances designed for the same purpose and powered by
the same principal energy source. Generally, a family includes several
models (or types);
(c) 'series' of household appliances means all household appliances
belonging to the same model (or type), which have defined characteristics
and are produced by the same manufacturer;
(d) 'batch' of household appliances means a specified quantity of a
given series manufactured or produced under uniform conditions;
(e) 'airborne noise emitted' means the A-weighted sound power level,
LWA, of the household appliance, expressed in decibels (dB) with reference
to the sound power of one picowatt (1 pW), transmitted by the air.
Article 3
1. Member States may require the publication, for certain families of
appliances, of information on the airborne noise emitted by such
appliances.
This information shall be supplied by the manufacturer or, where the
manufacturer is established outside the Community, by the importer
established in the Community.
When this is so:
(a) the level of noise subject to the information procedure shall be
determined in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 6 (1);
(b) the information may be subject to spot checks on the basis of the
principles set out in Article 6 (2). The Member State concerned may take
every appropriate step to ensure that the information supplied complies
with the requirements of this Directive;
(c) the manufacturer or importer shall be responsible for the
accuracy of the information supplied.
2. When a Member State does not require information on the airborne
noise emitted to be published, the manufacturer or importer may
nevertheless publish such information but (a), (b) and (c) of the third
subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall continue to apply.
Article 4
Where, for the same family of household appliance, provision is made
for a label relating to various types of information, such as those
provided for pursuant to a separate Directive adopted under Directive
79/530/EEC, the information on the airborne noise emitted shall be given
on that label.
Article 5
1. Member States may not refuse, prohibit or restrict the marketing
of household appliances on grounds relating to information on the airborne
noise emitted by such appliances where the information in respect of such
appliances is given in accordance with the requirements of this Directive.
2. Without prejudice to the outcome of any spot checks which may be
carried out once the household appliances have been offered for sale,
Member States shall regard publication of information on the airborne
noise emitted as complying with this Directive. Article 6
1. (a) The general test method used to determine the airborne noise
emitted by household appliances must be accurate enough for the
measurement uncertainties to produce standard deviations not exceeding 2
dB in the case of A-weighted sound power levels. The standard deviations
referred to in the first subparagraph shall represent the cumulative
effects of all causes of uncertainty in the measurements, except for
variations in the noise level of the appliance from one test to another.
(b) The general test method referred to in (a) shall be supplemented,
for each family of appliances, by a description of the location, mounting,
load and operation of the appliances under test conditions to stimulate
normal use and ensure adequate repeatability and reproducibility. The
standard deviation of reproducibility must be specified for each family of
appliances.
2. The statistical method used to verify the declared noise level of
appliances in a batch shall be sampling measurement on isolated batches of
appliances using unilateral tests.
The fundamental statistical parameters of the statistical method
referred to in the first subparagraph shall be such that the acceptance
probability is 95 % if 6,5 % of the noise emission levels of a batch are
higher than the level claimed. The size of a simple or equivalent sample
must be 3. The statistical method chosen requires the use of a total
reference standard deviation of 3,5 dB.
By 1 January 1991 the Council, acting on a proposal from the
Commission, shall fix new sample sizes and reference standard deviations
for each family of household appliances.
Article 7
Member States shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the
manufacturer or importer, if he does not choose to withdraw the defective
batch from the market, corrects the information without delay should it
appear from monitoring in accordance with Article 6 (2) that the level of
airborne noise emitted by a batch of appliances exceeds the declared
level.
Article 8
1. Member States shall presume that the indication of airborne noise
emitted by a household appliance is in accordance with the requirements of
this Directive and that the checks have been performed adequately by
Member States if the measurements for determining the level of airborne
noise and the relevant checks have been carried out in accordance with:
(a) national standards incorporating harmonized standards the
references of which have been published in the Official Journal of the
European Communities. Member States shall publish the references for these
national standards; or
(b) the national standards and technical regulations referred to in
paragraph 2 in so far as no harmonized standards exist in the areas
covered by these national standards and regulations.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of
their national standards and technical regulations as referred to in
paragraph 1 (b) which they consider meet the requirements of Article 6.
The Commission shall forward these texts forthwith to the other Member
States. In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 9 (2), it
shall notify the Member States of those national standards and technical
regulations which are presumed to conform to the requirements of Article
6.
Member States shall arrange for the references of these national
standards and technical regulations to be published. The Commission shall
ensure that they are also published in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.
Article 9
1. Where a Member State or the Commission considers that the
harmonized standards referred to in Article 8 (1) (a) do not fully satisfy
the requirements of Article 6, that Member State or the Commission shall
bring the matter before the Standing Committee set up by Directive
83/189/EEC, hereinafter referred to as the 'Committee', setting out its
reasons for doing so. The Committee shall deliver an opinion as a matter
of urgency.
In the light of the Committee's opinion, the Commission shall notify
the Member States as to whether or not the standards concerned should be
withdrawn from the publications referred to in Article 8 (1) (a).
2. With regard to the national standards and technical regulations
referred to in Article 8 (2), the Committee shall act in accordance with
the following procedure:
(a) The Commission representative shall submit to the Committee a
draft of the measures to be adopted. The Committee shall deliver its
opinion on the draft within a time limit which the chairman may fix on the
basis of the urgency of the matter. It shall take a decision by a majority
of 54 votes, the votes of the Member States being weighted as provided for
in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty. The chairman shall not vote.
(b) The Commission shall adopt the intended measures where they are
in accordance with the Committee's opinion.
(c) Where the measures intended are not in keeping with the opinion
of the Committee, or where there is no such opinion, the Commission shall
forthwith submit to the Council a proposal concerning the measures to be
taken. The Council shall take a decision by qualified majority.
(d) If, on the expiry of a period of three months of the date on
which the matter was brought before it, the Council has not reached a
decision, the proposed measures shall be adopted by the Commission.
Article 10
1. Member States shall take the measures necessary to comply with
this Directive within 36 months of its notification (1). They shall
forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the
main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field governed by
this Directive.
Article 11
This Directive is adressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 1 December 1986.
For the Council
The President
A. CLARK
(1) OJ No C 181, 19. 7. 1982, p. 1 and OJ No C 334, 10. 12. 1983, p.
15.
(2) OJ No C 277, 17. 10. 1983, p. 166.
(3) OJ No C 205, 9. 8. 1982, p. 13.
(4) OJ No C 112, 20. 12. 1973, p. 3.
(5) OJ No C 139, 13. 6. 1977, p. 3.
(6) OJ No L 145, 13. 6. 1979, p. 1.
(7) OJ No L 109, 26. 4. 1983, p. 8.
(1) This Directive was notified to Member States 4 December 1986.