2. Getting involved
3. Standards Committees
4. DKE

DKE German Commission for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies of DIN and VDE

Overview

This document specifies methods for measuring the performance of clothes washing machines for household use, with or without heating devices utilising cold and/or hot water supply. It also deals with appliances for water extraction by centrifugal force (spin extractors) and is applicable to appliances for both washing and drying textiles (washer-dryers) with respect to their washing related functions. This document also covers washing machines which specify the use of no detergent for normal use. The purpose of this document is to specify and define the most important performance characteristics of electrically powered washing machines and spin dryers for household use and to describe the test methods for measuring these characteristics. This document does not contain any requirements for washing machines with regard to noise emissions. Noise emission measurements are specified in IEC 60704-1 and IEC 60704-2-4. This document does not contain any requirements for the safety of washing machines. It also does not apply to washing machines for commercial laundries. This document is not intended for use in the comparative evaluation of detergents. The standard differs from DIN EN 60456 (VDE 0705-456):2023-04 as follows: a) the program to be tested for the combined test series is the newly introduced "Eco 40-60" program. This program shall be tested with standard settings at the specified temperature; b) the test loads to be used in the tests are the full, half, and quarter nominal load capacities of the washing machine. Therefore, a new quarter load is introduced and defined as approximately one quarter of the nominal load capacity. The quarter load is treated as a separate load and is not created by dividing the full or half load; c) the number of test cycles per treatment has been changed to 3 tests with a full load, 4 tests with a half load, and 3 tests with a quarter load for the combined test series; d) the duration between two consecutive test cycles on one day has been changed from 2 hours to one hour; e) the normalization cycle is included in the calculation of the age of the load. The maximum number of uses of the basic load with a load mass of at least 4,5 kg has been changed to a value between 35 and 60 normalization cycles and test cycles, and the number of uses of the basic load with a load mass of less than 4,5 kg has been changed to a value between 30 and 67 normalization cycles and test cycles; f) Annex ZE has been added to specify the test procedure for the temperature within the load; g) Annex ZF has been added to specify the test procedure for the flushing effect; h) the procedure for measuring low power consumption modes has been changed (see Annex ZD); i) specific weighting factors for calculating the weighted average values of the combined test series have been introduced; j) Annex ZB, "Tolerances and control procedures", has been deleted. Annex ZB has been replaced by a new Annex ZB, which specifies the test procedure for washing machines with multiple drums; k) a new standard detergent IEC-P (see Annex B) is introduced to replace the standard detergent IEC-A* (reference detergent), with the bleaching component sodium perborate being replaced by sodium percarbonate, due to Commission Regulation (EU) 2020/171 amending Annex XIV to Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). In accordance with Article 56 of the REACH Regulation, substances listed in Annex XIV may not be used or placed on the market after the "sunset date" unless an authorization has been granted. The sunset date for sodium perborate is May 27, 2023, after it was classified as "toxic to reproduction"; l) The limit deviations for residual moisture content in Table E.2 have been adjusted due to changes in commercially available materials; m) undated references in normative clauses have been dated. This document is used to test important consumer-relevant performance characteristics that are specified in the appliance documentation or on the energy label.

Responsible national committee

DKE/UK 513.1 - Wäschepflegegeräte