EN    EN  
 EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION  
Brussels, XXX   
[…](2012) XXX  draft 
  
COMMISSION REGULATI ON (EU) No …/.. 
of XXX  
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) 
 EN 2   EN COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No …/.. 
of XXX  
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) 
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, 
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Having regard to Directive 2009/125/EC of the Eu ropean Parliament and of the Council of 21 
October 2009 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-
related products
1 , and in particular Article 15(1) thereof, 
After consulting the Consultation Forum referre d to in Article 18 of Directive 2009/125/EC, 
Whereas: (1) Under Directive 2009/125/EC ecodesign requirements should be set by the 
Commission for energy-related  products representing signi ficant volumes of sales and 
trade, having significant environmental imp act and presenting significant potential for 
improvement in terms of thei r environmental impact withou t entailing excessive costs. 
(2) Article 16(2) of Directive 2009/125/EC provide s that in accordance with the procedure 
referred to in Article 19(3) and the criteria set out in Article 15(2) , and after consulting 
the Consultation Forum, the Commission has to, as appropr iate, introduce an 
implementing measures for domestic appliances, including vacuum cleaners. 
(3) The Commission has carried out a prepar atory study to analyse the technical, 
environmental and economic aspects of vacu um cleaners typically used in households 
and commercial premises. The study has been  developed together with stakeholders 
and interested parties from the Union and third countries, and the results have been 
made publicly available. 
(4) Wet, wet and dry, robot, industrial, central  and battery operated vacuum cleaners and 
floor polishers and outdoor vacuums have particular characteristics and should 
therefore be exempted from the scope of this Regulation. 
(5) The environmental aspects of the products covered, identified as significant for the 
purposes of this Regulation, are energy cons umption in the use phase, dust pick-up, 
dust re-emission, noise (sound po wer level) and durability. The annual electricity 
consumption of products subject to this Re gulation was estimated to have been 18 
TWh in the Union in 2005. Unless specific measures are taken, annual electricity consumption is predicted to be 34 TWh in  2020. The preparatory study shows that the 
energy consumption of products subject to  this Regulation ca n be significantly 
reduced. 
                                                
 
1 OJ L 285, 31.10.2009, p. 10.  EN 3   EN (6) The preparatory study shows that requirement s regarding further ecodesign parameters 
referred to in Part 1 of Annex I to Direct ive 2009/125/EC are not necessary in the case 
of vacuum cleaners. 
(7) The energy consumption of vacuum clean ers should be made more efficient by 
applying existing non-proprieta ry cost-effective technologies that can reduce the 
combined costs of purchasing and operating these products. 
(8) The ecodesign requirements should not aff ect functionality from the end-user's 
perspective and should not nega tively affect health, safety  or the environment. In 
particular, the benefits of reducing ener gy consumption during the use phase should 
more than offset any additional environmental impacts during the production phase and 
the disposal. 
(9) The ecodesign requirements shou ld be introduced graduall y in order to provide a 
sufficient timeframe for manufacturers to re-d esign products subject to this Regulation. 
The timing should be such as to avoid ne gative impacts on the functionalities of 
equipment on the market, and to take into  account cost impact s for end-users and 
manufacturers, in particular  small and medium-sized enterprises, while ensuring timely 
achievement of the objectiv es of this Regulation. 
(10) A review of this Regulation is foreseen no late r than 5 years after its entry into force.  
(11) Commission Regulation (EU) No 327/2011 of 30 March 2011 implementing Directive 
2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to Ecodesign 
requirements for fans driven by motors w ith an electric input power between 125 W 
and 500 kW2 should be amended to exclude fans integrated in vacuum cleaners from 
its scope in order to prevent specific ec odesign requirements for the same products to 
be contained in two separate regulations. 
(12) Measurements of the relevant product pa rameters should be performed through 
reliable, accurate and reproducible measurem ent methods, which take into account the 
recognised state of the art measuremen t methods including, where available, 
harmonised standards adopted by the Europe an standardisation bodies, as listed in 
Annex I to Directive 98/34/EC  of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 
June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations and of  rules on Information Society services
 3. 
(13) In accordance with Article 8 of Directive 2009/125/EC, this  Regulation should specify 
the applicable conformity assessment procedures. 
(14) In order to facilitate co mpliance checks, manufacturers should provide information 
contained in the technical documentation referr ed to in Annexes IV and V of Directive 
2009/125/EC insofar as this information relate s to the requirements laid down in this 
Regulation. 
(15) To ensure fair competition, the achievement of potential intended energy savings and 
accurate information of products' energy performance towards consumers, this Regulation 
should make clear that the tolerances pres cribed for the national market surveillance 
authorities when conducting physical tests to establish whether a specific model of an energy related product is in compliance with this Regulation should not be used by the 
manufacturers to provide room for declaring a more favourable performance of the model 
than measurements and calculations declared in the technical documentation of the product 
can justify.
 
                                                 
2 OJ L 90, 6.4.2011, p. 8. 
3 OJ L 204, 21.7.1998, p. 37. EN 4   EN (16) In addition to the legally binding requiremen ts laid down in this Regulation, indicative 
benchmarks for best availabl e technologies should be identified to ensure the wide 
availability and easy accessi bility of information on the life-cycle environmental 
performance of products s ubject to this Regulation. 
(17) The measures provided for in this Regulati on are in accordance with the opinion of the 
Committee established by Article 19(1) of Directive 2009/125/EC, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
Subject matter and scope 
1. This Regulation establishes eco-design requirements for th e placing on the market of 
electric mains-operated vacuum cleaner s, including hybrid vacuum cleaners. 
2. This Regulation shall not apply to: 
(a) wet, wet and dry, battery operated, robot, i ndustrial, or central vacuum cleaners;  
(b) floor polishers; 
(c) outdoor vacuums. 
Article 2 
Definitions 
In addition to the definitions set out in Ar ticle 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 unde rpressure developed within the unit.; 
2. ‘hybrid vacuum cleaners’ means a vacuum cleaner that can be fully powered by the 
electric mains, batteries or both electric mains and batteries; 
3. ‘wet vacuum cleaner’ means an electricall y operated appliance that removes dry 
and/or wet material (soil) from the su rface 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, sc rubber-driers and sw eeping machines; 
4. ‘wet and dry vacuum cleaner’ means a vacu um cleaner designed to remove a volume 
of more than 2.5 litres, of liquid, in comb ination with the functionality of a dry 
vacuum cleaner;  
5. ‘dry vacuum cleaner’ means a vacuum clean er designed to remove soil that is 
principally dry (dust, fibre, threads), in cluding types equipped with a battery operated 
active nozzle; 
6. ‘battery operated active nozzle’ means a cl eaning head provided with an agitation 
device powered by batteries to assist dirt removal; 
7. ‘battery operated vacuum cleaner’ mean s a vacuum cleaner powered only by 
batteries; 
8. ‘robot vacuum cleaner’ means a battery opera ted vacuum cleaner that is capable of 
operating without human intervention within a defined perimeter, consisting of a mobile part and a docking stat ion and/or other accessories to assist its operation;  EN 5   EN 9. ‘industrial vacuum cleaner’: means a commerci al vacuum cleaner designed to be part 
of a production process, including vacuum cleaners designed for cleaning hazardous material, or as part of an industrial m achine or tool and/or with a head width 
exceeding 50 cm; 
10. ‘commercial vacuum cleaner’ means a vac uum cleaner for professional housekeeping 
purposes and intended to be used by layme n, cleaning staff or c ontracting cleaners in 
office, shop, hospital and hotel environments , declared by the manufacturer as such in 
the Declaration of Conformity pertai ning to the Directive 2006/42/EC of the 
European Parliament and of the Council
4;  
11. ‘central vacuum cleaner’ means a vacuum cleaner with a fixed (not movable) 
underpressure source location and the hose conn ections located at fixed positions in 
the building; 
12. ‘floor polisher’ means an electrical applian ce that is designed to protect, smoothen 
and/or render shiny certain types of floors, usually opera ted 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 clippi ngs and leaves into a collector by means of an airflow 
created by underpressure developed with in the unit and which may contain a 
shredding device and may also be able to perform as a blower; 
14. ‘full size battery opera ted vacuum cleaner’ means a battery operated vacuum cleaner 
designed for general cleaning, which when fu lly charged, can clean 15 m² of floor 
area with 2 double strokes without recharge an d can be tested in the same manner as 
electric mains operated vacuum cleaners; 
15. ‘water filter vacuum cleaner’ means a dry vacu um cleaner that uses more than 1 litre 
of water as the main filter medium, wher eby 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 use in households 
or domestic situations, declared by the manu facturer as such in the Declaration of 
Conformity pertaining to Directive 2006/95/EC  of the European Parliament and of 
the Council5; 
17. ‘general purpose vacuum cleaner’ means a vacu um cleaner supplied with a fixed or at 
least one detachable nozzle designed for cl eaning 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 speci fically 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 
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 ener gy consumption, dust pick up on carpet and 
                                                 
4 OJ L 157, 9.6.2006, p. 24. 
5 OJ L 374, 27.12.2006, p. 10. EN 6   EN hard floor, dust re-emission, sound power le vel, hose durability and operational motor 
lifetime as another model of vacuum clean er placed on the market under a different 
commercial code number by the same manufacturer. 
Article 3 
Ecodesign requirements 
1. The ecodesign requirements for vacuum cleaner s are set out in Annex I. They shall 
apply in accordance with the following timetable: 
(a) from [date to be inserted: 2 years after th e entry into force of the Regulation]:  as 
indicated in Annex I, poi nt 1(a) and point 2; 
(b) from [date to be inserted: 4 years after th e entry into force of the Regulation] : 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 4 
Conformity assessment 
1. The conformity assessment procedure re ferred 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 se t out in Annex V to  that Directive. 
2. For the purposes of conformity assessmen t 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 t echnical documentation for a particular 
vacuum cleaner model has been obtained by calculation on the basis of an equivalent vacuum cleaner, the technical documentation sh all include details of  such calculations 
and of tests undertaken by manufacturers to verify the accuracy of the calculations 
undertaken. In such cases, the technical docum entation 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 5 
Verification procedure for market surveillance purposes 
Member Stated shall apply the verification proc edure 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 6 
Indicative Benchmarks 
The indicative benchmarks for best-performing vacuum cleaners available on the market at the 
time of entry into force of this Re gulation are set out in Annex IV.  EN 7   EN Article 7 
Revision 
The Commission shall review th is Regulation in the light of  technological progress no later 
than five years after its entry into force and pres ent the result of that review to the Consultation 
Forum. The review shall in particular assess the verification tolerances set out in Annex III, 
whether full size battery operated vacuum clean ers 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. 
Article 8 
Amendment to Regulation 327/2011 
Commission Regulation (EU)  No 327/2011 of 30 March 2011 implementing Directive 
2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to Ecodesign 
requirements for fans driven by motors with an electric input power  between 125 W and 500 
kW6 is amended as follows: 
The following is added in the end of Article 1(3): ‘‘(e) designed to operate with an optimum ener gy efficiency at 8 000 rotations per minute or 
more.’’ 
The following is deleted in Article 3(4): ‘‘(a) with an optimum energy efficiency at 8 000 rotations per minute or more.’’ 
Article 9 
Entry into force 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the tw entieth 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. 
Done at Brussels,  
 For the Commission 
 The President  José Manuel BARROSO
                                                
 
6 OJ L 90, 6.4.2011, p. 8. EN 8   EN ANNEX I 
ECODESIGN REQUIREMENTS 
1. Specific Ecodesign requirements 
Vacuum cleaners shall comply w ith the following requirements: 
(a) From [date to be inserted: 2 years after th e entry into force of the Regulation] : 
– annual energy consumption shall be less than 62.0 kWh/year . This limit shall 
not apply to water filt er vacuum cleaners; 
– rated input power shall be less than 1600W; 
– dust pick up on carpet  (dpu c) shall be greater than or equal to 0.65. This limit 
shall not apply to hard floor vacuum cleaners; 
– dust pick up on hard floor  (dpu hf) shall be greater than  or equal to 0.95. This 
limit shall not apply to carpet vacuum cleaners. 
(b) From [date to be inserted: 4 years after th e entry into force of the Regulation] : 
– annual energy consumption shall be less than 43.0 kWh/year;  
– rated input power shall be less than 900W; 
– dust pick up on carpet  (dpu c) shall be greater than or equal to 0.65. This limit 
shall not apply to hard floor vacuum cleaners; 
– dust pick up on hard floor  (dpu hf) shall be greater than  or equal to 0.95. 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;  
– the hose, if any, shall be durable so th at it is still us eable after 40 000 
oscillations under strain; 
– operational motor lifetime shall be gr eater than or e qual to 500 hours. 
The annual energy consumpti on, rated input power, dpu c (dust pick up on carpet), dpu hf (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 
The technical documentation, booklet of inst ructions and free access websites of 
manufacturers, their authorised representative s, or importers shall contain the following 
elements: 
(a) any information required to be publishe d in respect of the vacuum cleaner 
under any delegated acts adopt ed under Directive 2010/30/EU7; 
(b) short title or reference to the measurement and calculation methods used to 
establish compliance with the above requirements; 
(c) information relevant for non-destru ctive disassembly for maintenance 
purposes, in particular in relation to the hose, suction inlet, motor, casing and 
cable; 
                                                 
7 OJ L 153, 18.6.2010, p. 1.   EN 9   EN (d)  information relevant for dismantling, in particular in relation to the motor and 
any batteries, recycling, recovery  and disposal at end-of-life; 
(e) for hard floor vacuum cleaners, menti on that they are not suitable for use on 
carpets;  
(f) for carpet vacuum cleaners, mention that they are not suitable for use on hard 
floors; 
(g) for appliances that are enabled to functi on also for other purposes than vacuum 
cleaning, the electric in put power relevant to vacuum  cleaning if this is lower 
than the rated input pow er of the appliance. EN 10   EN ANNEX II 
MEASUREMENT AND CA LCULATION METHODS  
1. For the purposes of compliance and verifica tion of compliance with the requirements 
of this Regulation, measurements and calcu lations shall be made  using a reliable, 
accurate and reproducible methods that take  into account the generally recognised 
state-of-the-art measurement and cal culation methods, including harmonised 
standards the reference number s 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 para meters set out this Annex. 
2. Technical definitions 
(a) ‘hard floor test’ means a te st 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 wi dth and appropriate 
length, featuring a diagonally (45°) placed test crevice, where the time elapsed, electric power consumption and the relative position of the center of the 
cleaning head to the test area are con tinuously 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 at an appropriate linear density; 
(c) ‘carpet test’ means a test with two cleaning cycles on an 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 at an appropriate  average distribution, where the time 
elapsed, electric power c onsumption and the relative position of the center of 
the cleaning head to the test area are c ontinuously 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 a nd one backward movement of the 
cleaning head in a parallel pattern, perfor med 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 head s 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 center of the cleaning head when moving over the 
appropriate acceleration zones befo re and after the test area; EN 11   EN (i) ‘dust pick up’ ( dpu), at an accuracy of 3 decima l places, means the ratio of the 
mass of the artificial dust removed, determined for carpet through the mass 
increase of the appliance dust receptacl e and for hard floor through the mass 
decrease of the test crev ice, after a number of doubl e strokes of the cleaning 
head to the mass of artificial dust initia lly applied to a test area, for carpet 
corrected for the specific test conditi ons and for hard floor corrected for the 
length and positioning of the test crevice; 
(j) ‘reference vacuum cleaner system’ mean s electrically operated laboratory 
equipment used to measure the calibrate d and reference dust pick-up on carpets 
with given air related parameters to imp rove the reproducibility of test results; 
(k) ‘rated input power’ in W means the el ectric input power declared by the 
manufacturer, whereby for appliances th at 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, expresse d as a percentage at an accuracy of 
2 significant decimal places, of the number of all dust particles of a size from 0.4 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 while the vacuum cleaner is operating at its 
maximum power setting. The value incl udes not only dust measured at the 
vacuum cleaner outlet but also dust em itted elsewhere either from leaks, or 
generated by the vacuum cleaner; 
(m) ‘sound power level’ means airborne acous tical noise emissions, expressed in 
dB(A) re 1 pW and rounded to the neares t integer. 
3. Annual energy consumption 
The annual energy consumption AE is calculated, in kWh/year  and rounded to one decimal 
place, as follows: 
for carpet vacuum cleaners: 
⎟⎟
⎠⎞
⎜⎜
⎝⎛
−−×××××=15.015.01001.050874
cc cdpuASE AE  
for hard floor vacuum cleaners: 
⎟⎟
⎠⎞
⎜⎜
⎝⎛
−−×××××=15.015.01001.050874
hfhf hfdpuASE AE  
for general-purpose vacuum cleaners:   
hf c hf AE AE AE ×+×= 5.0 5.0  
where: 
– ASE c is the average specific energy cons umption in Wh/m² during carpet test, 
calculated as provided below; 
– ASE hf is the average specific energy cons umption in Wh/m² during hard floor 
test, calculated as provided below; EN 12   EN – dpu c is the dust pick-up on carpet, determ ined in accordance with point 4 of 
this Annex; 
– dpu hf is the dust pick-up on hard floor, determined in accordance with point 4 
of this Annex; 
– 50 is the standard number of one-hour cleaning tasks per year; 
– 87 is the standard dwelling surface to be cleaned in m²; 
– 4 is the standard number of times that a vacuum cleaner passes over each point 
in the floor (two double strokes); 
– 0.001 is the conversion factor from Wh to kWh; 
– 1 is the standard dust pick-up; 
– 0.15 is the standard difference between in  dust pick-up after five and after two 
double strokes. 
Average specific ener gy consumption (ASE) 
The average specific energy consumption during carpet test ( ASE c) and during hard floor test 
(ASE hf) shall be determined as an average of the specific energy consumption (SE) of the two 
cleaning cycles that constitute the carpet respectively hard floor test. 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: 
At)NPP(SE×+=  
where: 
– P is the average effective power intake in W, at an accuracy of 2 decimal 
places, during the time in a cleaning cycl e that the center of the cleaning head 
is moving over the test area; 
– NP 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 below; 
– t is the total time in hours, at an accu racy 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 area; 
– A is the surface area in m², at an accu racy of 3 decimal places, passed over by 
the cleaning head in a cleaning cycle, calculated as 10 time s 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, NP hf, thf and Ahf shall be 
used in the above equation. Fo r the carpet tests the suffix c and parameter names SEc, Pc, NP c, 
tc and Ac shall be used in the a bove equation. Values of SEhf, Phf, NP hf, thf, Ahf and/or SEc, Pc, EN 13   EN NP c, tc, Ac shall for each of the  two cleaning cycles be included in the technical 
documentation . 
Power equivalent of battery operated active nozzles (NP) 
The general equation for the average power e quivalent of battery operated active nozzles NP 
in W, applicable for carpet, hard floor a nd general purpose vacuum cleaners with the 
appropriate suffixes, is: 
tbatENP=
  
where: 
– E is the electricity consumption in Wh at  an accuracy of 3 decimal places of 
battery operated active nozzles of the v acuum 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 activ e nozzles of the vacuum cleaner are 
activated, in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions; 
In case the vacuum cleaner is not equipped with battery operat ed active nozzles the value of 
NP equals zero. 
For the hard floor tests the suffix hf and parameter names NP
hf, Ehf, tbat hf shall be used in the 
above equation. For the carpet tests the suffix c and parameter names NP c, Ec, tbat c shall be 
used in the above equation. Values of Ehf, tbat hf and/or Ec, tbat c shall for each of the  two 
cleaning cycles be included in the technical documentation . 
4. Dust pick-up 
The dust pick-up on hard floor ( dpu hf) 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 ( dpu c) shall be the determined as the average of the results of the 
two cleaning cycles in a carpet test. To correct for deviations from a test carpet’s original 
properties, the dust pick-up on carpet ( dpu c) shall be the calculated as follows: 
⎟⎟
⎠⎞
⎜⎜
⎝⎛
×=
refcal
m cdpudpudpu dpu  
where: 
– dpu m is the measured dust pick-up of the vacuum cleaner; 
– dpu cal is the calibrated dust pick-up of th e reference vacuum cleaner system 
measured when the test carpet was in original condition; 
– dpu ref is the measured dust pick-up of th e reference vacuum cleaner system. 
Values of dpu c , dpu m, dpu cal and dpu ref shall be included in the technical documentation. 
5. Dust re-emission EN 14   EN The dust re-emission test shall be determined as the average of the resu lts of the two cleaning 
cycles in a carpet, resp ectively hard floor test. 
6. Sound power level 
Sound power level shall be  determined on carpet. 
7. Durability of the hose 
The hose shall be considered usea ble after 40 000 oscillations under strain if it is not visibly 
damaged after those oscillations. Strain shall be applied by mean s of a weight of 2.5 kilogram. 
8. Operational motor life-time  
The vacuum cleaner shall run w ith a half-loaded dust receptacle intermittently with periods of 
14 minutes and 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off. Dust receptacle and filte rs shall be replaced 
at appropriate time intervals. The test ma y 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 operationa l motor lifetime, be included 
in the technical documentation. 
9. Hybrid vacuum cleaners 
For hybrid vacuum cleaners all measurements shall be executed with the vacuum cleaner 
powered by the electric mains and any ba ttery operated active nozzles only. EN 15   EN  
ANNEX III 
Verification procedure for ma rket surveillance purposes 
When performing the market surveillance checks  referred to in Article 3(2) of 2009/125/EC, 
the authorities of the Member States shall a pply the following verification procedure for the 
requirements set out in Annex II: 
1. The Member State authorities shall test one single unit per model. 
2. The vacuum cleaner model shall be consid ered to comply with the applicable 
requirements set out in Annex I to this Regul ation if the declared values comply with 
the requirements set out in that Annex and if  testing of the relevant model parameters 
listed in Annex I and Table 1 shows co mpliance for all of those parameters. 
3. If the result referred to in point 2 is not achieved, the Me mber State authorities shall 
randomly select three additional units of the same model for testing. As an alternative, the three additional units sele cted may be of one or more different 
models which, in accordance with Article 4, have been listed as equivalent vacuum 
cleaner in the manufacturer 's technical documentation. 
4. The vacuum cleaner model shall be consid ered to comply with the applicable 
requirements set out in Annex I to this Regul ation if the declared values comply with 
the requirements set out in that Annex and if  testing of the relevant model parameters 
listed in Annex I and Table 1 shows co mpliance for all of those parameters 
5. If the results referred to in point 4 are not achieved, the model and all equivalent 
vacuum cleaner models shall be consider ed not to comply with this Regulation. 
Member State authorities shall use the measurement and calculation methods set out in Annex 
II. 
The 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 as an allowed tolerance on the values in the technical documentation to achieve compliance with the 
requirements. Declared values shall not be more favourable for the manufacturer than the values 
reported in the technical documentation. EN 16   EN Table 1 
Parameter Verification tolerances 
Annual energy consumption The determined value(1) is not more than 10% 
higher than the declared value.  
Dust pick up on carpet The determined value(1) is not more than 0.03 
lower than the declared value.  
Dust pick up on hard floor The determined value(1) is not more than 0.03 
lower than the declared value. 
Dust re-emission The determined value(1) is not more than 15% 
higher than the declared value.  
Sound power level The determined value(1) is not higher than the 
declared value. 
Operational motor lifetime The determined value(1) is not more than 5% 
lower than the declared value. 
(1) the arithmetic average of the values determined  in the case of three additional units tested 
as prescribed in point 3.  EN 17   EN  
ANNEX IV 
BENCHMARKS 
At the time of entry into force of this Regula tion, the best available technology on the market 
for domestic vacuum cleaners, in terms of their specific ener gy consumption, is an upright 
vacuum cleaner of 650 W at a cleaning head widt h of 28 cm, which transl ates into a specific 
energy consumption of 1.29 Wh/m2, although with noise power level rated at over 83 dB.  
Battery-driven professional dry vacuum cleaner s with a battery operating time of 60 minutes 
can be found at a nominal power 400 W, a clean ing head of approx. 30 cm and at a 68 dB 
noise power level. Their specific energy consumption is around 0.75 Wh/m2. 
Dust pick-up data for the above machines, comp liant with the methods defined and referenced 
in this regulation are not available. Best dus t pick-up currently available on the market is 
around 108% for hard floor with crevice, and 90% on carpet.