1986L0594 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 001.001 — 1
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►B COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of1December 1986
onairbornenoiseemittedbyhouseholdappliances
(86/594/EEC)
(OJ L 344, 6.12.1986, p. 24)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Regulation (EC) No 807/2003 of 14 April 2003 L 122 36 16.5.2003
▼B
COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of1December 1986
onairbornenoiseemittedbyhouseholdappliances
(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 EuropeanCommun ities' 1973 (4) and 1977 (5) action
programmes on the environment highlight the importance of theproblem of noise pollution and, in particular, the need to take actionwith 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 emittedby household appliances; whereas accurate, pertinent and comparableinformation may serve to guide the public towards selecting less noisyhousehold 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 profusionof labels onhousehold applian ces, in formationonn oiselevel 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 ofhousehold 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 thedeclared level; whereas such requirements must replace the nationalprovisions 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 thereforeindispensable to have available these standards concerning themeasurement and checking of the declared level of airborne noiseemitted by household appliances while they are being operated;
Whereas the Comité européen de normalisation (CEN) (European Stan-
dardization Committee) and the Comité européen de normalisationélectrotechnique (CENELEC) (European Electrotechnical Standardiza-tion Committee) are acknowledged to be the bodies competent to laydown 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 1983laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the fieldof technical standards and regulations (
7) and with general guidelines
for cooperation between the Commission and both these bodies, signedon13 November 1984;1986L0594 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 001.001 — 2
(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.
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Whereas, pending adoption of harmonized standards, free circulation of
goods will be assured by the acceptance of products which complywith 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 forconformity of harmonized standards and national standards and tech-
nical 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 indus-
trial or professional purposes,
— appliances which are integrated parts of a building or its installa-
tions such as equipment for air conditioning, heating and
ventilating (except household fans, cooker hoods and free-standingheating appliances), oil burners for central heating and pumps forwater 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 storageof foodstuffs, production and distribution of heat and cold, airconditioning, and other appliances used for non-professionalpurposes;
(b)‘family’of household appliances means all models (or types) of
various household appliances designed for the same purpose andpowered by the same principal energy source. Generally, a familyincludes several models (or types);
(c)‘series’of household appliances means all household appliances
belonging to the same model (or type), which have defined charac-teristics 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,
L
WA, of the household appliance, expressed in decibels (dB) with
reference to the sound power of one picowatt (1 pW), transmittedby 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 appli-ances.1986L0594 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 001.001 — 3
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This information shall be supplied by the manufacturer or, where the
manufacturer is established outside the Community, by the importerestablished inthe Commun ity.
Whenthis 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 concernedmay 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 importermay 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 begivenonthat label.
Article 5
1. Member States may not refuse, prohibit or restrict the marketing
of household appliances on grounds relating to information on theairborne noise emitted by such appliances where the information inrespect of such appliances is given in accordance with the requirementsof 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 publicationof in formationonthe
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 forthe measurement uncertainties to produce standard deviationsnot exceeding 2 dB in the case of A-weighted sound powerlevels.
The standard deviations referred to in the first subparagraph
shall represent the cumulative effects of all causes of uncertaintyin the measurements, except for variations in the noise level ofthe 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 condi-tions to stimulate normal use and ensure adequate repeatabilityand reproducibility. The standard deviation of reproducibilitymust 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 inthe first subparagraph shall be such that the acceptan ce prob-ability is 95 % if 6,5 % of the noise emission levels of a batch arehigher thanthe level claimed. The size of a simple or equivalen tsample must be 3. The statistical method chosenrequires the use of atotal reference standard deviation of 3,5 dB.1986L0594 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 001.001 — 4
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By 1 January 1991 the Council, acting on a proposal from the Commis-
sion, shall fix new sample sizes and reference standard deviations foreach family of household appliances.
Article 7
Member States shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the manu-
facturer or importer, if he does not choose to withdraw the defectivebatch from the market, corrects the information without delay shouldit 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 require-ments 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 inaccordance with:
(a) national standards incorporating harmonized standards the refer-
ences 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 para-
graph 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 para-graph 1 (b) which they consider meet the requirements of Article 6.The Commissionshall forward these texts forthwith to the otherMember States. Inaccordan ce with the procedure laid downinArticle9 (2), it shall notify the Member States of those national standards and
technical regulations which are presumed to conform to the require-
ments of Article 6.
Member States shall arrange for the references of these national stan-
dards and technical regulations to be published. The Commission shallensure that they are also published in the Official Journal of the
European Communities .
Article 9
1. Where a Member State or the Commissioncon siders 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 Commissionshall bring the matter before the Standing Committee set up by Direc-tive 83/189/EEC, hereinafter referred to as the ‘Committee’, setting outits 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 withdrawnfrom the publication s referred to inArticle 8 (1) (a).
2. With regard to the national standards and technical regulations
referred to inArticle 8(2), Articles 5 an d 7 of Decision1999/468/
EC (
1) shall apply.
The period laid downinArticle 5(6) of Decision1999/468/EC shall be
set at three months.
3. The committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.1986L0594 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 001.001 — 5
(1) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.▼M1
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Article 10
1. Member States shall take the measures necessary to comply with
this Directive within 36 months of its notification (1). They shall forth-
with 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 fieldgoverned by this Directive.
Article 11
This Directive is adressed to the Member States.1986L0594 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 001.001 — 6
(1) This Directive was notified to Member States 4 December 1986.