Commission opinion of 30 March 2000 within the framework of Council Directive 73/23/EEC relating to electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2000-04-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: consumer protection, household electrical appliance, product quality, product safety

C 104/8

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

12.4.2000

COMMISSION OPINION

of 30 March 2000

within the framework of Council Directive 73/23/EEC relating to electrical equipment designed for
use within certain voltage limits

(2000/C 104/07)

(Text with EEA relevance)

This opinion is based on Article 9 of Council Directive
73/23/EEC of 19 February 1973 relating
to electrical
equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits (1). It
refers to the application of Article 5 of that Directive.

In accordance with Article 5 of Directive 73/23/EEC, references
to harmonised standards EN 60335-1 and EN 60335-2-9 were
published in the Official Journal of the European Communities (2).
Those standards, adopted by the European Standards Body
Cenelec, are entitled as follows:

(cid:151) EN 60335-1

Safety of household and similar appliances
(cid:151) Part 1: General requirements.

(cid:151) EN 60335-2-9 Safety of household and similar appliances
for
(cid:151) Part 2: Particular
similar
toasters,
appliances.

requirements
and

roasters

grills,

In the context of an application of
the safeguard clause
procedure in accordance with Article 9 of the Low Voltage
Directive,
standard
EN 60335-2-9, applied in conjunction with EN 60335-1, was
brought to the attention of the Commission.

in the harmonised

shortcoming

a

refers

to the

risk of high non-working

surface
This
temperatures of apparatus covered by EN 60335-2-9. This
standard, in its current version, does not address the risk in
relation to non-working surface temperatures. The safety

electrical

equipment

objectives, as laid down in Annex I, Section 1(d) and 2(b) to
Directive 73/23/EEC require
to be
designed and manufactured so as to ensure that protection
against hazards in relation to surface temperatures is assured.
Due to the absence of adequate specifications in relation to
non-working surface
temperatures, EN 60335-2-9 cannot
therefore necessarily guarantee full compliance with the Low
Voltage Directive. In relation to the hazards in connection with
non-working surface temperatures, EN 60335-2-9 (clause 11)
and EN 60335-1 (clause 11), as listed in the abovementioned
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities,
are therefore not
regarded as giving a presumption of
conformity with the stated safety objectives.

These conclusions as detailed were supported by the represen-
tatives of national administrations at the meeting of the Low
Voltage Working Party of 17 and 18 June, 1999.

The European Standards body Cenelec has been requested by
the Commission to ensure that the abovementioned hazard is
adequately addressed in a revised version of this standard. A
revision of EN 60335-2-9 is currently under way.

In the absence of a revised harmonised standard, manu-
facturers, when establishing compliance of relevant electrical
equipment with the Low Voltage Directive, must
therefore
address the risk of non-working surface temperatures. This
may require a risk analysis and assessment in order to ensure
that equipent is designed and manufactured in such a way as to
reduce as much as is reasonably possible the risk in relation to
non-working appropriate surface temperatures.

(1) OJ L 77, 26.3.1973, Directive as amended by Directive 93/68/EEC

(OJ L 220, 30.8.1993, p. 1).
(2) OJ C 268, 22.9.1999, p. 1.