CELEX: 51978PC0387
Language: en
Date: 1978-12-11
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ON THE APPROXIMATION OF THE LAWS OF THE MEMBER STATES RELATING TO NOISE EMITTED BY LAWN MOWERS

2. 4. 79                             Official Journal of the European Communities                              No C 86/9
              Proposal for a Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the Member States
                                        relating to noise emitted by lawn mowers
                          (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 18 December 1978)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                         Whereas the conformity of lawn mowers with this
                                                                 Directive may be presumed by virtue of the certificate of
                                                                 conformity issued by the manufacturer or importer
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European            resident in the Community; whereas the Member States
Economic Community, and in particular Article 100                must, however, recognize such certificates as conclusive
thereof,                                                         evidence, thus ensuring the free movement of lawn
                                                                 mowers throughout the Community;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard       to the opinion     of the    European        Whereas, without prejudice to Articles 169 and 170 of
Parliament,                                                      the Treaty, it is advisable, within the framework of
                                                                 cooperation between the competent authorities of the
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                 Member States, to lay down provisions to help resolve
Social Committee,                                                disputes of a technical nature regarding the conformity
                                                                 of production models with the requirements of this
                                                                 Directive;
Whereas the technical requirements with which lawn
mowers must comply under the terms of the national
laws concern inter alia their noise emission; whereas
                                                                 Whereas it should be expressly confirmed that those
these requirements differ from one Member State to
                                                                 concerned must have available to them appropriate
another; whereas through their disparities they hamper
                                                                 legal remedies in respect of decisions taken by the
trade within the European Community;
                                                                 appropriate national authorities for purposes of
                                                                 implementing this Directive;
Whereas these obstacles to the establishment and
operation of the common market can be reduced or
even removed if the same requirements are adopted by             Whereas technical progress requires prompt adjustment
all the Member States in place of their existing laws;           of the technical requirements specified in this Directive;
                                                                 whereas, in order to facilitate implementation of the
                                                                 measures required for this purpose, a procedure should
Whereas the main objective of the provisions of this             be prescribed for establishing close cooperation between
Directive is to ensure the protection of man against             the Member States and the Commission within the
nuisances due to noise by reducing the inconvenience             Committee established by Article 12 of Council
caused by the noises emitted by lawn mowers;                     Directive 74/150/EEC of 4 March' 1974 on the
                                                                 approximation of the laws of the Member States
Whereas it is therefore necessary to determine at                relating to the type-approval of wheeled agricultural or
Community level the permissible upper limits for noise            forestry tractors (1),
emissions from lawn mowers and a common method
for measuring such emissions;
                                                                  HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Whereas it is necessary to provide for a subsequent
 reduction of the limits laid down; whereas it is therefore
 advisable that the Council adopt by 31 December 1983                                      Article 1
 the noise limits which will be permissible from 1
January 1986;                                                     1. The purpose of this Directive is to restrict noise
                                                                  emissions from powered lawn mowers by specifying
                                                                  upper limits and the methods for measuring such
Whereas it is desirable to bring to the attention of the          emissions.
 consumer the acoustic quality of lawn mowers; whereas
 an effective method of informing the consumer is to              2. For the purposes of this Directive, 'lawn mower*
 require that each lawn mower should be marked with               means all motorized equipment specially designed for
 the level of its acoustic force; whereas it is, however,
 pointless to require this mark on lawn mowers which
 are not noisy by construction, such as electric lawn
 mowers with a small cutting-width;                                (!) OJ No L 84, 28. 3. 1974, p. 10.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 86/10                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                 2. 4. 79
the upkeep by cutting, irrespective of the cutting                                          Article 6
technique, of areas under grass used for recreational,
decorative or domestic purposes.                                   No Member State may on grounds relating to their
                                                                   noise emission levels refuse to permit, prohibit or
3. Agricultural and forestry equipment is excluded                 restrict the marketing of lawn mowers which are
from this Directive.                                               accompanied by the certificate of conformity referred to
                                                                   in Article 4 and which bear the inscription referred to in
                                                                   Article 5.
                          Article 2
Member States shall take all appropriate measures to                                        Article 7
ensure that lawn mowers as defined in Article 1 may
not be marketed unless their noise emission levels, as             The Member States shall take all necessary measures to
measured under the conditions specified in the Annex               verify that lawn mowers conform with the requirements
hereto, do not exceed the permissible noise level for the          of this Directive. Such verification shall be confined to
cutting width of the appliance as shown in the following           random samples carried out before marketing.
table:
                                      Permissible noise level                               Article 8
         Cutting width of
                                              indB
           lawn mower
                                   (A-weighted, reference lpW)
                                                                   If a Member State finds that lawn mowers of a
                                                                   particular type do not comply with the requirements of
       L <> 50 cm                              103                 this Directive, it shall take the necessary measures to
50 < L ^ 1 2 0 cm                              106                 ensure that production models conform to the approved
       L > 120 cm                              111                 type. It shall inform the other Member States, within
                                                                   one month and stating the grounds therefor, of the
                                                                   measures taken, which may extend to a prohibition on
                          Article 3                                marketing. If such a prohibition is imposed, this
                                                                   information shall also be sent to the Commission. The
The Council, acting on a proposal of the Commission,               Member States shall take like measures if they are
shall by 31 October 1983 decide on a reduction of the              informed by another Member State of such failure to
permissible limits for the noise emission levels specified         conform.
in Article 2, which are to enter into force on 1 January
1986.
                                                                                            Article 9
                          Article 4                                If a Member State disputes the failure to conform
                                                                   notified to it, the Member States concerned shall
The compliance of a lawn mower with the requirements               endeavour to settle the dispute. The Commission shall
of this Directive shall be attested on his own                     be kept informed and shall, where necessary, hold
responsibility, by the manufacturer or importer, being a           appropriate consultations for the purpose of reaching a
person permanently resident in the Community, in a                 settlement.
certificate which must accompany the machine. This
certificate may be reproduced on the directions for use
or the guarantee voucher.
                                                                                           Article 10
                                                                   Any decision under the provisions adopted pursuant to
                                                                   this Directive prohibiting a ban on marketing or
                          Article 5                                utilization shall state the precise reasons therefor. It
                                                                   shall be communicated to the party concerned, together
1. On every lawn mower there must be affixed, in an                with particulars of the legal remedies open to him under
indelible and durable manner, an inscription showing               the law in force in the Member States and of the time
the sound-power level dB (A), referred to 1 pW,                    limits on such remedies.
guaranteed by the manufacturer and determined under
the conditions provided for in the Annex to this
Directive and also the serial number.
                                                                                           Article 11
2. This inscription is not required on electrically
powered lawn mowers the cutting width of which is less             Any amendments which are necessary in order to adapt
than 30 cm.                                                        the Annex to this Directive to technical progress shall be
 ---pagebreak--- 2. 4. 79                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                  No C 86/11
adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in                 2. As soon as this Directive has been notified, the
Article 13 of Council Directive 74/150/EEC.                           Member States shall ensure that the Commission is
                                                                      informed, in sufficient time for it to submit its
                                                                      comments, of any draft laws, regulations or
                        Article 12                                    administrative provisions which they intend to adopt in
                                                                      the field covered by this Directive.
1. The Member States shall adopt and publish the
provisions necessary to comply with this Directive
before 1 October 1980 and shall immediately inform                                           Article 13
the Commission thereof. They shall implement these
provisions with effect from 1 October 1981.                           This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
                                                              ANNEX
                            METHOD OF DETERMINING NOISE EMITTED BY LAWN MOWERS
              1. OBJECT
             This method of measurement is intended to determine the A-weighted sound power level of a lawn
              mower with a view to ensuring its conformity with the regulations (limit level L WAL , level indicated).
             2. DEFINITIONS
             2.1. Sound pressure level L P A
             The sound pressure level LPAIS obtained by applying the weighting A to the sound pressure level Lp.
             The sound pressure level L p expressed in dB, of a noise is defined by
                                                                       P
                                                       L p = 20log 10      ;
                                                                       Po
             where p is the effective sound pressure value measured at a particular point, expressed in Pa,
                    p0 is the effective reference sound pressure, equal to 20// Pa.
             The value LPA of the A-weighted sound pressure level, expressed in dB, is obtained by applying the
             weighting A to the measuring system.
             2.2. Measuring surface
             The measuring surface of area S is a hypothetical surface surrounding the sound source and on which
             the measuring points are arranged (see 6.4).
             23. Surface sound pressure level LpAm
             The surface sound pressure level LpAmis the root mean square of the sound pressures recorded on the
             measuring surface, calculated in accordance with the method set out in 8.4.
             2.4. Sound power level LWA
             The sound power level L WA is obtained by applying the weighting A to the sound power level w .
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 86/12                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                    2. 4 . 79
             The sound power level L w , expressed in dB, of a sound source is defined by:
                                                                           W
                                                         Lw = 101og10—;
             where W is the total sound power generated by the sound source, expressed in watts,
                     Wo is the reference sound power, equal to 10 ~ 12 W.
             The value L ^ A of the A-weighted sound power level, expressed in dB, is obtained by applying the
              weighting A to the measuring system.
             2.5. Limit value of the sound power level L W A I
             The limit for sound power level L ^ A . expressed in A-weighted dB is designated by LWAI.
             2.6. Background noise
             Background noise means any noise recorded at the measuring points which is not generated by the
              sound source.
             3.   MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
             3.1. General
             The instruments must be designed to measure the A-weighted level of the root mean square of the sound
             pressure. The level of the root mean square value in time for a measurement point is obtained either by
             direct reading of the instrument, or by calculation in accordance with section 11.
            3.2. Measuring instruments „
            The following instruments may be used to satisfy the preceding requirement:
             (a) a sound level meter meeting the requirements of 1EC publication 179, 1973, second edition. The
                 meter shall be set at 'slow' response;
             (b) an integrator effecting analog or digital integration of the squared signal over a given time interval.
            Note:
            If, for any measurement, instruments other than a precision sound level meter or combinations of
            instruments, such as integrators, ars used, all the specifications of such instruments must comply with
            the relevant requirements of IEC publication 179, 1973, second edition.
            3.3. Microphone with cable
            Use shall be made of a microphone with cable complying with IEC publication 179, 1973, second
            edition, and calibrated for free-field measurement.
            3.4. Weighting network
            Use shall be made of an A-weighting network meeting the requirements of IEC publication 179, 1973,
            second edition.
            3.5. Inspection of the measuring apparatus
            3.5.1. Before the tests, the acoustic properties of the entire apparatus (measuring instruments including
            microphone and cable) must be checked by means of a calibrated sound source with an accuracy of at
            least 0-5 dB (e.g. a pistonphone); the apparatus shall be checked again immediately after each series of
            measurements.
            3.5.2. These on-the-spot checks shall be supplemented by more thorough calibrations to be carried out
            at least once a year in a specially equipped laboratory.
 ---pagebreak--- 2. 4 . 79                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                    N o C 86/13
          4. MEASURING CONDITIONS
          4.1. General
          The lawn mower to be tested shall be equipped with such interchangeable attachments and devices as
          produce the maximum noise level. If the collecting device is attached to the mower it must be empty.
          The cutting device shall be adjusted to a height of 0-06 m from the ground. The artificial turf shall be of
          such a height that it is not cut.
          Rotary cylinder mowers are to have their cylinder/fixed blade gap adjusted in accordance with the
          manufacturer's instructions and such that they can cut a standardized sheet of paper of 80 g/m 2 weight
           (Kraft paper ISO/R66).
          The rotary blades must be lubricated before and during the measurements.
          4.2. Operation of the lawn mower
          Before the sound measurements the lawn mower must have operated for at least two hours at its
          maximum speed, and during the sound measurements the mower must operate at a constant speed.
          The sound measurements shall be carried out with the mower stationary if the self-propelling
          mechanism can be disengaged while allowing the cutter to be actuated. If this is not possible the
          measurements shall be carried out with the lawn mower in motion.
          During the sound measurements the engine and the cutter must operate at their maximum speed
           (controls against the stop). The speed of travel shall be limited to a maximum of 8 km/h with the
           controls set to the maximum speed of the engine and the maximum speed of rotation (or traverse) of the
           cutter. The operator shall only accompany the lawn mower when measurements are carried out with
           this in motion.
          4.2.1. Lawn mowers with internal combustion engine
          The engine oil used for operating the mower during the measurements shall be as specified by the
           manufacturer.
          The fuel tank must not be more than half full.
          4.2.2. Lawn mowers with electric motor
          The input voltage for the motor must be kept constant with a tolerance of 2 %.
           If more than one input voltage is provided for, the lawn mower shall be tested at the distributed mains
           voltage closest to the maximum value specified.
          5. MEASURING SITE
          The lawn mower shall be placed on unyielding, flat ground having the following acoustic properties:
                              Absorption coefficient         Average frequency
                                         x < 006                      125
                                0-007<   x < 0-12                    250
                                0-15 ^   x < 0-27                     500
                                0'28 <   x < 0-34                   1 000
                                0-38 <   x < 047                   2 000
                               ,0-40 <   x.<()-62                  4 000
          determined in accordance with ISO recommendation R354.
          The vicinity of the measuring site shall be free of sound-reflecting obstacles which might influence the
          results measured.
          6. MEASURING SURFACE, LOCATION AND NUMBER OF MEASURING POINTS
          6.1. Measuring surface
          The measuring surface shall be a hypothetical hemisphere surrounding the grass-cutting machine; it
          shall be delimited by the ground on which the mower stands.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 86/14                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                  2. 4 . 79
             If none of the dimensions (length, width, height) of the grass-cutting machine exceeds 1-5 m, the radius
             of the hemisphere shall be 4 m.
             In the case of machines with greater dimensions, the radius shall be 10 m.
             6.2. Location and number of measuring points
             6.2.1. Mower tested when stationary
             Where possible, the origin of the system of measuring-point coordinates shall coincide with the
             projection on to the test area of the geometrical centre of the sound source.
             The measuring points on the hemisphere shall be:
             — in the case of a hemisphere with a radius of 4 m, the five points, 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, the coordinates of
                 which are shown in Table I;
             — in the case of a hemisphere with a radius of 10 m, the eight points 1—8, the coordinates of which
                 are shown in Table I.
                                                             TABLE I
                                     X/R                    Y/R                    2/R                   z
                    1                  0-7                   0-7                                        1-5
                    2              — 0-7                     0-7                   —                    1-5     t
                    3              — 0-7                 —   0-7                   —                    1-5
                    4                  0-7               —   0-7                   —                    1-5
                    5                  0-65                  0-27                 0-71                  —
                    6              — 0-27                    0-65                 0-71                  —
                    7              — 0-65                —   0-27                 0-71                  —
                    8                  0-27              —   0-65                 0-71                  —
                    9                  0                     0                    1                     —
            6.2.2. Lawn mowers tested when in motion
            The axis of movement of the lawn mower is as shown in Figure 1.
            The measuring points are located on a hemisphere with a 10 m radius. The coordinates of the
            measuring points are shown in Table I, point 9 being omitted.
            7. MEASUREMENT
            7.1. Measurement of the acoustic properties of the measuring site
            The environmental conditions at the measuring site shall be checked before measurements are carried
            out. The following factors shall be checked:
            (a) background noise;
            (b) wind interference;
            (c) operating conditions: such as vibrations, temperature, humidity, barometric pressure.
            7.1.1. Measurement of background noise
            This background noise shall be recorded at the measuring points with the motor of the lawn mower
            switched off (no sound emission).
            7.1.2. Wind speed and direction
            The wind speed and direction are established at a point above the test area. Account must be taken of
            the provisions laid down in 8.5.3.
            7.1.3. Measurement of temperature, humidity, barometric pressure and other disturbances
            Only disturbances likely to have a bearing on the acoustic measurements need be measured (see 8.5.2).
            7.2. Measurement of the sound pressure level LpA
            To measure the sound pressure level LpA, use shall be made of an instrument as defined in 3.2.
 ---pagebreak--- 2. 4. 79                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                  No C 86/15
         7.2.1. Measurements with the mower stationary
         The sound pressure level LpA at a given measuring point is the root mean square value in time of the
         sound pressures. If a sound level meter is used, a number of readings shall be taken at this point and
         their mean value in time calculated in accordance with section 11.
         In principle, the measuring time at each measuring point shall be 15 seconds. If an integrator is used,
         the integrating time shall be equal to the measuring time.
         7.2.2. Measurements with the mower in motion
         The sound pressure level LpA at a given measuring point shall correspond to the level recorded when the
         lawn mower passes through the centre of the hemisphere.
         8. USE OF RESULTS
         8.1. Calculation of root mean square values
         The level corresponding to the root mean square in space of the sound pressures at all the measuring
         points shall be calculated from the LpA values.
         8.2. Average level of background noise
         The average level of background noise is equal to that recorded at a measuring point.
          8.3. Calculation of sound pressure level at surface LpAm
         The sound pressure level at the surface shall be calculated in accordance with section 8.1 and corrected
         as indicated in sections 8.5.1, 8.5.2 and 8.5.3.'
          8.4. Calculation of the sound power level L W A
         The sound power level L W A of the lawn mower shall be calculated by means of the following relation:
                                                                          S
                                              L    =  L        101
                                                WA      pAm +      °glO   "^
         where
          LWA    = sound power level of the lawn mower expressed in dB,
                 =
         LpAm       sound pressure level at surface expressed in dB,
         S       = area of measuring surface in m 2 ,
          S0      = reference area of 1 m 2 .
         Note:
                                       S
         Where r = 4 m, 10 log10            = 2 0 dB.
                                       S
         Where r = 10 m, 10 log10 —         = 28 dB,
         8.5. Corrections to be made to measurements
         8.5.1. Background noise
         The average sound pressure level over the measuring surface (8.1) must be corrected, if necessary, to
         take account of the background noise (8.2). The correction Ku in dB, which must be subtracted from
         the average sound pressure level over the measuring surface is given in Table II.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 86/16                                   Official Journal of the European Communities                             2. 4. 79
                                                                        TABLE II
                   Difference (in dB) between the sound pressure level
                  calculated when the sound source is operating and the            Correction K t in dB
                    sound pressure level due to extraneous noise alone
                                      less than 6                                  no valid measurement
                                             6                                                 10
                                             7                                                 1-0
                                             8                                                 1-0
                                             9                                                0-5
                                            10                                                0-5
                                    more than 10                                        no correction
            8.5.2. Disturbances: temperature, humidity, altitude of site, etc.
           — Measuring apparatus:
                The manufacturer's instructions should be followed in order to take account of any effects of all the
                disturbances mentioned by him, such as temperature, barometric pressure, humidity.
           8.5.3. Wind interference
           The maximum permissible wind speed is 8 m/sec.
           Above the wind speed indicated by the manufacturer, microphones must be equipped with a
           windscreen. Any corrections to be made to the calculations referred to in 8.1 are indicated by the
           windscreen manufacturer.
            9. DATA TO BE RECORDED
            In principle, the following information shall be compiled and recorded in a report concerning all
            measurements made in accordance with the specifications for this method of measurement.
           9.1. Sound source under test
           (a) description of the sound source under test (including dimensions);
           (b) operating conditions of the sound source during the tests;
           (c) conditions for installation on the test area;
           (d) location of sound source on measuring site.
           9.2. Acoustic environment
           (a) description of the measuring site, including physical characteristics of the test area; diagram
               showing the location of the sound source and any reflecting objects on the measuring site;
           (b) meteorological conditions: weather (sunshine, cloud, rain, fog . . . ) , air temperature, barometric
               pressure, wind speed and direction, humidity.
           9.3. Instrumentation
           (a) equipment used for the measurements, including the name of the equipment, type, serial number
               and name of manufacturer;
           (b) method used to calibrate the measuring equipment in accordance with 3.5.1;
           (c) name of laboratory which carried out the calibration required in 3.5.2;
           (d) date of last calibration.
           9.4. Acoustic data
           (a) dimensions of measuring surface, location of microphones. Numbers of measuring points and wind
               direction must be indicated in the diagram required under 9.2 (a);
                                                                                 S
           (b) area S of measuring surface in m 2 and value of 10 log 10 "r— ;
           (c) sound pressure levels recorded at measuring points (see 7.2.4);
 ---pagebreak--- 2. 4. 79                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                     No C 86/17
         (d) average sound pressure level over measuring surface (see 8.1);
         (e) any dB corrections (see 8.5.1, 8.5.2 and 8.5.3);
          (f) surface sound pressure level LpAm(see 8.3);
          (g) sound power level (see 8.4);
         '(h) date and time of measurements.
         10. DATA TO BE INCLUDED IN THE REPORT LAID DOWN IN SECTION 9
          The report shall state clearly that the sound power levels were obtained in full compliance with this
          measuring method. It shall specify that these sound power levels are given in A-weighted dB, reference
           lpW.
           11. METHOD OF CALCULATING THE AVERAGE LEVEL CORRESPONDING TO THE ROOT
                 MEAN SQUARE VALUE OF THE VARIOUS SOUND PRESSURE LEVELS
           The root mean square value of the various sound pressure levels resulting either from a series of
           measurements made at a single point (root mean square in time) or from a series of measurements made
           at different points on the measuring surface (root mean square in space) can be determined by the
           following formula:                                                       i_ n
                                               L          L        1 0 lQ
                                                 pAm =      P Ao +        glO "£- ^ > Si
           where LpAi       equals the sound pressure level of the i-th measurement,
            LpAo            is an auxiliary sound pressure level to simplify the calculation (for example, the smallest
                            of the L pAi values),
                                                                             —
           gj   is the auxiliary variable for the i-th measurement:        '          \ pAi   pAcJ,
            gm    is the mean value of the g ; variables:
                                                           ±Z>
           The quantity        ^L is defined by:
                         —
           j L = LpAi       LpAo
           Table HI gives the values of g for different values of ^ L.
                                                               TABLE III
                     JL                                   JL                                 <dL
                     dB                 8                 dB                   S             dB
                 — 100               0100                 00                  100           10-0             10-0
                 — 9-5               0112                 0-5                 112           10-5             11-2
                 — 90                0-125                1-0                 1-25          110              12-5
                 — 8-5               0140                 1-5                 1-40          11-5             14-0
                 — 8-0               0160                 2-0                 1-60          12-0             16-0
                  — 7-5 -            0180                 2-5                 1-80          12-5             180
                  — 7-0              0-200                3-0                 2-00          13-0             20-0
                  — 6-5              0-224                3-5                 2-24          13-5             22-4
                  — 6-0              0-250                4-0                 2-50          140              25-0
                  — 5-5              0-280                4-5                 2-80          14-5             28-0
                  — 5-0              0-315                5-0                 3-15          150              31-5
                  — 4-5              0-355                5-5                 3-55          15-5             35-5
                  — 4-0              0-400                6-0                 4-00          160              40-0
                  — 3-5              0-450                6-5                 4-5.0         16-5             45-0
                  — 3-0              0-500                7-0                 5-00          17-0             50-0
                  — 2-5              0-560                7-5                 5-60          17-5             560
                  — 2-0              0-630                80                  6-30          18-0             63 0
                  — 1-5              0-710                8-5                 7-10          18-5             71-0
                  — 1-0              0-800                90                  8-00          190              80-0
                  — 0-5              0-900                9-5                 900           19-5             90-0
                  — 0-0               1000              100                  10-00          20-0            1000
 ---pagebreak--- No C 86/18 Official Journal of the European Communities      2. 4. 79
                                Figure 1
           Position of measuring points and axis of movement