Unrealistic testing: EU court tipping energy label for vacuum cleaners

The tests for the labeling of the energy consumption of vacuum cleaners in the European Union must be changed according to a ruling of the EU court. In future, it will no longer be possible to test with empty dust containers, the Luxembourg judges decided. They gave such a complaint of the manufacturer Dyson instead - and declared the corresponding EU regulation null and void. Empty container tests would not meet the requirements "as close as possible to the actual conditions of use".

The British manufacturer Dyson has thus decided a year-long lawsuit for themselves. The company was disadvantaged by mandatory test procedures in the EU, as Dyson manufactures bagless vacuum cleaners. The company argued that consumers were misled by the information on energy efficiency, because the performance is not tested during use, but only with an empty bag. The power consumption of some vacuum cleaners increases the fuller the bag is.

Default: "Filled to a degree"

The method adopted by the EU Commission is not in line with the essential aspects of the Energy Performance Directive, the judges decided. They clarified that, based on the relevant directive, in the energy consumption tests, the vacuum cleaner containers had to be "filled to some degree".

Vacuum cleaners have been fitted with an EU-wide label on energy efficiency since September 2014. In the regulation before the Court of First Instance, the Commission set out the detailed arrangements for supplementing the directive, which had already been in force since 2010.

The dispute over the labeling of the energy consumption of vacuum cleaners has been preoccupying the courts for years. In November 2015, the EU court had still rejected a complaint by Dyson against the regulation. Appeal against the current decision may also be appealed to the ECJ within two months of receipt of the judgment. Otherwise, the current energy labels will lose their validity.

A Dyson spokeswoman said on Thursday, "This is good news and a clear win for European consumers," she said. "In the days of the diesel gate, consumers need to be confident in what information manufacturers provide about their products."

File number: T-544/13