Old and new ecodesign regulations

New types of requirements 

The new regulation includes some additional types of requirements as shown in the table below: 

Main changes to the previous requirements 

The main changes to the previous requirements are as follows:  

• Energy Efficiency
  The maximum EEI increases from 76 to 85. However, despite the higher number, the new requirement will be much stricter, because the calculation method was changed. Small dryers will be exempted from this requirement.  
  • As a consequence in this change in the EEI, air-vented dryers and condenser dryers with a heat element above 3 kg capacity are not allowed to be placed on the market after the 1^st of July 2025.  
     
• Condensation Efficiency  
  The minimum condensation efficiency increases from 70% to 80%. The calculation method was changed by increasing the weight for half load from 57% to 76% and consequently reducing the weight for full load. 
   
• Low Power Mode  
  The low power modes (e.g. off, standby, left-on, delay start) were excluded from the EEI calculation. New separate requirements for the individual modes will apply: 
  • Off-mode: 0,5W (after 9 May 2027: 0,3 W). 
  • Standby-mode: 0,5W (1W with info or status display; 2W with network standby). 
  • Delay start: 4W plus max. time: 24h. 
  • Within 15 minutes after programme completion, wrinkle-guard interruption, or any other interaction, the tumble dryer must automatically switch to off-mode or standby mode, unless another mode or emergency measure is activated.
     
• Naming of programmes  
  The “standard cotton programme” will be called “eco” or “eco cotton”. You can use the new expression already now, when you make sure by 30 June 2025 that the booklet for users and technical documentation refer to the standard cotton programme. 
   
• Resource efficiency  
  New resource efficiency requirements have been added, which mainly address the availability of repair parts, tools and information. The following requirements will apply:  
  • Spare parts must be available for at least 10 years after placing the last unit of the tumble dryer model on the market. 
  • The list of spare parts available to consumers, and how to order them and repair and maintenance information must be publicly available on a free-access website.
  • The spare parts must be replaceable with commonly available tools and without permanent damage to the tumble dryer. 
  • You must provide an indicative pre-tax price list of the spare parts on a free-access website. 
  • During the availability period of spare parts, you must ensure their delivery within 15 working days after having received the order. 
  • Please note that by amendment:  
    • The motor capacitor was added to the spare part list 
    • The repair instructions for spare parts available for professional repairers only are not anymore required to be published on a free access website. This was an inconsistency of requirements that has been repaired. 
    • The term “commonly available tools” was replaced be the term “non-proprietary tools” adding more clarity since “commonly available tools” was nowhere defined   
      
       
• Circumvention  
  New requirements (covered by Article 40(1)–(5) of regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR)) shall ensure that tumble dryers do not:
  • Alter their behaviour or properties during testing so that any declared value improves compared to normal operation, neither by inherent properties nor by automatic detection of a test cycle nor by applying specific test instructions by the supplier.  
  • Shortly after being put into service change their properties that worsens any declared value. 
     
• Software Updates 
  New requirements concerning software updates were implemented to ensure that the performance and efficiency are not affected by software/firmware updates:
  • Free software and firmware updates must be available for at least 10 years after placing the last unit of the tumble dryer on the market. 
  • Software/firmware updates must not worsen any declared value. 
  • A rejection of software/firmware updates must not worsen any tumble dryer’s declared value either. 
     
• Supplier’s website
  A new requirement is the presence of a free access website (i.e. no payment or registration/login is required) of the supplier. It must contain a list of spare parts incl. indicative pre-tax prices in Euro, the procedure for ordering the parts and the repair instructions for spare parts available to the consumer. The following information elements need to be covered: 
  • information that the eco programme is: 
    • suitable to dry wet cotton laundry, 
    • used to assess the compliance with the EU ecodesign legislation, 
    • the most energy efficient programme for drying wet cotton laundry 
  • information that loading the tumble dryer up to the maximum capacity indicated for the respective programmes will contribute to energy savings; 
  • if applicable, how to activate and deactivate the network connection and how it affects energy consumption 
  • how to find the product in EPREL (either a link to the model entry or to the EPREL main website plus indication how to find the model identifier on the tumble dryer) 
  • Values of rated capacity, programme duration, energy consumption per cycle, at full and partial load and noise emissions at full load for the eco-programme and (indicatively) for other programmes as well. Please note that the final moisture content was removed from the list. The reason is that the required value is 0%. Ensuring this moisture content would mean drying the laundry below its natural water content, resulting in excessive use of energy and possible damage to the textiles. Therefore, the final moisture content no longer needs to be declared; instead, the validity criteria set out in Annex III, together with the relevant criteria specified in the applicable standard, apply. 
  • Maintenance instructions.