CE certification is a safety certification and a prerequisite for household appliances to enter the EU market. Before being put on the market, household appliances must be affixed with the CE mark to indicate that the product meets the basic requirements of the EU CE certification (new method directive) and technical coordination, which is a mandatory requirement for related products under EU law. Lighting, refrigerators, washing machines, electric kettles and other large and small household appliances are important Chinese export products, with an annual export value of more than US$80 billion, of which 1/5 is sold to the EU. At present, the EU adopts the CE framework certification access model for household appliances. The CE certification includes five parts: the Low Voltage Directive (LVD), the Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive (EMCD), the Energy Efficiency Directive (ErP), the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products (RoHS) and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Products Directive (WEEE). The EU implements the supervision of household appliances by expanding and updating the CE certification model, the content of each directive and the corresponding coordinated standards. For example, from July to October 2021, the EU successively implemented the update of the coordinated standards for household appliances such as liquid heaters and drum washing machines, further strengthening the technical requirements, so as to achieve the purpose of continuous and effective supervision. The following is an introduction to the conformity requirements and operating guidelines of the EU CE certification and related directives. The CE mark can be affixed by the product manufacturer or its authorized agent in the EU, but the premise is that the product must meet all the requirements of the CE certification after completing the conformity assessment procedure. For products to meet the CE certification requirements, the following procedures must be followed: 1. Determine the directives that the product must comply with. For household appliances, it is currently necessary to meet the various measures of 5 directives including LVD, EMC, ErP, RoHS and WEEE. 2. According to the specific requirements of the conformity assessment mode of each directive, select a suitable mode from the 8 certification modes (mode A to mode H) of the new method directive to carry out conformity assessment. 3. After the conformity assessment, the manufacturer shall make or affix the CE mark or additional information on the relevant directive. Low Voltage Directive (LVD) The scope of application of the LVD directive is all electrical equipment with AC 50-1000 V and DC 75-1500 V, except for electrical equipment used in professional fields such as medicine, ships, and aircraft. It is the earliest and most basic technical regulation requirement in the CE certification framework. The LVD directive mainly involves safety requirements for electrical equipment, such as protection against electric shock, overheating, radiation, overcurrent, etc. The latest LVD directive is 2014/35/EU issued on March 29, 2014. Under the LVD directive, the EU standardization bodies (CEN, CENELEC, ESTI) have issued coordinated standards for various products. If a product meets the requirements of the corresponding coordinated standards, it can be inferred that the product basically meets the safety requirements of the LVD directive. For example, if the internal production control mode (mode A) is used, after the complete technical documents and declaration of conformity are prepared, it means that the product has completed the corresponding conformity assessment procedures. According to the latest list of coordinated standards for the LVD Directive issued by the European Commission on September 14, 2018, the corresponding coordinated standards for household appliances are the EN 60335 series of standards, of which the general safety standard is EN 60335-1, and each product also has special standards, such as the special standard for vacuum cleaners is EN 60335-2-2, washing machines are EN 60335-2-7, and liquid heaters are EN 60335-2-15, etc.; the latest update of the standard was the EU CENELEC from July 20 to October 5, 2021, including the general standard (EN 60335-1), centrifugal dehydrators (EN 60335-2-4), drum washing machines (EN 60335-2-11), liquid heaters (EN 60335-2-15), portable immersion heaters (EN 60335-2-74) and other 9 standards. Update, so that the coordinated standards continue to adapt to the latest electrical safety requirements. Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive (EMCD) The electromagnetic compatibility of household appliances includes two aspects: one is electromagnetic interference (EMI), which means that the electromagnetic interference generated by the equipment to the environment during operation cannot exceed a certain limit; the other is electromagnetic interference degree (EMS), which means that the equipment has a certain immunity to the electromagnetic interference in the environment. On February 26, 2014, the European Parliament and the Council issued Directive 2014/30/EU as the latest electromagnetic compatibility directive. Household appliances should comply with the basic requirements of the EMCD directive, and compliance with these requirements requires the use of certain conformity assessment procedures to prove. In the EMCD directive, the conformity assessment method of mode A is mainly adopted. Manufacturers must prepare corresponding technical documents and EU declaration of conformity after the equipment has been assessed by the EMCD of the coordinated standard to prove that the product complies with the relevant requirements of the EMCD directive. Energy Efficiency Directive (ErP) In October 2009, the European Commission issued the Framework Directive on Establishing Ecodesign Requirements for Energy-related Products (2009/125/EC), referred to as the ErP Directive. Under the framework of the eco-design requirements of the ErP Directive, the EU has also promulgated a series of implementation measures to regulate the energy efficiency of specific products. At present, the EU has officially announced 34 ErP implementation measures, of which 13 involve household appliances. The specific requirements are as follows: Table EU ErP Directive Implementation Measures After the formal promulgation of the specific implementation measures of the ErP Directive, the EU will subsequently publish the corresponding coordination standards for testing methods in the official gazette. For example, the coordination standard for standby and shutdown is EN 50564:2011, the coordination standard for refrigerators is EN 62552:2013, and the coordination standard for air conditioners and comfort fans is EN 12102:2013. Relevant products should be tested as required and energy efficiency labels should be affixed in accordance with the requirements of (EU) No 2017/1369. The energy efficiency label indicates the energy efficiency level of the product, and consumers can purchase products with higher energy efficiency based on the information indicated. The RoHS Directive was promulgated on February 13, 2003. It prohibits or restricts the use of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in electronic and electrical products. Household appliances fall within the scope of products controlled by the RoHS Directive. The directive requires that the concentration of toxic and hazardous substances in the same substance (material) of a product does not exceed the upper limit requirement. On July 1, 2011, the European Union issued the RoHS 2.0 version (2011/65/EU). Compared with the 1.0 version issued in 2003, the 2.0 version formally included the RoHS Directive in the scope of CE certification, and at the same time expanded the controlled products from 8 categories to 11 categories, and put forward clearer requirements for the creation of RoHS technical documents. In addition, the RoHS 2.0 version also added 4 substances such as diisophthalate (DEHP) on the basis of the 6 restricted substances.
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CE Certification A Mandatory Requirement for Selling Household Appliances in the EU Images
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