Call for feedback: Repairability score for household tumble dryers

Nov 06, 2024

A 4-week opportunity to comment on a new draft Commission proposal for a repairability index or ‘score’ for household tumble dryers has been launched and remains open until 3 December 2024.

With the average lifespan of tumble dryers falling from 14 to 12 years in the last decade, this initiative aims to encourage both consumers to buy more repairable products and manufacturers to develop appliances that are easier and cheaper to repair. It would also help protect the single market from fragmentation due to similar measures at national level that might otherwise be adopted to provide consumers with such information, increasing costs for producers and consumers alike.

The repairability index will be displayed as an icon with a rating in the section with supplementary key information on the new EU energy label for household tumble dryers, allowing consumers to assess and compare tumble dryers in terms of their repairability.

Following this consultation the Commission will also consult a group of EU country experts on the draft text before finalising it. Once the Commission has adopted the act, Parliament and Council generally have 2 months to formulate any objections. If they do not, the delegated act enters into force.

The new tumble dryer label will be introduced in July 2025 in accordance with legislation already adopted in 2023. Under the proposed amendment for which the Commission is inviting feedback, the repairability index would be added and introduced gradually as of then, becoming mandatory by 1 January 2027.

A separate publication for feedback has also recently been opened for a few changes to the ecodesign rules for standby and off-mode electric power consumption and the ecodesign rules on household tumble dryers – correcting minor technical and consistency issues. The feedback period for that draft regulation runs until 28 November 2024.