Environmentally Friendly Vacuum Cleaners (DE-UZ 188)

Environmentally friendly suction power
There are currently around 39 million vacuum cleaners in German households, which consume around 3.4 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year in total. The electricity costs during an 8-year service life are often higher than the purchase price.

The environmental label for vacuum cleaners may be awarded to appliances with low energy consumption and a high dust pick up, as well as low dust re-emissions. They must have a recyclable design and low noise emissions. These appliances also avoid the use of environmentally damaging materials. A special focus is placed on durability and ease-of-repair.

In the case of corded vacuum cleaners, the environmental label requires that the motor has a service life of at least 600 hours, the active floor nozzle has a service life of at least 300 hours, the passive universal nozzle can withstand 1200 falls from a height of 80 cm, the appliance can withstand 500 impacts with thresholds and door posts and the suction hose can withstand at least 40,000 deformations. In the case of cordless vacuum cleaners, the run time must be at least 75% of the initial run time after 600 charging cycles and the battery must be removeable. These requirements also send a clear signal to manufacturers to increase the service life and improve the easy-to-repair design of their products and help to avoid waste as a result.