Pursuant to Directive 2009/125/EC the Commission should set ecodesign requirements for energy-related products which account for significant volumes of sales and trade in the Union and which have a significant environmental impact and presenting significant potential for improvement through design in terms of their environmental impact, without entailing excessive costs.

Measures from the Working Plan have an estimated potential to deliver a total in excess of 260 TWh of annual final energy savings in 2030, which is equivalent to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 100 million tonnes per year in 2030. Household washing machines and household washer-dryers are among the product groups listed in the Working Plan, with estimated annual electricity savings of 2,5 TWh, leading to GHG emission reductions of 0,8 Mt CO₂ eq/year, and estimated water savings of 711 million m³ in 2030.

The Commission established ecodesign requirements for household washing machines in Regulation (EU) No 1015/2010 and pursuant to that Regulation, the Commission should review it in light of technological progress.

The Commission has reviewed Regulation (EU) No 1015/2010 and analysed the technical, environmental and economic aspects of household washing machines and household washer-dryers as well as real-life user behaviour. The review was carried out in close cooperation with stakeholders and interested parties from the Union and third countries. The results of the review were made public and presented to the Consultation Forum established by Article 18 of Directive 2009/125/EC.

It appears from the review study that there is a need to revise the ecodesign requirements for household washing machines and to establish ecodesign requirements for household washer-dryers. The requirements relate to the use of essential resources such as energy and water. There is also a need to introduce requirements related to resource efficiency such as reparability and recyclability.

The environmental aspects of household washing machines and household washer-dryers, which have been identified as significant for the purposes of this Regulation are the consumption of energy and water during the use phase, the generation of waste at the end of life and the emissions to air and water in the production phase (due to the extraction and processing of raw materials) and in the use phase (because of the consumption of electricity and water discharge).

The annual energy and water consumption of products subject to this Regulation in the Union was estimated at 35,3 TWh and 2 496 million m³ respectively in the Union in 2015. The projected electricity consumption of household washing machines and household washer-dryers in a business as usual scenario is estimated to decrease to 33,5 TWh in 2030 and the water consumption to decrease to 1 764 million m³ in 2030. That decrease in energy and water consumption may be accelerated if the existing ecodesign requirements are updated. Finally, the service life-time of household washing machines and household washer-dryers has been estimated to have decreased in recent years to around 12,5 years and the trend is likely to continue in the absence of incentives.

Household washing machines and household washer-dryers with more than one drum should be subject to specific rules only if all their drums perform the same function. Otherwise, each drum should be considered as a separate household washing machine or as a separate household washer-dryer.

In accordance with Article 8 of Directive 2009/125/EC, this Regulation should specify the applicable conformity assessment procedures.

To facilitate compliance checks, manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives should provide information in the technical documentation referred to in Annexes IV and V to Directive 2009/125/EC in so far as that information relates to the requirements laid down in this Regulation.

To ensure the effectiveness and credibility of the Regulation and to protect consumers, products that automatically alter their performance in test conditions to improve the declared parameters should not be allowed to be placed on the market.

In addition to the requirements laid down in this Regulation, indicative benchmarks for best available technologies should be identified to make information on the life-cycle environmental performance of products subject to this Regulation widely available and easily accessible, in accordance with point (2), part 3 of Annex I to Directive 2009/125/EC.

This Regulation should be reviewed in order to assess the appropriateness and effectiveness of its provisions in achieving its goals. The timing of the review should be sufficient for all provisions to be implemented and show an effect on the market.

Regulation (EU) No 1015/2010 should be repealed.

In order to facilitate the transition between Regulation (EU) No 1015/2010 and this Regulation, the new name ‘eco 40-60’ should be allowed to be used as from the entry into force of this Regulation.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 19 of Directive 2009/125/EC,