Further development of the IEC 60436 reference system to ensure more consumer relevance

International performance measurement standards for electric household appliances are always a compromise between a robust test method and proximity to actual consumer behaviour. In the case of IEC 60436:2015 for dishwashers, there have already been some changes in the past to ensure consumer relevance. Nevertheless, the reference system in particular is in need of overhaul. Dishwashers available today use significantly less water and energy in the ECO programme than the IEC 60436:2015 reference programme, while having much longer programme durations. Detergents available on the market are less alkaline and include significantly more active enzymes than the IEC 60436:2015 reference detergent. However, since the European energy label and EcoDesign directive are based on the measurement method, the latter cannot be freely changed.
An approach to align the measurement results of a future reference system to the ones of the current reference system is presented in this thesis. An experimental, new reference system will first be examined to determine the resulting changes to the performance test results. With modifications to the detergent composition as well as with a mathematical method, it is exercised whether comparable results to the IEC 60436:2015 reference system can be produced.
The results of the comparative tests show that the experimental, new detergent type E has a significantly better cleaning power than the current reference detergent type D – even with modifications. A mathematical approach to align the results therefore seems more reasonable. The method presented in this thesis to determine an adjustment factor can be recommended for standardization work.
In addition, this thesis considers how the European energy label can be made even more consumer relevant.