Requirements for Clothes Dryers - Energy Labelling

Clothes dryers are regulated for energy labelling in Australia.

Product Definition: Electric rotary clothes dryers which are intended for household or similar use.

Test Standards: Note that all energy labelling standards for clothes dryers are published jointly by Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand.

AS/NZS2442: Performance of household electrical appliances- Rotary clothes dryers Part 1: Energy Consumption and Performance

AS/NZS2442: Performance of household electrical appliances- Rotary clothes dryers Part 2: Energy labelling requirements

Part 1 of the standard defines the test procedures for the determination of energy consumption and performance of clothes dryers in Australia (see summary below).

Part 2 of the standard sets out the requirements for energy labelling of clothes dryers in Australia. An approved Energy Label for clothes dryers must be displayed on all products which are offered for sale in Australia.

These standards can be purchased from Standards Australia.

Find out how to make an application for an energy label.

Overview of the Test Procedure for Clothes Dryers

The standard is applicable to electric rotary clothes dryers which are intended for household or similar use. It does not apply to static dryers or gas powered dryers. A number of performance requirements must be met by clothes dryers during a test for energy consumption. These include:

Drying clothes in a single operation - A timer dryer shall be capable of reaching the required final moisture content (6% of bone dry mass) for a load of rated capacity in a single timer setting. An autosensing dryer shall have at least one program which is capable of drying to below the required final moisture content (6% of bone dry mass) for a load of rated capacity in one program setting.
Maximum fabric temperature - when tested to the standard, the drum or fabric temperature shall not exceed 130°C under the most severe operating condition.
Energy efficiency - the dryer tested energy consumption (kilowatt hours per kg of moisture removed) shall not exceed 1.36.

Energy consumption values determined under AS/NZS 2442.1 will not be equivalent to energy determined under other test procedures due differences in initial moisture content, which is currently set at 90% of bone dry mass (approximately 84% of normalised mass for cotton under the test procedure IEC61121). Note that some of the current energy labelling registrations in Australia have been determined with an initial moisture content of 100%. Energy consumption is measured on the hottest program recommended for a cotton load of rated capacity. The test ambient air temperature is now 20°C ± 2°C and the humidity is 60% ± 5%. All tests are undertaken with a power supply at 240 Volts and 50 Hz.

The Preface of AS/NZS 2442 describes the recent changes in the clothes dryer test procedure in Australia. The Foreword of AS/NZS 2442 describes the relationship between the Australian, ANSI and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards for clothes dryers.

This page last modified 27 June 2007