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Division 2 Resource efficiency requirements:

United Kingdom

Original text. Later amendments are not shown.

From 1 March 2021, refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function shall meet the following requirements:

  1. (a)

    Availability of spare parts

    1. (1)

      Manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives of refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function shall make available to professional repairers at least the following spare parts:

      • thermostats;

      • starting relays;

      • no-frost heating resistors;

      • temperature sensors;

      • software and firmware including reset software;

      • printed circuit boards; and

      • light sources;

      for a minimum period of eight years after placing the last unit of the model on the market.

    2. (2)

      Manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives of refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function shall make available to professional repairers and end-users at least the following spare parts:

      • door handles and door hinges;

      • knobs, dials and buttons;

      • door gaskets; and

      • peripheral trays, baskets and racks for storage;

      for a minimum period of eight years after placing the last unit of the model on the market.

    3. (3)

      Manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives of refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function shall ensure that the spare parts mentioned in points (1) and (2) can be replaced with the use of commonly available tools and without permanent damage to the appliance.

    4. (4)

      The list of spare parts concerned by point (1) and the procedure for ordering them shall be publicly available on the free access website of the manufacturer, importer or authorised representative, at the latest two years after the placing on the market of the first unit of a model and until the end of the period of availability of these spare parts.

    5. (5)

      The list of spare parts concerned by point (2) and the procedure for ordering them and the repair instructions shall be publicly available on the manufacturer’s, the importer’s or authorised representative’s free access website, at the moment of the placing on the market of the first unit of a model and until the end of the period of availability of these spare parts.

  2. (b)

    Maximum delivery time of spare parts

    During the period mentioned under point (a), the manufacturer, importer or authorised representatives shall ensure the delivery of the spare parts for refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function within 15 working days after having received the order.

    In the case of spare parts available concerned by point a(1) the availability of the spare parts may be limited to professional repairers registered in accordance with point c(1) and (2).

  3. (c)

    Access to repair and maintenance information

    After a period of two years after the placing on the market of the first unit of a model or of an equivalent model, and until the end of the period mentioned under (a), the manufacturer, importer or authorised representative shall provide access to the appliance repair and maintenance information to professional repairers in the following conditions:

    1. (1)

      the manufacturer’s, importer’s or authorised representative’s website shall indicate the process for professional repairers to register for access to information; to accept such a request, manufacturers, importers or authorised representative may require the professional repairer to demonstrate that:

      1. (i)

        the professional repairer has the technical competence to repair refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function and complies with the applicable regulations for repairers of electrical equipment in the Member States where it operates. Reference to an official registration system as professional repairer, where such system exists in the Member States concerned, shall be accepted as proof of compliance with this point;

      2. (ii)

        the professional repairer is covered by insurance covering liabilities resulting from its activity regardless of whether this is required by the Member State.

    2. (2)

      the manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives shall accept or refuse the registration within 5 working days from the date of the request;

    3. (3)

      manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives may charge reasonable and proportionate fees for access to the repair and maintenance information or for receiving regular updates. A fee is reasonable if it does not discourage access by failing to take into account the extent to which the professional repairer uses the information.

    Once registered, a professional repairer shall have access, within one working day after requesting it, to the requested repair and maintenance information. The information may be provided for an equivalent model or model of the same family, if relevant.

    The available repair and maintenance information shall include:

    • the unequivocal appliance identification;

    • a disassembly map or exploded view;

    • technical manual of instructions for repair;

    • list of necessary repair and test equipment;

    • component and diagnosis information (such as minimum and maximum theoretical values for measurements);

    • wiring and connection diagrams;

    • diagnostic fault and error codes (including manufacturer-specific codes, where applicable);

    • instructions for installation of relevant software and firmware including reset software; and

    • information on how to access data records of reported failure incidents stored on the refrigerating appliance with a direct sales function (where applicable).

  4. (d)

    Requirements for dismantling for material recovery and recycling while avoiding pollution

    1. (1)

      Manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives shall ensure that refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function are designed in such a way that the materials and components referred to in Annex VII to Directive 2012/19/EU can be removed with the use of commonly available tools.

    2. (2)

      Manufacturers, importers and authorised representatives shall fulfil the obligations laid down in point 1 of Article 15 of Directive 2012/19/EU.

    3. (3)

      If the refrigerating appliances with a direct sales function contains vacuum insulation panels, the refrigerating appliance with a direct sales function shall be labelled with the letters ‘VIP’.