In recent days, the Internet has rumors that "the rules for the safe use of home appliances have been officially implemented." On November 29th, Lu Jianguo, Minister of Inspection of the National Electrical Appliances Quality Supervision and Inspection Center of the National Standardization Committee for Appliances, rumored in an interview with an E-world reporter: “There is no so-called “Utility Regulations for the Use of Appliances”. In 2009, it passed the examination and approval of the National Household Electrical Appliances Quality Supervision and Inspection Center and was submitted to the National Standards Committee for approval. However, it has not yet been formally approved and implemented by the National Standards Committee. Therefore, consumers cannot see the relevant logo in the store.
In fact, due to the lack of guidelines on the “shelf life” of household appliances, some consumers even if they have used their home appliances for a long period of time, they are “cautious” and pose a security risk. Therefore, industry experts have called for the relevant departments to issue regulations as soon as possible and should accelerate the recycling of over-age appliances.
Industry, Consumers Expect “Home Appliance Shelf Life”
Recently, a number of media reported the news that "the rules governing the safe use of home appliances have been formally implemented." The online rumors that "appliances should be marked with a safe use period" have attracted the attention of the industry and caused misunderstandings among consumers. Lu Jianguo analyzed that: “The reason why such news is reported is that it is due to the end of the year. The industry eagerly hopes that this standard, which has been approved for three years, can be promulgated and implemented as soon as possible, and understands the regulations on the number of years of appliance safety. Companies can clearly define the next year's product planning: what standards should be set, rather than the 'secondary monk's incompetence.'
In fact, in addition to the standards that companies focus on in terms of the safe use of products, consumers are in desperate need of such standards for their own protection. It is understood that the GB/T21097.1-2007 “General Requirements for the Safe Use of Life for Household and Similar Electrical Appliances and Recycling and Utilization” approved by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has been formally implemented since May 1, 2008. However, the “General” only puts forward the labeling principles and framework for the safe use of home appliances. It is recommended that manufacturers mark the period of safe use of their home appliances. It is not clear that the “shelf life” of various types of home appliances is several years.
In real life, consumers generally want to use them for a few more years as long as the appliance is not broken, until the damage is not working properly. Old appliances that can be used for overage have many hidden troubles, such as parts that are susceptible to dampness or mildew, or even cause electric shock. According to experts, if an accident occurs due to the use of "elderly" household appliances, should the loss be borne by the company or is the consumer responsible? It has become a long-standing problem in the industry that is difficult to define.
According to Lu Jianguo, the “Special Requirements” of “Safe Use Period of Home Appliances” will clarify the useful life of household appliances such as televisions, refrigerators, and washing machines, and emphasize that manufacturers should bear responsibility for accidents within the service life. The implementation of the "Special Requirements" will also urge manufacturers to pay more attention to the quality of maintenance and safeguard the interests of consumers. On the other hand, if the home appliance has passed the "life limit" and there is a security incident, the manufacturer will no longer be responsible, so consumers should always pay attention to the safe use of appliances.
"Home Appliance Shelf Life" Why is it difficult to produce?
Since both consumers and the industry are eagerly looking forward to the official implementation of the "home appliance shelf life" standard, why this "special request" can not be approved by the National Standards Committee? Zhu Yan, deputy chief engineer of the China Household Electrical Appliances Research Institute, believes that the detailed regulations on the safe use of various types of home appliances have not yet been approved by the National Standards Committee. This is because the responsibility for the safety of household appliances within the service life is in principle borne by the manufacturer. The relevant standards will have a major impact on the industry and companies. Therefore, the introduction of the standard will be very careful.
“Because of the different functional structures of various appliances, the safety and service life of different types of household appliances under the average usage intensity of general households also need to consider specific labeling methods and accounting methods. The actual use of electrical appliances and the environment vary greatly, and the experiment of the laboratory The environment is very different, and the sample test data in any laboratory is difficult to actually represent the safety performance of the batch product. It is understood that only the use of gas appliances has been specified in its technical standards, and other products have not yet been introduced.
According to experts, verification technology for the safe use of electrical products is difficult. “When formulating indicators, we must combine the experience of the industry, the time taken for consideration, the level of development of the industry, the cost of meeting the standards, etc. As of now, there is no internationally agreed ideal verification scheme for the safe use of electrical products. There is also a lack of regular data descriptions on the safe life of electrical products."
Over-age appliances are not only power-hungry, but also dangerous. Generally, the power consumption of older appliances exceeds 40% of the original power consumption. Experts in the industry believe that even if the "special requirements" were formally implemented, the prescribed period of safe use of home appliances is only a reference for the "safety period" of consumers' use of the product. Consumers must also consider actual use conditions. “For example, acid rain may affect the air-conditioning service life in some places. In addition, some home TVs are turned on every day for a long time, and their life span is also relatively short.” In addition, experts are urged to promote the correct use of home appliances and reduce safety accidents. It is also believed that relevant state agencies should accelerate the recycling of over-age appliances.
How to identify "overage" appliances
Color TV: CRT TV, when the picture is not clear, the picture trembles, and so on, it means that the relevant components of the aging, while radiation will increase, once the collision, quenching, sudden heat, etc., can cause the tube explosion may. (Flat-screen TVs have a short time and do not involve over-age issues)
Refrigerator: The phenomenon of “overage” is characterized by refrigerant leakage, excessive operation noise, and even more severe trembling during operation. At the same time, power consumption is greatly increased compared to previous years. It is reported that a refrigerator that is used 10 years later will consume twice as much electricity as it was originally used.
Washing machine: frequent water seepage, leakage and other problems.
Air Conditioning: When you turn on the machine, you can directly spray dust. The blowing air is mixed with musty smells, and some even flow out of black dirty water.
Some home appliances have international standard service life: 10 to 12 years for black and white TVs, 8 to 10 years for color TVs, 9 years for electric irons, 8 years for electronic clocks, 18 years for electric heaters, 8 years for electric blankets, 10 years for rice cookers, and 10 refrigerators. To 16 years; VCR 7 years; Personal computer 6 years; Fan 16 years; Wild BBQ 6 years; Gas stove 16 years; Electric water heater 12 years; Washing machine 12 years; Telephone recording system 5 years; Hair dryer 4 years; Microwave oven 11 years; electric shaver for 4 years.
