Conformity assessment of products with regard to noise emissions

The products specified in Act No. 22/1997 Coll. and classified within sectors of the harmonized scope include equipment subject to technical requirements regarding noise emissions, which are specified in detail in the Czech Republic by Government Regulation No. 9/2002 Coll. (NV). This includes, on the one hand, equipment intended for outdoor use (self-propelled or transportable) that also causes noise pollution in the surrounding environment (within the EU, this equipment is covered by Directive No. 2000/14/EC), and, on the other hand, household appliances that cause noise pollution in indoor environments.

This equipment may be placed on the market or put into service only if it meets the requirements of this Government Regulation (Directive 2000/14/EC), i.e., the manufacturer or authorized representative must affix the CE marking to the product, the guaranteed sound power level must be clearly, legibly, and permanently indicated on the label, and an EC Declaration of Conformity must be attached. A large number of these devices also fall under the Machinery Directive or the Electrical Equipment Directive. If these products are subject to multiple government regulations (EC Directives), the CE marking indicates that such equipment meets the requirements of all these legal provisions. The guaranteed noise level must be stated on the label and in the operating instructions. Equipment marked in this way may circulate freely on the EU market, while remaining subject to market surveillance.

The basic standard for measuring emitted noise is ČSN EN ISO 3744:2011. Details for testing individual equipment are specified in Part B of Government Regulation No. 9/2002 Coll. The
sound power level depends on the method used; therefore, such methods are specified here for each type of equipment. (See Overview of standards cited in legal regulations for equipment intended for outdoor use).

Net installed power is the indicator for internal combustion engines; installed power is the indicator for electric motors.

The manufacturer is required to retain the EC Declaration of Conformity for each type of equipment for a period of 10 years.

There are two groups of equipment to which technical requirements regarding noise emissions apply.

 

The first group consists of equipment listed in Annex No. 1 to Government Regulation No. 9/2002 Coll. (Article 12 of Directive 2000/14/EC), and these are devices for which maximum permissible noise emission limits are set and for which participation in AO/NB is mandatory (22 types):

1.    construction hoists for material transport powered by an internal combustion engine,

The manufacturer or, where applicable, the authorized representative shall ensure, prior to placing the above-mentioned equipment on the market, the conformity assessment of each product type with the requirements of this Regulation by one of the following procedures:

• internal production control with assessment of technical documentation and periodic inspection in accordance with Annex No. 5 of the Government Regulation (see System 1 – diagram)
• verification of individual equipment in accordance with Annex 6 of the Government Regulation (see System 2 – diagram)
• full quality assurance in accordance with Annex 7 of the Government Regulation (see System 3 – diagram).

The second group consists of equipment listed in Annex No. 2 to Government Regulation No. 9/2002 Coll. (Article 13 of Directive 2000/14/EC), and these are devices for which there is a requirement to determine the guaranteed sound power level and to label the machine with information on the guaranteed sound power level (41 types):

The manufacturer, or an authorized representative, shall ensure, prior to placing the above-mentioned equipment on the market, that each product type complies with the requirements of this Regulation through internal production control in accordance with Annex No. 8 of the Government Regulation (see System 4 – diagram).

This Directive does not apply to:

According to Government Regulation No. 9/2002 Coll., household appliances may be placed on the market only if the household appliance is equipped with an energy label in accordance with Act No. 406/2000 Coll., on energy management. The implementing regulation for this Act is Decree No. 337/2011 Coll. These regulations also implement the European Parliament and Council Framework Directive 2010/30/EU on the indication of energy consumption and other resources. The manufacturer or importer shall indicate on this label, as well as in the user manual accompanying the appliance or in the warranty certificate, the sound power level emitted by these appliances and propagated through the air.

Government Regulation No. 9/2002 Coll. specifies that the test method for determining airborne noise emitted by electrical appliances for household and similar purposes is set forth in the relevant sections of the ČSN EN 60704 (361008) standard.

Additional regulations and harmonized standards that must be taken into account when assessing noise emissions are specified for individual product types in the directly applicable regulations listed in the Ecodesign chapter.