Washing machines and dishwashers, also known as “wash appliances”, have been the second and most studied EuP in the European Union with the goal to reduce their energy consumption. In 1995, the study of the Group for Efficient Appliances (GEA, 1995) provided the technical basis for the energy labelling Directive, and later also partially for the Eco-label awarding criteria. Its results and methodology were the starting point for the second study on washing machines (NOVEM, 2000, colloquially known as the WASH-2 study) promoted by DG TREN in 1998, which took into consideration the methodological, technical, economical and market developments and proposed a new structure for a revised label and the possible setting of efficiency targets, which then for various reasons were not fully accepted by Member States. Contemporarily, the European Eco-label Board started to address these two product groups more from the environmental impact point of view with other studies, which resulted in the definition of eco-labelling awarding criteria, the latest being:

·        for washing machines: on December 1999 the Commission adopted the criteria valid until December 1st 2002. These criteria were then prolonged to November 30th  2005 (Decision 2003/240/EC);

·        for dishwashers: on August 1998 the Commission adopted the criteria valid until January 20th 2003 through the extension given by Decision 2001/397/EC. Criteria were revised in August 2001 (AEAT, 2001) and are valid until August 26th 2006. In the meantime, a series of monitoring studies were promoted by the SAVE Programme to evaluate the impact of the EU legislation on the market transformation of washing machines and their energy consumption (ADEME, 2000; ADEME, 2001). Dishwashers were monitored through the annual reports presented by the European Association of Household Appliance Manufacturers (CECED) to the EC and the Regulatory Committee responsible for the management of the EU energy labelling scheme, describing the effectiveness of the industry “Voluntary Commitment on Reducing the Energy Consumption of Household Dishwashers” issued in 1999 and ended in 2004. Also washing machine market was monitored through CECED annual reports under the two Voluntary Commitments issued in 1997 and in 2002 for this product group. Since markets and technologies change continually, including in response to past policy settings, the present study proposal takes the results and methodology defined in the last decade of studies as the starting point to be updated and upgraded where necessary to evaluate the technical, economic and market developments of cold appliances and the new aspects of these products to be covered following the indications of the eco-design directive 2005/32/EC. This is necessary in order to define the need of implementing measures and possible targets for voluntary or mandatory policies.