IEC/TR 61592

Household electrical appliances - Guidelines for consumer panel testing

Applies to panel testing household electrical appliances within the scope of IEC technical committee 59: Performance of household electrical appliances.

Household electrical appliances - Guidelines for consumer panel testing

General Information

• Status: Not Published
• ICS: 97.020 - Home economics in general
• ICS: 97.030 - Domestic electrical appliances in general
• Technical Committee: TC 59 - Performance of household and similar electrical appliances
• Current Stage: PPUB - Publication issued
• Start Date: 16-May-2003
• Ref Project: SIST IEC/TR 61592:1998 - Household electrical appliances - Guidelines for consumer panel testing

Overview

IEC/TR 61592 - "Household electrical appliances - Guidelines for consumer panel testing" is an IEC technical report that provides guidance for planning and conducting consumer panel (user) tests of household electrical appliances. It applies to appliances within the remit of IEC Technical Committee 59 (performance of household electrical appliances) and is intended to support consistent, repeatable evaluation of appliance performance from a user/consumer perspective.

This guidance complements laboratory performance and safety tests by addressing human factors, consumer perception, and real‑use performance assessment. Keywords: IEC TR 61592, household electrical appliances, consumer panel testing, appliance performance, IEC TC59.

Key Topics

• Purpose and scope - Role of consumer panels in evaluating performance, usability and satisfaction for household electrical appliances.
• Test planning - Principles for defining objectives, selecting appropriate appliances/models and establishing consumer-relevant test criteria.
• Panel selection and recruitment - Guidance on recruiting representative panels (demographics, experience, sample size considerations) while ensuring impartiality and repeatability.
• Test conditions and protocols - Advice on creating realistic usage scenarios, environmental control, and consistency of test instructions to participants.
• Data collection and metrics - Types of subjective and objective data to collect (user ratings, preference ranking, ease‑of‑use observations) and recommended documentation practices.
• Analysis and reporting - Approaches for processing panel data, presenting results, and drawing consumer-relevant conclusions that support product development, comparative claims, or regulatory submissions.
• Quality and repeatability - Steps to improve reliability of results, reduce bias, and ensure tests are reproducible across sessions or laboratories.

(Note: IEC/TR 61592 provides methodological guidance rather than prescriptive numeric test parameters.)

Applications

• Manufacturers and R&D teams: to design consumer trials that inform product refinement, ergonomics, and feature prioritization.
• Product test laboratories: to supplement performance test data with consumer perception and usability evidence.
• Marketing and competitive benchmarking: to substantiate user-preference claims and support product positioning.
• Standards bodies and regulators: to interpret performance requirements in a consumer context and incorporate user-based evidence into performance standards.
• Consumer organizations: to design fair, reproducible comparative tests of household appliances.

Related Standards

IEC/TR 61592 is used alongside other IEC documents on household appliance performance and safety (for example, performance and safety standards developed under IEC TC59). For comprehensive compliance and evaluation, consumer panel guidelines should be integrated with applicable safety and laboratory performance standards.

For more information, search for "IEC TR 61592 consumer panel testing" or consult IEC TC59 publications on household appliance performance.

Standards Content (Sample)

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-januar-1998
Household electrical appliances - Guidelines for consumer panel testing
Household electrical appliances - Guidelines for consumer panel testing
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: IEC/TR 61592
ICS:
97.020 'RPDþHJRVSRGDUMHQMHQD Home economics in general
VSORãQR
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.
...