IEC 62552-3:2015/AMD2:2025

Amendment 2 - Household refrigerating appliances - Characteristics and test methods - Part 3: Energy consumption and volume

Appareils de réfrigération à usage ménager - Caractéristiques et méthodes d'essai - Partie 3: Consommation d'énergie et volume

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 26-Aug-2025
• ICS: 97.030 - Domestic electrical appliances in general
• Technical Committee: SC 59M - Performance of electrical household and similar cooling and freezing appliances
• Drafting Committee: MT 2 - TC 59/SC 59M/MT 2
• Current Stage: PPUB - Publication issued
• Start Date: 27-Aug-2025
• Completion Date: 03-Oct-2025

Relations

• Amends: IEC 62552-3:2015 - Household refrigerating appliances - Characteristics and test methods - Part 3: Energy consumption and volume
• Effective Date: 05-Sep-2023
• Revises: IEC 62552-3:2015/AMD1:2020 - Amendment 1 - Household refrigerating appliances - Characteristics and test methods - Part 3: Energy consumption and volume
• Effective Date: 05-Sep-2023

Overview

IEC 62552-3:2015/AMD2:2025 is the second amendment to Part 3 of the IEC 62552 standard, which focuses on the characteristics and test methods for household refrigerating appliances, specifically addressing energy consumption and volume. Published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), this amendment refines test procedures and introduces updated requirements for measuring the energy efficiency and internal volume of refrigerators and freezers used domestically.

This standard is essential for manufacturers, testing laboratories, and regulatory bodies involved in the development, evaluation, and certification of household refrigeration appliances to ensure accurate, internationally harmonized measurements and promote energy-efficient product design.

Key Topics

• Energy Consumption Testing Updates

  • Revised defrost and recovery energy measurement protocols, including the reduction of the required number of valid defrost cycles from four to three.
  • Clarification of defrost interval calculations for different types of defrost controllers, enhancing accuracy in energy use assessments.
  • Introduction of a method for measuring the energy consumption of auxiliary components, such as anti-condensation heaters, considering ambient conditions.

• Volume Measurement Methods

  • Confirmation that any measurement tool is acceptable, provided it meets defined accuracy standards outlined in IEC 62552-1:2015.
  • Introduction of an informative annex describing the use of 3D scanning technology as an advanced method for precise volume measurement.
  • Detailed guidance on the 3D scanning process for internal and external surfaces to improve repeatability and accuracy.

• Regional Factors and Parameter Adjustments

  • Inclusion of regional parameters like defrost scaling factors, load multipliers, and ambient temperature conditions that can affect energy consumption results.
  • Guidance on how regional energy regulations can influence standard parameters to ensure compliance and adaptability to local market requirements.

Applications

• Product Development and Certification

  • Manufacturers use IEC 62552-3:2015/AMD2:2025 to design and verify the energy performance and storage volume of household refrigeration appliances before market release.
  • Testing laboratories apply the standardized test methods to assess compliance with international energy efficiency benchmarks and product labeling schemes.

• Regulatory Compliance and Market Access

  • Regulatory agencies adopt this standard to frame energy performance requirements and ensure transparent, consistent product assessments across markets.
  • Enables manufacturers to meet diverse regional energy regulations through adaptable test parameters tied to ambient conditions and defrost cycles.

• Energy Efficiency Improvement

  • By applying the standard’s test methods, stakeholders can identify energy-saving opportunities in appliance design, aiming to reduce power consumption and environmental impact.
  • The integration of 3D scanning scanning techniques facilitates accurate determination of usable volume, assisting in optimizing insulation and cabinet design.

Related Standards

• IEC 62552-1:2015 – Part 1 of the series, establishing general characteristics and test methods for household refrigerating appliances.
• IEC 62552-2:2015 – Part 2, detailing performance in terms of temperature and temperature distribution.
• IEC 62552: Series – Comprehensive guidance on household refrigeration appliances, covering various aspects of performance and testing.
• ISO/IEC Directives Part 1 & 2 – Provide procedural frameworks utilized in the development of IEC standards ensuring consistency and international applicability.

Practical Value

The amendment enhances test accuracy and harmonization of energy consumption and volume measurements, supporting manufacturers in developing efficient household refrigerators and freezers. The inclusion of advanced measurement technologies like 3D scanning offers practical improvements in volume calculation that can reduce testing time and increase precision.

By adhering to IEC 62552-3:2015/AMD2:2025, businesses and regulators gain confidence in standardized procedures, which facilitates market acceptance, fosters innovation in energy saving, and supports global sustainability goals for household electrical appliances.

Keywords: IEC 62552-3 amendment, household refrigerating appliances, energy consumption test, volume measurement, defrost intervals, 3D scanning volume measurement, refrigeration appliance standards, energy efficiency, IEC standard household refrigerators, appliance testing methods.

Standards Content (Sample)

IEC 62552-3 ®
Edition 1.0 2025-08
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
AMENDMENT 2
Household refrigerating appliances - Characteristics and test methods -
Part 3: Energy consumption and volume
ICS 97.030  ISBN 978-2-8327-0682-4

IEC 62552-3:2015-02/AMD2:2025-08(en)

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INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
Household refrigerating appliances -
Characteristics and test methods -
Part 3: Energy consumption and volume

AMENDMENT 2
FOREWORD
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Amendment 2 to IEC 62552-3:2015 has been prepared by subcommittee 59M: Performance of
electrical household and similar cooling and freezing appliances, of IEC technical committee 59:
Performance of household and similar electrical appliances.
The text of this Amendment is based on the following documents:
Draft Report on voting
59M/188/FDIS 59M/192/RVD
Full information on the voting for its approval can be found in the report on voting indicated in
the above table.
The language used for the development of this Amendment is English.
This document was drafted in accordance with ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2, and developed in
accordance with ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1 and ISO/IEC Directives, IEC Supplement, available
at www.iec.ch/members_experts/refdocs. The main document types developed by IEC are
described in greater detail at www.iec.ch/publications/.
A list of all parts in the IEC 62252 series, published under the general title Household
refrigerating appliances - characteristics and test methods, can be found on the IEC website.
The committee has decided that the contents of this document will remain unchanged until the
stability date indicated on the IEC website under webstore.iec.ch in the data related to the
specific document. At this date, the document will be
– reconfirmed,
– withdrawn, or
– revised.
___________
Annex C – Defrost and recovery energy and temperature change
C.2 Setup for testing and data collection
Replace the last sentence of the existing third paragraph with the following:
Alternatively, at least three defrost and recovery periods are required and at least one of the
defrost and recovery periods has to have the coldest compartment at or below target
temperature for each ambient temperature.
C.4 Number of valid defrost and recovery periods
Replace the existing second and third paragraphs with the following:
Option 1: A valid value of ∆E shall be determined for each temperature control setting used
df
for an energy determination on a single appliance in accordance with 6.8.2 and 6.8.3. The
defrost and recovery period selected for each temperature control setting shall be adjacent
to the steady state period used for energy determination in Annex B (this can occur before or
after the steady state period for Case SS1; it shall be before the steady state period for Case
SS2). A test period under Case SS1 can include part of or all of Period D prior to a defrost or
all or Part of Period F after a defrost. Any valid SS1 test period shall not include any data after
the end of Period D and before the start of Period F for any defrost and recovery event. The
representative value for ∆E for the appliance shall be the average of all valid values for test
df
points used for energy determination.
Option 2: Where there is more extensive data available for a particular model (either through
longer tests or tests on several units of the same model), then the representative value for ∆E
df
for the appliance shall be the average of at least 3 valid values. In this case, at least one value
of ∆E shall have the coldest compartment at or below target temperature. A separate value
df
for ∆E shall be determined for each ambient temperature.
df
Add the following new note after the third paragraph:
NOTE 1 The requirement for the number of valid defrosts has been reduced from 4 to 3 as it was estimated that
the effect on the final results would be marginal.
Renumber the Note at the end of Clause C.4, added by Amendment 1,
...