Dyson takes on EU labels in its latest court battle

The engineering company has filed for a judicial review to challenge what it considers are the misleading aspects of Brussels’ Energy Label regulations relating to vacuum cleaners

Dyson is challenging EU regulations after claiming that vacuum cleaner energy efficiency tests are “flawed”.

The UK engineering company, best known for its distinctive cleaners, has filed for a judicial review to challenge what it considers are the misleading aspects of Brussels’ Energy Label regulations relating to vacuum cleaners.

Details of the case come a week after a bitter feud between Dyson and its German rival Bosch was reignited. The German group said last week it was taking Dyson to court over allegations that its cleaners cheated EU energy efficiency tests.

Dyson, founded by Sir James Dyson, believes the Energy Label for vacuum cleaners, “in its current form, is flawed”. It said European regulations allow vacuum cleaners to be tested in a laboratory without any attempt to replicate real-world conditions; results are therefore misleading, it says.

The company said it is asking the European court “to determine that the EU regulation for vacuum cleaners should be annulled or, as a minimum, that the parts of the regulation relating to the measurement of cleaning performance of vacuum cleaner and energy efficiency should be annulled”.

It is challenging the European Commission’s regulations on two counts: “lab rather than living room” and “hidden costs”.

Dyson argues that laboratory testing conditions are artifical and that, in a home, the performance of vacuum cleaners is affected by the way bags and filters become clogged with dust.

The company also wants the energy labels to take into account the number of replacement bags and filters required each year, and their annual cost, pointing out that these items constitute “expensive, environmentally damaging, consumables”. (Dyson’s cleaners do not have bags.)

The judicial review will be heard on 11 November in Luxembourg.

Last week Bosch denied Dyson’s allegations of cheating as “unfounded and untrue”, and said Sir James had “overstepped the mark” by claiming that the German manufacturer had build sensors into its vacuum cleaners to help them pass power-restriction tests.

Likening it to the Volkswagen emissions testing scandal, Sir James said Bosch vacuum cleaners used more power in everyday use than in laboratory tests.

Dyson launched legal action against the German home appliances group last month, as part of its claims.