A temperature of 23°C, a steady relative humidity of 50%: these are the working conditions in the new label laboratory at Miele‘s Lehrte production plant. “Test readings from commercial washing machines and tumble dryers – said the company – are most effectively achieved under uniform and standardized conditions as required by a new European standard which is to take effect shortly. In the case of water, the hardness and the pH value must also be precisely recorded: requirements met by Miele Professional’s new test laboratory”. The label laboratory covers an area of 400 m² and is three times larger than the previous test bay. The first products to undergo tests in the new facility were the new washing machines from the Performance and Performance Plus lines. Wash trials primarily revolve around how little water the machines can use without this being detrimental to cleaning performance and hygiene. “This allowed us to reduce water consumption by 20%, resulting in significant knock-on energy savings”, said lab manager Tim van Zoest.
Besides, planning and designing the air-conditioning system installed in a neighbouring room which now ensures precise and constant temperatures and humidity was the result of a close team work involving specialists from Miele’s works department in Gütersloh and the Lehrte plant. The same facilities also generate the steam which is available in the laboratory at three of the seven test racks and, like the power supply, can be flexibly adjusted to suit machine requirements. This allows machines destined for a wide range of markets and applications to be tested. For a compliant water supply, tap water is converted into water for testing purposes in a sophisticated treatment process before it is fed into the machines. “The provisional European standard PrEN 50640, which will presumably be passed this year, demands this”, said Marianne Röhl, responsible for application technology on laundry machines.
