GB/T 21551.6-2024Antibacterial, antimicrobial and purification functions of household and similar electrical appliances - Part 6: Particular requirements for air conditioners (English PDF)

1 Scope

GB/T 21551.6-2024 sets the particular requirements for air conditioners in the Chinese appliance hygiene series. An air conditioner is a humid, dark box with a large surface area and continuous airflow, which makes it an excellent place for mould and bacteria to grow and the reason that self-cleaning and antibacterial functions have become a main selling point in the Chinese market. The standard covers the antibacterial and mould-proof performance of the components in the air path, the antimicrobial and purification performance of any active device fitted, and the purification of particulate matter and of odour, with the test method for each: the test organisms and the inoculation, the operation of the whole unit in a test chamber under stated conditions rather than testing a component alone, the sampling and the calculation of the reduction rate, the durability of the effect, and the safety requirements including ozone release. The 2024 edition replaces GB/T 21551.6-2010. For an air conditioner maker selling into China, this is the text a hygiene claim is verified against.

This document specifies the hygiene and safety, and functional requirements for household and similar air conditioners with the antimicrobial, microbial reduction and cleaning functions, as well as the marking requirements, and describes the corresponding test methods. This document applies to the production, inspection and sales of household and similar air conditioners (hereinafter referred to as "air conditioners") with one or multiple functions of antimicrobia, preventing mildew, microbial reduction, indoor air cleaning and self-cleaning, etc.

2 Normative References

The contents of the following documents constitute indispensable clauses of this document through the normative references in the text. In terms of references with a specified date, only versions with a specified date are applicable to this document. In terms of references without a specified date, the latest version (including all the modifications) is applicable to this document.

GB 4789.2 National Food Safety Standard - Microbiological Examination of Food. Aerobic Plate Count

GB/T 7725 Room Air Conditioner

GB/T 18204.2 Examination Methods for Public Places - Part

3 Terms and Definitions

The terms and definitions defined in GB/T 21551.1 and GB/T 7725, and the following are applicable to this document.

3.1 self-cleaning The process of using physical or chemical methods, such as. ultraviolet lamp and negative ions to remove or reduce the microorganisms inside the indoor unit of the air conditioner (filter screen, evaporator, fan, air guide blades, etc.).

3.2 self-cleaning rate In the self-cleaning test, the value of the reduction in the number of microorganisms expressed as a percentage.

3.3 indoor air cleaning The process of adopting certain technologies or methods to significantly reduce the concentration of particulate matters or gaseous pollutants (formaldehyde, benzene and TVOC, etc.) in the air through self-circulation of indoor air.

3.4 clean air delivery rate; CADR The parameter of the cleaning capacity of an air conditioner with the indoor air cleaning function for target pollutants (particulate matters or gaseous pollutants) under specified conditions. It indicates the rate at which, the air conditioner provides clean air. [Source: GB/T 18801-2022, 3.8, modified]

3.5 cumulate clean mass; CCM The parameter of the cumulate cleaning capacity of an air conditioner with the indoor air cleaning function for target pollutants (particulate matters or gaseous pollutants) under specified conditions. It indicates the total mass of target pollutants treated by cumulate cleaning when the clean air delivery rate of the air conditioner decays to 50% of the initial value. [Source: GB/T 18801-2022, 3.9, modified]

5 Test Methods...

Appendix A

(normative) Test Method for Self-cleaning Performance A.1 Test Microorganisms Staphylococcus albus CGMCC 1.3374. Other bacterial species or strains may also be selected as test bacteria, but all bacterial species or strains used for testing shall be provided by corresponding national bacterial species preservation and management institutions, and the test bacterial species and classification codes shall be indicated in the report. Laboratories shall use test microorganisms in accordance with relevant national safety regulations. If other test pathogens are selected, the laboratories shall have a biosafety protection level that is compatible with the hazards and shall not involve the first and second categories of pathogenic microorganisms in the Catalogue of Pathogenic Microorganisms Transmissible to Humans. The various culture medium components used to culture bacterial species shall comply with the requirements of the bacterial species preservation and management institutions. A.2 Reagents and Equipment A.2.1 Reagents A.2.1.1 Nutrient agar (NA) medium Beef extract

10.0 g Sodium chloride

15.0 g Preparation method. dissolve the other components except agar in 1, 000 mL of distilled water, use