Hi Ian,
I also heard this piece about vacuum motors on the radio. Just looked up about electric vac motor wattage on EU website and have cut and pasted their words on this verbatim below.
"Vacuum cleaners will use less energy for the same performance - how much dust they pick up. This will help consumers to save money and make Europe as a whole use less energy.
On 1 September 2014, vacuum cleaners in the EU will have to abide by a new set of minimum requirements. They cover:
Power
Performance (ability to pick up dust)
Energy efficiency
Dust re-emission in the exhaust air (particularly important for people with asthma)
Noise level
Durability (no early failure of the hose or the motor)
So we look at power, but also at performance.
As regards power, the maximum allowed input power will be reduced: from 1600 Watt in 1 September 2014, to 900 Watt in September 2017. The current average on the market is about 1800 Watt.
But – contrary to what is written in some articles and comments –the amount of Watt does not automatically indicate how well a vacuum cleaner will clean. The amount of Watt indicates how much electrical power is used by the engine.
The important question is: How efficient is this electrical power translated into picking-up dust? Dust pick-up is also part of the new technical standard. New models put on the market must undergo a practical test, where the pick-up performance is measured and they have to achieve a certain pick-up factor.
As a result of the new EU ecodesign and labelling regulations, consumers will also get better vacuum cleaners. In the past there was no legislation on vacuum cleaners and companies could sell poorly performing vacuum cleaners. Now, vacuum cleaners that use a lot of energy, that pick up dust poorly, emit too much dust at the exhaust of the vacuum cleaner, are noisy or break down pre-maturely will not be allowed on the market anymore. This means a better cleaning experience and less time and money spent on vacuum cleaning".
Regards Phil.