APPLIANCES

Every End-of-Cycle Ding Is a Design Decision

Appliance sound has two jobs: tell the user something finished, and stay off the EU noise label. ZEH builds panel speakers and fascia-integrated sounders in our own molding and driver plants — tuned against the machine’s own IEC 60704 noise curve, not a datasheet.

ZEH tooling roots reach back to 1998, so the fascia, the grille slots and the speaker inside arrive as one engineering decision — not three suppliers blaming each other.

Where Appliance Sound Comes From

Cooking Alarms

Oven, hood and hob end-of-program tones — narrow-band sounders that stay audible over extractor noise.

Laundry and Dishcare

End-of-cycle chimes and door-lock alerts for washers, dryers and dishwashers, rated for humid cavities.

Hoods and Ventilation

Filter-clean and fault alerts routed through slim panel speakers in the fascia.

Fridge and Small Appliance Alerts

Door-open alarms, timer beeps and status tones in compact sealed enclosures.

The Three Calls We Get Every Week

The chime disappears under the spin cycle

ZEH designs against your machine’s measured noise curve — we read the IEC 60704 spectrum, then place the chime where the machine is quietest and pick a band with presence (roughly 2–4 kHz) so the end-of-cycle tone cuts through a 1,400 rpm spin.

The fascia buzzes at full volume

Buzz is a mechanical problem, not an electrical one. Our fascia, grille slots, gasket and speaker are moulded and assembled in one plant, so resonance is engineered out before the first sample — not glued over after it.

The added sounder pushed us over the noise label

Panel speakers are chosen so the appliance stays within its declared LWA value. We supply EN 60704-aligned component data your test lab can fold into the energy-label declaration and EPREL filing.

Fascia, Grille and Speaker — One Mould, One Supplier

The EU Noise Label Changed the Brief

Since the 2021 energy-label revision, washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, fridges and hoods must declare noise on the label, tested per EN/IEC 60704 and registered in EPREL. Every dB you add with a bad sounder is now printed on the sticker — and checked in market surveillance.

What ZEH hands your test lab
Washing machine at end of cycle in utility room

How a ZEH Sounder Reaches Your Line

01 — Acoustic brief

You send the machine’s noise spectrum or we plan a quick IEC 60704-style measurement; we mark the quiet band and target SPL.

02 — Fascia + speaker co-design

Our mold shop cuts the grille and pocket into your fascia tool; the driver is sized to the cavity, gasket included.

03 — Sample and sweep

First articles assembled on our line, swept 100%, curves and audibility check sent with the box.

04 — Serial production

Spot-check data per batch keeps the declared noise value stable for EPREL surveillance.

570M

major appliances produced worldwide in 2025 (Euromonitor estimate)

32%

of appliance launches now market a smart or connected feature — all of them need UI sound

55 dB(A)

typical EU noise ceiling at 1 m that added sounders must respect

Public figures checked November 2026 — orientation, not investment research.

Will the Chime Be Heard?

Enter the appliance’s ambient noise at the panel and the sounder’s SPL and band — check audibility against the ISO 7731-style margin engineers use.

Will the Alert Be Heard?
Level at listener = output − 20·log₁₀(distance). The 15 dB default margin follows the audibility logic of ISO 7731 (danger signals) — use 10 dB for gentle status beeps.

Send the Fascia Drawing — Get a Sound Design

ZEH returns a speaker proposal with mounting notes, moulding suggestions and an EN 60704-aligned data sheet within days.

Learn how we helped 100 top brands gain success.

Let's have a chat

Upload JPG, PNG, PDF, STEP, STP, IGES, DWG. Max 20 MB total, 10 files.