EN STANDARDS and CE MARKING.
The CE mark is an official symbol by which the manufacturer or distributor of a product, on his own sole responsibility, declares that it meets the Standards that make it fit for sale throughout Europe.
The CE Mark is not a quality mark, it does not imply any form of official approval, it is not issued by any official body and there is no such thing as an official 'CE Certificate', though the manufacturer or supplier may supply a "declaration of conformity". The improper application of a CE Mark, or an improper claim of conformity to EN Standards can constitute a criminal offence of deception, which in the UK can carry a penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment + an unlimited fine + confiscation of property + debarment from serving as a company director. Supervision of conformity to EN Standards is a matter for local and State authorities.
In 1988 European Counties agreed on the Construction Products Directive, 89/106/EEC, which lays down that "any product which is produced for incorporation in a permanent manner in construction works" must be "fit for its intended use" allowing for "differences ... at national, regional or local level". It also provides for free trade in that "Member States shall not impede the free movement, placing on the market or use in their territory of products which satisfy the provisions of this Directive." and guards against petty local interference by saying that "Member States shall ensure that the use of such products ... shall not be impeded by rules or conditions", and absolutely forbids the establishment of national 'approval lists'.
Solid fuel stoves, open fires, chimney components etc. are all considered to be "construction products" and are required by law to conform to those European EN Standards which have been 'harmonised' - agreed on by all European States. Most solid fuel appliance standards have been Harmonised since 01/07/2007, see http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/european-standards/documents/harmonised-standards-legislation/list-references/construction-products/index_en.htm
The new European Construction Products Regulation was agreed by parliament and formally published on 4 April 2011. From 1 July 2013 it will make compulsory the 'CE' marking of ALL construction products, not just stoves and boilers, but flue, fireplace and chimney components.
And the full text is available at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:088:0005:0043:EN:PDF
The first parts of the Regulation will come into force 20 days after publication. The remaining parts of the Regulation come into force on
The rules about when the 'CE' Mark may be applied varies in different product standards and CE marking is not mandatory for construction products in the UK, Finland, Sweden and Ireland (The position in Portugal, Norway, Switzerland and Spain, is unclear), though this is under review. This is customarily taken to mean that while all solid fuel heating appliances are required to conform to the appropriate EN Standards, in these countries they are not required to have the independent testing by a Certified Laboratory which is a prerequisite for CE marking, but can, instead, rely on equivalent tests carried out by the manufacturer and so properly claim conformity to the standard, but without applying the CE Mark.
Conformity to the EN Standards is not a guarantee of quality - rather, it is a way of providing definitive information about a product so that the specifier can make an informed choice. As different States may have different standards for, say, efficiency, or fire-resistance or smoke emission, this means that they may choose to prohibit certain products even if they have met the minimum requirements laid down in the EN Standard. For instance, the UK applies a different smoke emission standard while Germany applies a higher efficiency standard.
The Construction Products Directive will shortly be replaced with a simpler, but stricter, Regulation, probably in 2013.
|
ADVERTISEMENT
TO ADVERTISE HERE
| 
