Heat pumps - Standards and legislation

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Standards and legislation - til underside

Heat pumps - Standards and legislation

Today, heat pumps are subject to challenging rules and standards, both nationally and internationally, and there are many quality units to choose from depending on the market in which you are operating. As manufacturer, supplier or importer, you have to make sure that you follow these requirements. In this article, you can learn more about the recent standards and the valid legislation within the field of heat pumps.

Why standards?

An ordinary citizen rarely needs to think about standards in his or her daily life, even though the amount of standards is substantial and they are used in many connections. But for companies, including manufacturers, suppliers and importers, it is important to be aware of the current standards. This especially applies to companies working with technical products and services.

Even though standards can make the production or delivery more complicated, because there is a number of requirements that must be followed, there are many advantages of standards as well. Manufacturers, suppliers and importers who follows the standards builds trust and implies quality and security. The use of European standards moreover means that the import and export between European countries is free. Standards are part of making it easier to develop and produce products and introduce them to the market.

Standards and heat pumps
Scandinavia has always been at the forefront when it comes to renewable energy, and it was also in the 1980s in Denmark and Sweden that the first standardizations were composed within the field of heat pumps. In the first common nordic standards, the requirements for the declaration of the heat pumps were in focus, and a number of testing requirements for the products were set up. Today the standards are composed in a technical committee (TC) under the European standardization committee, which takes care of common European interests. The standards that have been composed thorugh recent years give a true and fair picture of the efficiency of heat pumps.

The following standards apply to heat pumps:

DS/EN14511
DS/EN14825
DS/EN16147
DS/EN12102

Legislation
It is important to be aware of the legislation governing heat pumps, because there are rules which apply to both energy efficiency, the placement of the heat pump, establishment and operation, documentation, etc.. The legislation is continously changing, but we are abreast of the development and can help you securing that your heat pump complies with the necessary requirements and rules. Energistyrelsen regularly informs about new laws, requriements and standards, which must be followed.

The EU makes demands on energy-consuming products
The EU has set up a number of ecodesign requirements for energy-consuming products, whose purpose is to remove the least energy effective and most environmentally unsustainable products from the market. The requirements are shared among all EU countries, and they are an important element in the work with controlling the energy consumption and climate impact of the EU countries.

Heat pumps are also included in these requirements, but they are, for most manufacturers and suppliers, reasonable to follow. The requirements are continously being tightened up and renewed in order to make sure that the heat pumps are as effective as possible, so that the maximum effect in the conversion from fossil fuels to heat pumps is achieved.

Read more on Energistyrelsen's webiste here.

The building regulation
In Denmark, there are strict requirements in the building regulation for the minimum efficiency of the installed heat pumps. These requirements are considerably above the minimum requirements, which are made for future air/water and liquid/water heat pumps. The requirements in the building regulation are dependent on the type of system and the size of the heat pump. Therefore, the heat pumps are divided into groups corresponding to small, medium and larger heat pumps, when the minimum requirements for a heat pump are being determined.

There are also requirements for the application of dangerous gases and liquids, and heat pumps (and cold storage plants) with a yearly consumption of electricity higher than 3.000 kWh must be measured, eventually with a separate electricity meter.

Test of heat pumps
In order to live up to the standards, requirements and legislation above, a test of your heat pump can be a good option. For a long time, testing of heat pumps has been the center of the work with labelling and approving heat pumps in different units. If you want to introduce a product to the European market, expand your market share or have a strong presence in a market, an accredited test of your heat pump might be helpful. An impartial test of your heat pump works as a safety for the consumers, because the test clarifies that your heat pump lives up to its promises.

The Heat Pump Laboratory at Danish Technological Institute is accredited by ILAC, the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation, and DANAK, the Danish Accreditation Fund. With these accreditations, the Institute is allowed to conduct tests in agreement with internationally approved accredited standards, ecodesign and energy labelling requirements as well as current EU standards and quality units, such as HP KEYMARK, MCS and EHPA – Quality Label. At Danish Technological Institue, we can conduct the type of test, simulation or calculation that you need, both according to equipment, components and systems.

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