1. CE Marking : What does CE Marking mean?

CE Marking is the symbol of the European Community that indicates that a product meets the requirements of European Standard that has been written to provide a means for the demonstration of compliance with a European directive. In the Construction area the Directive is the Construction Products Directive (CPD) 89/106/EEC and the standard is specifically required to provide a means for demonstration of compliance with the essential requirements of the CPD.

NOTE: The essential requirements are mechanical resistance and stability, safety in case of fire, hygiene, health and the environment, safety in use, protection against noise, energy economy and heat retention.

2. CE Marking : Must a manufacturer apply CE Marking to his products?

CE Marking is mandatory for the majority of European member states. However the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, Finland and Sweden currently consider that CE Marking is voluntary. In the UK manufacturers of factory made thermal insulating building products that test their products to British standards, to satisfy the demands of their customers, may be obliged to test to European standards as the British Standards are withdrawn (from 1st March 2003), but are not obliged to place the CE mark on their products.

Manufacturers who sell their products into markets where CE Marking is mandatory will have to CE mark those products.

3. CE Marking : What are the European standards for CE Marking insulation products?
 
The insulation standards were produced at the instigation of the European Commission under a mandate intended to ensure their harmonisation. The responsibility for doing the work was given to the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) and specifically to the technical committee CEN/TC 88. Nine standards were produced for factory made building products

EN 13162, Thermal insulation products for buildings - Factory made mineral wool (MW) products -Specification.

EN 13163, Thermal insulation products for buildings - Factory made products of expanded polystyrene (EPS) - Specification.

EN 13164, Thermal insulation products for buildings - Factory made products of extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) - Specification.

EN 13165, Thermal insulation products for buildings - Factory made rigid polyurethane foam (PUR) products - Specification.

EN 13166, Thermal insulation products for buildings - Factory made products of phenolic foam (PF) - Specification.

EN 13167, Thermal insulation products for buildings - Factory made cellular glass (CG) products - Specification.

EN 13168, Thermal insulation products for buildings - Factory made products of wood wool (WW) - Specification.

EN 13169, Thermal insulation products for buildings - Factory made products of expanded perlite (EPB) -Specification.

EN 13170, Thermal insulation products for buildings - Factory made products of expanded cork (ICB) - Specification.

EN 13171, Thermal insulation products for buildings - Factory made wood fibre (WF) products -Specification.

4. CE Marking : What other standards will there be?

Factory made standards for building products are only some of the standards produced by CEN /TC 88. There are others that are not as far advanced in their preparation. These include the following;

Standards for the in-situ placement of insulation in roofs and walls (blown wool), prEN 14064-1 & prEN 14064-2.

Standards for steel faced Sandwich Panels, prEN 14509.

Standards for Building Equipment and Industrial Installations, PrEN 14303.

5. CE Marking : Are there other means for obtaining CE Marking?

The CE Mark follows on from success in showing compliance with the essential requirements of the CPD. Apart from using a European Standard, compliance can also be demonstrated by using a European Technical Approval (ETA), issued by one of the members of the European Organisation for Technical Approvals (EOTA).

ETAs may be based on a Guideline (ETAG) or, for products that are not widely used in the EEA or produced by few manufacturers, via Article 9.2 of the CPD that allows for the development of an ETA without a guideline. This is done by the relevant national member bodies of EOTA that prepare a mini-ETA-Guideline, referred to as a Common Understanding of Assessment Procedure (CUAP), which is then agreed by the other EOTA members.