May 22, 2024

Eurovent Certification has hit a big milestone this year, with the company celebrating 30 years of Eurovent Certified Performance. It’s safe to say the HVAC and refrigeration industry has seen monumental change since the first two certification programmes were introduced back in 1994. Nowhere is this better exemplified than by the heat exchanger sector, thanks to its long history of certification. Indeed, the Eurovent Certified Performance programme for Heat Exchangers was introduced swiftly after the initial two programmes and continues to serve as one of the oldest established schemes at Eurovent Certification today. 

To help us understand the impact of certification over the decades, particularly on the heat exchanger market, we spoke to industry stalwart, and consultant at Refplan, Roland Handschuh. Giving his unique viewpoint as a consultant who has worked for many a certified manufacturer, Roland discusses the days before certification, the early years of Eurovent Certified Performance, the current market, and his predictions for the future. 

Hi Roland! Can you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your history with Eurovent Certification?  

Roland: I work as a consultant now but have previously worked for certified manufacturers like Küba Kältetechnik GmbH and Güntner GmbH & Co. KG. Eurovent certification has made significant contributions to enhancing product quality, ensuring performance reliability, and promoting a consistent marketplace for manufacturers and customers. I've known the organisation for about three decades, precisely 28 years.

Can you tell us about life before Eurovent Certification? What where the main challenges facing the European HVAC and Refrigeration industry in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s?

Roland: In the late 1980s and early 1990s, unreliable technical specifications, notably for heat exchangers, posed the greatest challenge to the European HVAC and refrigeration business. Many manufacturers' catalogues included performance data that was 20% to 30% greater than real cooling performance. Furthermore, these performance results were predicated on the average temperature difference Delta TM, which did not reflect a reliable reference value. 

How did the lack of independent, third-party product certification impact on manufacturers, industry professionals and end users? 

Roland: The lack of independent third-party product certification distorted competitiveness in the heat exchanger sector.
This led to a great distrust among producers. Industry professionals and qualified personnel who understand heat transfer thermodynamics were aware that misleading information would mislead system producers and, eventually, end users. And this finally occurred when the end-user was required to pay for the cost of operating the entire refrigeration or air conditioning system, as well as the additional costs of operating the undersized systems.

Thinking about the early years, how was the introduction of Eurovent product certification viewed by the industry?

Roland: The introduction of Eurovent product certification was only progressively evaluated positively by the industry. The disadvantage was that the few manufacturers who agreed to certify their laminated heat exchangers, initially only offered certification for certain product series. It quickly became clear that non-certified product lines still had considerable performance gaps. This resulted in the "certify all" method at the end of the 1990s, which required laminated heat exchanger manufacturers to present all series of their HFC heat exchangers for certification.

What do you think made Eurovent Certified Performance stand out from other certification schemes?

Roland: The "certify all" procedure in particular, has shown to be trustworthy when compared to other certification procedures, since it eliminates any certification gaps. Furthermore, this initiative was meant from the start to be a European-wide performance evaluation system, not simply a national one.

30 years on, how do you think product certification has changed the industry?

Roland: After 30 years, Eurovent product certification has proved to be a reliable tool for selecting laminated heat exchangers. Although most plant manufacturers are aware of this, far too few end users are. If the performance of the heat transfer components of a refrigeration system is diminished, the operating expenses will increase.

It’s time to predict the future! What do you see as the main challenges ahead for the industry?

Roland: The need for energy savings, which ultimately translates into operational cost reduction for the system operator, will continue to rise. It is crucial to understand that the cost of running a refrigeration system over a 10 to 15-year period is five to ten times the installation cost.

What do you think will be the next big technical innovations on the market?

Roland: The next major technological breakthrough on the market will be the requirement for lifecycle cost assessments as part of the desire for energy reductions in refrigeration systems. As a result of these calculations, a better understanding of a system's operational expenses will emerge, as well as even more awareness will be set on the reliability of the specified performance for the selected / used heat exchangers.

How would you like to see product certification evolve and adapt to the changes ahead?

Roland: Natural refrigerants such as hydrocarbons, CO2 and ammonia will be employed more and more derived from the current F-gas regulation. The use of hydrocarbons necessitates the employment of indirect refrigeration systems to limit filling quantities. This implies that brine or glycols are used to operate the heat exchangers. As a result, certification programmes must focus on these new "ancient" refrigerants.

Thank you very much for your time.

Roland: Thank you also for the opportunity to connect and share my thoughts.

The 30th anniversary of Eurovent Certified Performance is being celebrated throughout 2024. Want to join in the fun? Keep an eye out for our social media posts on LinkedIn, Facebook and X, or get in touch with the team.