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Testing the best
30 years of Eurovent Certified Performance
With a reputation for knowledge, technical capability and top-class facilities, the Centre for Testing, Innovation and Services (CEIS), is one of Europe’s leading independent test laboratories. Based in Móstoles, in the Community of Madrid, Spain, CEIS has over 25 years of technical experience and know-how in the field of conformity assessment. The company is at the forefront of test development and offers an array of testing and technical support services related to quality, safety and the environment.
For decades CEIS has been part of Eurovent Certification’s international laboratory network, seeing the range of certified products grow as technology and certification programmes evolve. But it’s not just the two organisations that have a long history together, so does CEIS CEO, Federico Muñoz Sánchez. To help us celebrate 30 years of Eurovent Certified Performance, we caught up with Federico to discuss his history with certification, how the industry has changed, and the challenges ahead for both laboratories and manufacturers.
Hello Federico, can you tell us a little about your role at CEIS?
Federico: “With more than 25 years of experience in conformity assessment, I have played different roles at CEIS since 2007; from Operations Director to Technical Commercial Director. In 2023, I started as General Director and in June 2024, I have occupied the role of CEO.”
How many years has CEIS worked with Eurovent Certification, and how did that partnership begin?
Federico: “It all started 30 years ago, in 1994, when Eurovent Association found us (ASINEL at that time), while in search for third-party laboratories, for what was then named the AC1 programme (small air conditioners and air-to-air heat pumps). At that time, Jacques Benoit (Eurovent Certification director and Sulejman Becirspahic, technical secretary) contacted us through André Pierrot (former CEIS energy performance department manager and now retired), who was already participating as an expert in some standardisation groups at CEN and ISO.”
What products do CEIS test on behalf of Eurovent Certita Certification programmes?
Federico: “CEIS currently contributes with third-party testing for electrical compressor-based systems, mainly for space cooling and heating applications. CEIS collaborates with Eurovent Certification on the following programmes:
- AC
- Air conditioners and heat pumps
- LCP-HP
- Liquid chilling packages (for space cooling and heating)
- Rooftop
- Up to 100kW capacity range.
- VRF
- Up to 100kW capacity range and up to 12 indoor units simultaneously.
- IT Cooling
It is worth mentioning that CEIS is (and has been from the very beginning of Eurovent’s certification programmes) the only laboratory recognised by Eurovent Certification for testing residential air conditioners and air-to-air heat pumps with total cooling or heating capacity up to 12 kW.”
Can you tell us more about your ENAC accreditation, and what that means for the products tested in your laboratories?
Federico: “The ENAC accreditation puts credibility on top of our measurement results. Every year we have two audits from ENAC experts in the field of quality management and technical knowledge, with regards to the test standards we have under our accreditation scope. They asses the quality management system in line with ISO 17025 Standard, and the technical performance of our test facilities and test engineers in the fields of energy performance and acoustics (sound power of noise emission levels).
ENAC accreditation is a must, and a first step before we can go to the market through Eurovent Certification programmes. Apart from being a Eurovent Certification requirement for recognised laboratories, it is also a guarantee for any of our customers (mainly HVAC products manufacturers) as it brings third-party credibility to the technical application of the testing standards.”
You’ve personally worked in the sector for 25 years. In that time how has product performance testing evolved?
Federico: “Throughout these 25 years, we have all evolved (the HVAC systems and ourselves). A driving character has also been the change towards new energy efficiency regulations and testing standards.
Some were driven by technical requirements for the test facilities and improvements to the test procedures to incorporate new technologies, like when the first inverter models reached the market more than 20 years ago. The biggest advances have been the number and range of performance tests. We have moved from two performance tests (one for the cooling mode at 35ºC outdoor temperature and one for the heating mode at +7ºC outdoor temperature) to a minimum of 10 different test conditions (from outdoor temperatures ranging from-22ºC to +35ºC) for performance testing, plus additionally eight tests to determine power consumption under non active modes of the products.”
HVAC products are central to decarbonisation and net zero policy. What are the challenges faced by laboratories in terms of changes to regulations and refrigerants, etc?
Federico: “We mainly have two types of challenges to overcome.
European regulations for energy performance products are currently under revision. New regulations will be approved from 2025 onwards, and this will have an impact on the testing standards that will need to align with new requirements. Laboratories will need to adapt their test procedures and sometimes, testing facilities will need to be upgraded.
Additionally, test methods are now under revision as the current ones are questioned by the policy makers in terms of representativeness of real product performance. They depend too much on the manufacturers support for testing. New test methods are now under development all around the world.”
What opportunities does decarbonisation bring for both laboratories and manufacturers?
Federico: “New products are required as new regulations come into force. Lowest performance products and the use of the CFC and HCFC (depleting the ozone layer) are phased out. New systems are developed on HFCs, with zero ozone layer depletion capability but still global warming potential effect, and the latest systems, are developed based on natural refrigerants like R-744 (C02) or R-290 (Propane).
Decarbonisation has revitalised the market of air conditioners and heat pumps and therefore the number of certified products has increased. As the regulations increases MEPS, the manufacturers are pushed to develop and implement new technological solutions to bring utmost performance to their products.
As a side effect, more and more strict regulations are reaching the refrigerants market. Refrigerants play an essential role in every air conditioner as they are used for energy transport within the air conditioner or heat pump. Unfortunately, refrigerants do have a global warming potential if released to the atmosphere in case of system leakage (something that unfortunately happens).”
Eurovent Certification is voluntary. What added value does product certification bring to manufacturers and their clients?
Federico: “I would say credibility. Eurovent Certification is an independent company who tells the market that the data declared by the manufacturers is reliable and can be trusted. Credibility has offered the market a level playing field in which every manufacturer has been evaluated and can be self-compared against the market (competitors). For manufacturers, knowing where they are is at least as important as knowing where they want to be, and as is knowing which position your most direct competitors are in. What is the consequence of this? Product performance increase and recognition of the benefits of this technology for cooling/heating by the end users and policy makers.”
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Federico: “I would like to say, “Thank you Eurovent”.
The vision and hard work developed by Eurovent Certification during its 30 years of life, has become one of the most relevant and important factors driving the air conditioners and heat pumps evolution (revolution, I would say). Eurovent Certification has always trusted CEIS as a supplier, I would say, a strategic partner rather than a supplier-customer relationship, that has lasted for around 30 years now.
Thank you very much for your time Federico, and for helping us celebrate our milestone.
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.