Oct 12, 2023

Whatever your role in the construction industry, there are a number of advantages to specifying, designing and installing certified heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) products. In this article we are going to focus on the true value of certification for HVAC&R professionals, and those in the wider construction sector, from the benefits of using products with proven energy efficiency, to reputation safeguarding via guaranteed performance.

What is product certification?

Certification tests and evaluates product characteristics. Certification not only ensures products comply with all the relevant regulations and standards, but also verifies manufacturer data on product performance. 

The value in third-party certification, as opposed to in-house testing by the manufacturer alone, is that certification is offered by a completely independent and impartial expert body, with no bias towards the product or manufacturer. Certification finds the truth of a product and provides transparent product data, ensuring that products will perform as advertised.

However, not all certifiers or certification schemes are equal. HVAC&R manufacturers can choose from a range of programmes, delivered by laboratories or certification bodies like Eurovent Certita Certification (ECC), so it’s always wise to understand what each offers, and the added value each certification mark brings. 

Why do we need certification?

At the heart of certification lies the reduction of risk and the building of trust between industry stakeholders. Third-party certification removes the risk of variations between stated and real product performance, with independently verified data. This builds trust, as industry professionals know they can rely on the stated product performance. This is key as it safeguards from the risk of ineffective or inefficient systems, spiralling running costs for the end user, or non-compliance with regulations.

However, this trust can only be built by providing quality certification schemes, from reliable and respected providers. Eurovent Certita Certification has therefore created a number of world renowned certification programmes, under a common set of criteria for the rating of products. All manufacturers are treated equally, with all units going through exactly the same route and process to certification, wherever in the world they are manufactured. 

The Eurovent certification process

Firstly, Eurovent certified products have to pass a number of checkpoints to receive certification, which is far in excess of laboratory or in-house testing. Secondly, these checkpoints are all undertaken impartially, with no manufacturer interference. Thirdly, certification is a continuous process, which ensures products continue to comply with certification criteria.

Eurovent Certita certification uses state of the art evaluation protocols including:

• Independent laboratory tests
• Manufacturing audits
• Selection software checks
• Product sampling issued from factory
• Product purchase on the market (when possible)
• Data consistency algorithms crossed by product family

Plus:

• Products are tested under conditions coming from European or International standards
• And most products undergo yearly surveillance monitoring to ensure standards remain high.

ECC keeps evaluation protocols uniform across all products, countries and continents to ensure the certification process is fair and equal for manufacturers. Eurovent Certita Certification: 

• Evaluates all products within a programme according to the same criteria
• Expresses results in the same unit of measurement, regardless of the country where the products are manufactured or marketed
• Ensures all products within the programme go through exactly the same certification, auditing and surveillance process
• Ensures products with components manufactured across multiple sites (sometimes in different countries), all reach Eurovent certification standards.

Impartiality standards are kept high as manufacturers and laboratories have no direct contact, keeping the process clear of any bias. Additionally products to be tested can be taken from the production line, factory stock or point of sale, ensuring the product tested is exactly the same as those leaving the production line. 

How does Eurovent certification help industry professionals?

Certification builds confidence in products and safeguards reputations

Certification is more than just a logo, Eurovent Certified products are trusted by specifiers, designers and installers worldwide. For industry professionals the benefits of choosing certified products include:

• Transparent, accurate, universally understood performance data, with internationally applied quality controls
• A guarantee that products comply with regulations, standards and codes
• Assurance that HVAC&R systems will perform as expected, because they are designed on verified performance, rather than manufacturer claims alone
• This means that certified products can be trusted to build sustainable buildings, helping to reach decarbonisation and energy efficiency goals
• The ‘certify-all’ principal (attached to a large number of Eurovent Certified Performance programmes), means that manufacturers cannot pick and choose flagship models for certification. Every model in the range is submitted and has to pass set criteria to be certified
• Access to government and financial incentives as products have proven energy efficiency
• Certified products can also be seen as less risky by those providing finance
• Industry professionals can search for certified products for free via the certified product directory
• Plus our certified product directory allows you to quickly and easily compare products, so you can confidently find the right product for your project, in the shortest timeframe
• Across some ECC programmes, such as those for heat pumps, manufacturers are required to have spare parts available for up to 10 years
• Certification maintains a level of requirements. Any drop in performance or quality will result in a change to certified data at best, or at worst removal of product certification
• Certified products can safeguard your reputation. There is no having to ‘take a chance’ on manufacturer claims for performance or reliability.

Compliance, quality control and innovation

ECCs programmes are constantly evolving to keep pace with new technology, refrigerants and regulations. Products are tested over and above the criteria needed to reach European Standards, which are some of the most stringent Standards in the world. Because of this high level of testing, no degradation number is added to the performance of certified products.

This also means that certification acts as a tool for both quality control and product development. Not only do many participants undergo yearly manufacturing and selection software audits to ensure standards remain high, but feedback from the certification process is relayed to research and development teams to help improve and innovate products. 

Certification brings industry professionals greater choice

We all have our favourite brands and go-to products, but on some occasions they may not meet the client’s requirements. If favoured brand does not reach the site specification, industry professionals can compare and select certified products from alternative brands with confidence. Whether the product is new to the market, or it’s just a brand you haven’t used before, certified data helps you make good choices, as you can trust the product will live up to manufacturer claims. 

Certification is voluntary

Any manufacturer who has gained certification, has not only gone through a rigorous and stringent process, but has also gone above and beyond to prove the performance and reliability of their products. This doesn’t come without risk. Not just financially through the cost, resources and time certification takes, but also because the consequences of failure can be substantial. Campaign failure rates are monitored for each certification participant. New participants must pass all the tests to be certified. 

For current participants, underperformance can lead to additional product sampling, or certificate suspension. If a certified product fails to meet test requirements, the participant is required to adjust the performances not only for the specific product but also for all similar products, or to withdraw the relevant products from the market.

Why should industry professionals trust Eurovent certification marks?

Eurovent certification is the gold standard when it comes to the HVAC&R market. Firstly, ECC is a long established certification company, and has been certifying products since 1994. Secondly, ECC certify a wide range of certification marks including the flagship Eurovent Certified Performance mark, the NF mark, QB mark, Keymark, CE Trade Mark and MCS for Heat Pumps. Thirdly, ECC are a global certification body. From Australia to Asia, Europe to the Middle East, we certify HVAC&R products to ensure they perform as expected.

One of the key reasons you should choose ECC is that our processes are tested to the most stringent standards too. ECC is accredited as a certification body compliant with ISO/IEC 17065:2012 standard by COFRAC (Accreditation N°5-0517, scope available on www.cofrac.fr). This accreditation is recognized throughout Europe by the EA, the European co-operation for Accreditation. To ensure consistent compliance, COFRAC accreditation is a continuous process, with evaluations every 15 months across a five year accreditation period.

Eurovent certification enables industry professionals to make informed decisions about energy efficient HVAC&R products. Our easy to use online directory allows you to search products by family, type, brand, model name or certificate number. You can also directly compare certified products and download product information, allowing you to make the best choice for your project.

Use our certified product directory today