European certification of heat pumps quality will be simpler in the future. This is the result of a cooperate effort between the European heat pump industry and European certification bodies.

The cooperating parties announced the introduction of new European heat-pump certificate based on the CEN KEYMARK scheme. Martin Forsén, president of the European Heat Pump Association: "Heat pumps provide efficient solutions to meet Europe`s climate and energy targets and more broadly all the goals outlined in the European Energy Union initiative. In this context, the heat pump KEYMARK is an appropriate tool to ensure the highest quality of systems in the market place."

While every manufacturer and importer of heat pumps has to fulfil the requirements of CE marking, those opting for the heat-pump KEYMARK go one step further by choosing a voluntary third party check of product quality. Sören Scholz, head of certification at DIN CERTCO stressed "The KEYMARK will be valid across Europe. Tested and certified once, accepted everywhere is the appropriate approach in a single European market". A single label for heat pumps increases transparency and understanding in the market place and is thus an advantage for industry and governments alike.

Products bearing the heat-pump KEYMARK show to end-users that they have been tested by recognized third party testing laboratories according to European standards and fulfil the requirements of the scheme. The requirements of the new heat-pump KEYMARK include
• a set of performance test requirements carried out by third party tests based on EN 14511, EN 15879 and EN 16147
• a robust model range approach
• a product related Factory Production Control (FPC)
• an initial inspection of the FPC
• Regularly surveillance of the certified products and FPC

The scheme will be introduced to the European market now and is available to final consumers to in Q4 2015. It is compatible with the requirements of Ecodesign and the Energylabel. Once installed, it will also be supportive to market surveillance authorities.

The heat-pump KEYMARK will be part of the CEN KEYMARK scheme. It is open to and executed by several accredited and empowered certification bodies in Europe. From the start it will be executed by DINCERTCO (Germany), BRE (UK) and SP CERT (Sweden). Additional partners have voiced their interest.

The final documents outlining the certification scheme will be published by the end of next week (19.6.2015).

The website www.heatpumpkeymark.com will provide a continuous update on the development of the heat-pump KEYMARK. It will also provide a timeline and practical tools to support the introduction. 

Background information on the heat-pump KEYMARK
- general brochure: www.cen.eu/news/brochures/brochures/Keymark.pdf
- the solar KEYMARK: www.estif.org/solarkeymarknew/index.php
- announcement of the heat-pump KEYMARK: www.dincertco.de/keymark_en

The Brussels based European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) represents the majority of the European heat pump industry. It has currently 110 members from all parts of the industry`s value chain: heat pump and component manufacturers, research institutes, universities, testing labs and energy agencies. Its key goal is to promote awareness and proper deployment of heat pump technology in the European market place for residential, commercial and industrial application. EHPA coordinates the European Quality label for heat pumps and the EUCERT education and training scheme for heat pump installers. It compiles the annual sales statistics and market outlook. For more information, please visit: www.ehpa.org.