Thermal Insulation Products For Buildings

Thermal insulation products make an important contribution to energy conservation and saving our energy resources. A broad range of different thermal insulation products is offered on the market. Their scope of application is as various as their characteristics and the number of existing certification marks.

Therefore the European Standards Organizations CEN and CENELEC established the European quality mark "KEYMARK" giving the manufacturer the opportunity to convince users and consumers of the quality of his products. This meaningful certification gives the manufacturer a market advantage against his competitors.

The Europe-wide uniformed certification scheme for thermal insulation products shows not only that the manufacturer fulfills the legal requirements of CE-marking but also that all characteristics given in the designation code of the product are tested and surveyed by neutral, independent and competent bodies. That improves the confidence of users and consumers - throughout Europe.

As a part of a quality offensive DIN CERTCO and XPS-manufacturing companies, which was initiated jointly with the FPX Professional Extruder Foam Association and FIW, the Research Institute for Thermal Insulation or Forschungsinstitut für Wärmeschutz e.V. have created a specific certification scheme to certify the applications of thermal insulation products according to DIN 4108-10.

Suppliers of thermal insulation products for buildings made of XPS with a valid KEYMARK certification can show to planners and installers by using the certification mark "DIN-Geprüft Anwendung nach DIN 4108-10" that their products fulfil all the requirements of the European Product Standard and the German application standard DIN 4108-10 (see application code) as formerly by the Ü-mark requested of DIBt.

Basis for granting the Insulation-KEYMARK is the European certification scheme for thermal insulation products "Specific CEN KEYMARK Scheme Rules for Thermal Insulation Products", which was created by the responsible European certification committee (QAC - Quality Assurance Committee). The certification scheme is based on the following European product standards:

• DIN EN 13162 "Thermal insulation products for buildings - Factory made mineral wool (MW) products - Specification"
• DIN EN 13163 Thermal insulation products for buildings - Factory made products of expanded polystyrene (EPS) – Specification"
• DIN EN 13164 "Thermal insulation products for buildings - Factory made products of extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) – Specification"
• DIN EN 13165 "Thermal insulation products for buildings - Factory made rigid polyurethane foam (PUR)products – Specification"
• DIN EN 13166 "Thermal insulation products for buildings - Factory made products of phenolic foam (PF) - Specification"
• DIN EN 13167 "Thermal insulation products for buildings - Factory made cellular glass (CG) products - Specification"
• DIN EN 13168 "Thermal insulation products for buildings - Factory made wood wool (WW) products - Specification"
• DIN EN 13169 "Thermal insulation products for buildings - Factory made products of expanded perlite (EPB) – Specification"
• DIN EN 13170 "Thermal insulation products for buildings - Factory made products of expanded cork (ICB) - Specification"
• DIN EN 13171 "Thermal insulation products for buildings - Factory made wood fibre (WF) products - Specification"

These standards specify the requirements and testing procedures for thermal insulation products concerning the characteristics that are defined in the designation code.

The following quality criteria are subject to the testing:

For all applications:

• Thermal resistance and thermal conductivity
• Tolerances for length and width
• Tolerances for thickness
• Tolerances for squareness
• Tolerances for flatness
• Dimensional stability
• Bending strength
• Reaction to fire

For specific application, provided that these characteristics are declared by the manufacturer:

• Dimensional stability under specified temperature and humidity conditions
• Deformation under specified compressive load and temperature conditions
• Compressive stress at 10% deformation
• Tensile strength perpendicular to faces
• Bending strength
• Point load
• Compressive creep
• Water absorption
• Freeze-thaw resistance
• Water vapour transmission
• Dynamic stiffness
• Compressibility
• Apparent density
• Release of dangerous substances

Furthermore the manufacturer has to operate a product related factory production control taking into account the elements of the EN ISO 9000 series.

The conformity assessment for the self- and third party-surveillance as well as the scope of application are set in:

• DIN EN 13172 "Thermal insulation products - Evaluation of conformity"
• DIN V 4108-10 "Thermal insulation and energy economy in buildings - Application-related requirements for thermal materials - Factory made products"

Only those thermal insulation products are certified with the KEYMARK in combination with "DIN-Geprüft" that were successfully tested by a testing laboratory approved by the CEN Certification Board and DIN CERTCO, neutrally assessed and thus proofed the compliance with the relevant standards.

After a positive result of the assessment DIN CERTCO issues a certificate and grants the right to use the KEYMARK in combination with the DIN-Geprüft mark and in conjunction with an individual registration No. of the following structure: 011-7D000.

The thermal Insulation certificate is valid for 2 years. It can be renewed for further 2 years if the monitoring measures and tests show continued compliance with all requirements.

All licensees are listed on our website at "database".

For the specific CEN Keymark Scheme Rules for Thermal Insulation Products please click here.

In addition to KEYMARK-certification the supplier can also apply for certification of application as defined in the application code according to

DIN 4108-10 "Wärmeschutz und Energie-Einsparung in Gebäuden - Teil 10: Anwendungsbezogene Anforderungen an Wärmedämmstoffe - Werkmäßig hergestellte Wärmedämmstoffe"

in Form eines DIN-Zertifikates schriftlich bestätigen lassen. Dies schafft zusätzliches Vertrauen bei Planern und Anwendern in die Produkteignung des eingesetzten Wärmedämmstoffes.