A harmonised safety standard for permanently installed cables in all types of buildings, including tunnels has been in place since 1 July 2017 with the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) - RFS is the only company in Europe to already offer suitable premium jacket material from this starting date, with coaxial cables certified for the highest fire protection classes under CPR, and this is of course in addition to its long-standing, comprehensive product offering.
Moreover the RFS Hannover manufacturing unit has achieved system 1+ certification by a notified body, allowing us as the only vendor in Europe to offer also coaxial cables in the highest possible CPR classes.” commented Andreas Bergmeister, Product Manager of Indoor Solutions & Business Unit Cables with RFS. In future the various fire protection classes will become more important. “At present, there is a certain ambiguity in the implementation of the standard, as there are recommendations only for the usage of products complying with the Construction Products Regulation. However, these have not actually been implemented into local laws (construction laws),” explained Andreas Bergmeister. At present, only a CPR certification of cables is requested. There isn’t yet any priority on the fire protection classes. This is soon to change.
“RFS has taken a dual-pronged approach from the very beginning - we have had our current product range certified in line with the new requirements and have also focused on the new development of a premium jacket option. That means that we can serve and satisfy all of our customers with our extensive product range. We offer cables in the premium sector with the highest possible fire protection classes and also for less demanding requirements,” noted Andreas Bergmeister.
Since EU directive no. 305/2011, as from 2013 had to be implemented, manufacturers have been dealing with various challenges in the multi-year transitional period. The current CPR standard is EN50575:2017. The background to this is the grouping of cables into fire classes, which may vary from building to building. “That means that a cable for a hospital has one specific fire class and a cable for a train station may have a different one,” explained the specialist. As the current recommendations are not yet anchored in construction law in all countries, there is currently a great degree of unsecurity in the market. “That is why we are very proud that we can already offer a premium jacket from day one. This meets the highest requirements set out in the recommendations from ZVEI (Zentralverband Elektrotechnik und Elektroindustrie - Central German Association for Electric Technology and the Electric Industry) and is thus a perfect addition to our existing product range,” commented Andreas Bergmeister.
Moreover the RFS Hannover manufacturing unit has achieved system 1+ certification by a notified body, allowing us as the only vendor in Europe to offer also coaxial cables in the highest possible CPR classes.” commented Andreas Bergmeister, Product Manager of Indoor Solutions & Business Unit Cables with RFS. In future the various fire protection classes will become more important. “At present, there is a certain ambiguity in the implementation of the standard, as there are recommendations only for the usage of products complying with the Construction Products Regulation. However, these have not actually been implemented into local laws (construction laws),” explained Andreas Bergmeister. At present, only a CPR certification of cables is requested. There isn’t yet any priority on the fire protection classes. This is soon to change.
“RFS has taken a dual-pronged approach from the very beginning - we have had our current product range certified in line with the new requirements and have also focused on the new development of a premium jacket option. That means that we can serve and satisfy all of our customers with our extensive product range. We offer cables in the premium sector with the highest possible fire protection classes and also for less demanding requirements,” noted Andreas Bergmeister.
Since EU directive no. 305/2011, as from 2013 had to be implemented, manufacturers have been dealing with various challenges in the multi-year transitional period. The current CPR standard is EN50575:2017. The background to this is the grouping of cables into fire classes, which may vary from building to building. “That means that a cable for a hospital has one specific fire class and a cable for a train station may have a different one,” explained the specialist. As the current recommendations are not yet anchored in construction law in all countries, there is currently a great degree of unsecurity in the market. “That is why we are very proud that we can already offer a premium jacket from day one. This meets the highest requirements set out in the recommendations from ZVEI (Zentralverband Elektrotechnik und Elektroindustrie - Central German Association for Electric Technology and the Electric Industry) and is thus a perfect addition to our existing product range,” commented Andreas Bergmeister.
