ASERCOM has revised its condensing units certification programme.
The programme is immediately available for members and non-member companies. The association’s own online database for the products submitted has been expanded for greater transparency to include the three categories of ‘Listed’, ‘Checked’ and ‘Certified’.
The certification programme, first initiated in 2012 and provided to members of the association and non-member companies in the sector, generates comparable product performance data in the condensing unit market segment. In this way, ASERCOM responds to increasing demand for transparency in a high-growth market with a great number of new developments in the field of condensing units.
New laws and regulations, such as the EU Ecodesign Regulation (EU) 2015/1095, contribute to improved energy efficiency of energy-related products by requiring new minimum efficiency performance standards. The Ecodesign regulation also imposes new provisions regarding technical documentation and the publication of the coefficient of performance or the seasonal energy performance ratio.
To establish standards and provide guidance, ASERCOM established a certification for compressors in 1997. The 2012 condensing units certification programme has now been amended and after successful certification, ASERCOM will issue a quality seal for condensing units. This will allow participants to distinguish themselves and their products. The transparency of the ASERCOM certification scheme clearly demonstrates how highly the participants value quality requirements.
Expansion of the association’s database
The performance data of all certified condensing units are freely accessible in the association’s database on the ASERCOM website. As part of a comprehensive expansion, three new categories were added to the database. Irrespective of the status of certification, all submitted units are listed in the database and assigned to one of the new categories according to individual progress: ‘Listed’ (the product has been submitted to ASERCOM); ‘Checked’ (the Ecodesign data sheet and compliance with the Ecodesign regulation have been checked by ASERCOM); or ‘Certified’ (the unit has been certified by the certification committee).
Thanks to a detailed filter function, the database can be searched quickly and easily, and currently contains 6,500 product entries.
ASERCOM certification programme
The ASERCOM certification programme for condensing units is a standardised, voluntary and independent process, which consists of several steps. The programme generates objectively comparable performance data for condensing units, which are subject to very narrow tolerances. These publicly available performance data create transparency, comparability and fair competition, which the market urgently requires.
It is to the benefit of the manufacturing companies, customers and end users to advance the certification of condensing units. In this way, manufacturers show that they comply with statutory requirements. For wholesalers and refrigeration and air-conditioning installers, the extensive ASERCOM database offers a neutral platform to obtain information about products already available on the market or newly launched products, and to ensure that they comply with the current regulations.
In addition, the ASERCOM database enables interested end consumers to verify the compliance of their existing or desired condensing unit at any time.
ASERCOM certification software
The certification process is performed through ASERCOM software. This software is used to create and identify the data sets of the individual components of a condensing unit. They are calculated by entering the technical data of the main components of the condensing units. This includes, among other things, the compressor, the condenser block and the fan unit. All relevant performance data of the condensing unit, as well as the coefficient of performance or the seasonal energy performance ratio, is calculated based on these data.
ASERCOM inspects and assesses the components and the calculated data in cooperation with the manufacturers. For the purposes of self-monitoring of the ASERCOM certification management, the performance data of about 20 percent of the ‘certified’ units undergo additional testing by independent test institutes.
The certification committee decides conclusively on the plausibility of the submitted data sets and awards the certifications. A quality label is awarded by ASERCOM to tested units.