The goal of the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) is to enable European Union countries to regulate building materials for fire resistance and characterize fire byproducts with a single EU-wide set of standards and test methods. Specific to cables in fixed installations, the Construction Products Regulation, EN 50575, was implemented July 1, 2017. All permanently installed power, telecommunications, data and control cables manufactured for or imported into the EU are subject to the Construction Products Regulation (CPR). This regulation applies to cable installed in buildings as well as civil engineering works such as bridges and tunnels.
To comply with the regulation, cable manufacturers must provide a ‘Declaration of Performance’ as proof that their cable has been tested and meets CPR requirements. Cables meeting these requirements will be marked with the letters CE and the Declaration of Performance will provide detailed information about the fire reaction of the cable. Each country within the EU will establish its own rules regarding which Euroclass cable is acceptable for which type of application. For example, one country may approve a horizontal copper data cable with a ranking of Cca for use in the walls of an office building, while another country may require a ranking of B2ca for the same application.
In the table above Class Aca suggests the cable is incombustible and Class Fca indicates the fire performance characteristics have not been determined. Most commercially relevant cables are expected to be in the range of Class B2ca to Eca.
There are additional optional parameters that can be measured during fire testing. Individual countries can define a full set of requirements specific to their building codes which include the Class and the optional criteria. The optional criteria categorize the smoke level produced, the fall of flaming droplets, and the acid content of gases produced.
Teknor Apex has experience with CPR classification and has already supported customers in achieving the higher level classes such as B2ca, Cca and Dca they need in order to distribute cable in European Union countries. Teknor Apex’s Halguard® Low Smoke - Halogen Free Flame Retardant (LS-HFFR) compounds are ideally formulated to comply with the challenging requirements of the higher CPR classes.
For more information about Halguard LS-HFFR compounds please contact us.
