Feb 14 2011
TÜV Rheinland, a solar and PV testing based in North America, has been given Keymark Accreditation by Din Certco, for performing performance verification and solar thermal collector testing.
The accreditation would permit solar collecting product manufacturers to get their products certified by a third party, and thus ensure that they match up to the European standards. The company executes similar operations for access to markets in North America, under the Solar Rating and Certification (SRCC) testing and certification program.
Solar and PV testing based in North America
Keymark is the mark given by Europe, and indicates that the product has been tested once and could be accepted anywhere. The manufacturers whose products have the keymark on their products demonstrate that their product conforms to the European standards, and indicate that the declared characteristics of the product could be relied on. An added advantage to Keymark is the comprehensive inspection and testing scheme for a product that could be connected to the needs of CE marking, decreasing the overall expenses for its manufacturers.
The Solar Keymark is granted on the basis of Harmonized European Mark System, which the European Committee has established and developed for the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) and Standardization (CEN). TÜV Rheinland has been certified by the German- based national member body of CEN, the Din Certco, for testing as per the CEN Keymark scheme regulations, for solar thermal products. This certification scheme was set up with the involvement of testing laboratories, manufacturers, European Solar Thermal Industry (ESTIF) and certification bodies. It is based on EN 12975 and EN 12976, which are the European product standards that spell out uniform quality needs for the products, along with the certification and testing of solar thermal products in the European region.