HP Keymark, owned by the European Committee for Standardization CEN, is a voluntary European certification mark for heat pumps. It’s purpose is to introduce ‘a single certificate for a single European market’: a product that is tested once is ready to be sold everywhere in Europe.
The last Keymark meeting, held on March 7th, ended on a positive note. Not even 18 months after its introduction, more than 300 Keymark certificates have been issued to the market. With an average of four product models covered by a single certificate, it means that 1.200 different product types are certified. This number is expected to double in the next 12 months.
Growth of sales
The HP Keymark certificates have been issued by four certification bodies in Europe (DIN Certco, Rise, BRE Global and VDE) while new ones are being prepared by Icim, BBA and SZU in early 2018. 18 brands are currently using the HP Keymark certification, and their number is growing. One reason for the increasing interest in a certification system is the growth of heat pump unit sales in Europe. A single European Market is served by manufacturers that aim for quality products, while avoiding several sets of national quality requirements. The heat pump Keymark caters to them.
Ecodesign
It is fully complying with the requirements of European Union’s Ecodesign regulation for boilers, combi-boilers and hot water heaters (also known as Ecodesign Lot 1, Lot 2 and Lot 10) and provides an external verification to the performance values presented to the end user via the energy label. An increasing number of member states recognize this effort and acknowledge the HP Keymark as a sufficient proof of quality products. Continuing growth of heat pump sales in Europe will make quality in the market more and more important to make heat pump technology a trusted cornerstone of a decarbonized European heating and cooling sector.