Among the various updates contained in this amendment, it is a requirement for installations that intend to comply with this regulation to use a specific minimum Euroclass from the series of classes defined in the Construction Products Directive, which came into force in all EU member states on 1 July 2017. To comply with the BS6701 amendment, end users, specifiers and installers must use a minimum of Cca S1b d2 a2.
The Construction Products Regulation (CPR) has been a major topic in the industry over the past 18 months, and the coexistence period ended in July of this year. During this period, Excel
The networking industry, along with the entire structured cabling sector, was preparing for the expansion of legislation to include performance specifications related to how cables react to fire. The aim of this review was to harmonize these specifications across all EU member states through a predefined classification structure: "Euroclasses.".This classification structure covers seven Euroclasses, from A to F, where Class A cables have the highest fire retardancy and Class F the lowest. However, revisions to the legislation also take into account heat release, smoke production, light transmission, heat dripping, and acid production, in addition to fire retardancy, when a Euroclass classification is required. It is the responsibility of each EU member state to define the minimum recommended Euroclass standard for installations within its market.
Andrew Percival, Managing Director, commented: "Our customers can rest assured that Excel will offer copper and fiber cabling products to meet a wide range of application requirements and EU member states. Our sales and technical support teams have extensive knowledge of CPR requirements and how the changes will affect our customers, so we can provide customers with the right advice to ensure their installations comply with all regulations.".
Andrew continued: "All Declaration of Performance (DoP) documents are available on the Excel website, with all product packaging labeled in accordance with regulations and the Euroclass the cable meets printed on the outer sheath for added peace of mind.".
The fire resistance class will also appear on all Excel network specification sheets and in later editions of the product catalog, along with subclassifications for smoke generation, flame dripping, and acid production.
