What sort of certification programmes for ductwork airtightness exist?

Eurovent Certita Certification have a certification programme for rigid and semi-rigid ventilation ductwork systems divided into the following sub-programmes:

Each sub-programme applies to ductwork systems fitted with integrated sealing solution as described in the Technical Certification Rules ECP-19.

This programme contains amongst other, airtightness and static gauge pressure limit criteria and is based on European standards.

The certification process is to periodically check the resilience of the company quality system by auditing manufacturing sites and the certified performances of a ventilation system by a third-party laboratory measurement.

The certification brings the supplier products, its technical documentation and quality resilience to a reliable level.

The DUCT program does not cover other types of ventilation ductwork elements like flexible ducts, double-wall ductwork or ductwork made of insulation ductboards.

The Swedish type approval for metallic ducts has been a very important driver for the ventilation business. The requirement based vision has driven the ventilation business since the beginning of the 1970’s  to sustainable solutions with demands on airtightness and strength without a demand for sheet steel thickness. This has led to airtight energy efficient  duct work solutions with as little material as possible.

The Swedish Type approval issued by governmental Boverket is only valid in Sweden but has been widely used in other countries as well. There are two Swedish bodies accredited by SWEDAC to issue type approvals, RISE and Kiwa.

Finland has developed their own approval based on the Swedish type approval and is handled by the Finnish Ministry of Environment, and Eurofins Expert Service Oy is authorized by the Finnish Ministry of Environment to issue type Approvals for building products.

Posted in: Country information, Ductwork airtightness, Ventilation