APPLIANCES BURNING GASEOUS FUELS GAR (2016/426/AB)

Gas Appliances Regulation 2016/426 / EU (GAR) consists of the legal framework applied for gas appliances in EU Member States. It aims for the safe and reliable circulation of gas appliances and equipment in the EU market.

The GAR was published by the European Commission on March 31, 2016, and the transition process has become a mandatory provision in EU countries as of April 21, 2018.

The GAR, the new regulation, contains the essential requirements for a appliance or equipment to be put on the market in the EU market. It does not specify how these requirements will be fulfilled, so it gives flexibility to manufacturers regarding the technical solutions to be implemented. In order to facilitate market access, the Harmonized Standards, whose reference numbers have been published in the EU Official Journal, provide information on compliance with the essential requirements of the regulation. The implementation of harmonized standards is based on a voluntary principle. Standardization works are coordinated by CEN.

This regulation applies to some equipment including gas fired appliances, regulating and control equipment and sub-equipment operating at normal temperature with fuel in gas phase at 1 bar pressure and 15C conditions. The regulation is compulsory for all gas appliances and equipment that operate under these conditions and are covered by the regulation and have CE marking. However, there are some exceptions to the regulation, including products used for industrial purposes in industrial facilities. The Regulation defines gas as a fuel that is in gas phase at 15 degrees Celsius under 1 bar pressure, therefore devices using natural gas and LPG are separated from the others. When second-hand products are sold, they only need to comply with the essential requirements of the regulation. Manufacturers of new products are required to fulfill the protection conditions controlled by type testing, create a technical file, and mark the product with the CE logo.

This regulation requires an independent notified body authorized by the European Commission to be type tested and approved by an inspection Module of the manufacturer.

In addition, the new Gas Appliances Regulation 2016/426 / EU requires compliance reports and certificates according to LVD and EMC Regulations for products that contain electrical components (materials) and components that may create magnetic fields.

GAR sets out product categories that are covered but do not list the covered products separately. However, in order to facilitate the determination of whether a particular product is covered by the Regulation, a list for demonstration purposes has been prepared by all relevant parties. The meanings of some words used in a note belonging to the list are explained. In addition, some specific elements of certain product categories are described in separate Guidance documents.

The innovations that come with GAR are as follows;

  1. While preparing their technical files, the producers have to prepare the Risk Analysis of the product in accordance with the essential requirements of the new regulation on the product.
  2. While MODULE B in the old regulation can be owned indefinitely, the validity of the MODULE B – Type examination certificate is limited to 10 years in the new regulation.
  3. In the new GAR Regulation, the EC Type Declaration of Conformity has been named MODULE C2.
  4. In the new GAR Regulation, it has become mandatory to attach “CE” mark to the fittings.
  5. 105 ° C maximum operating temperature limit has been removed in the new GAR Regulation.
  6. Apart from the producers, distributors and retailers have also been assigned responsibilities regarding the “CE” mark.
  7. CO – Carbon monoxide limits have become mandatory for all devices with and without flues.
  8. With the new GAR Regulation, Flame Control Device has become mandatory for applicable devices.
  9. LVD and EMC compliance reports must be made available by the manufacturer for gas appliances containing electrical components and supplies.
  • Condensing and non-condensing (convectional) combi boilers
  • Gas-fired central heating boilers
  • Water heaters
  • Domestic gas heated burners, ovens
  • Gas heated catering equipment (open burners, work burners, plate grills, solid tops, double boilers, etc.)
  • Hoods
  • Gas taps and valves (except ball valves in the scope of EN 331)
  • Control and supervision devices of gas fired heating and cooking appliances
  • Camp stoves
  • Gas heated chargrills and barbecues,

and similar gas burning (not intended for industrial use) products are evaluated within the scope of this Directive.

  • EU TYPE EXAMINATION – MODULE B: It covers Type tests.
  • EU DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY TO TYPE – MODULE C: Conformity to type based on internal production control plus supervised product checks at random intervals.
  • QUALITY ASSURANCE OF THE PRODUCTION PROCESS – MODULE D: It is applied based on the Quality Management System.
  • PRODUCT QUALITY ASSURANCE – MODULE E: It is applied on the end product based on the Quality Management System.
  • EU VERIFICATION – MODULE F: It must be applied on every statistics-based device.
  • EU UNIT VERIFICATION – MODULE G: It is product-based and all required experiments must be performed.

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