The 2013 CE marking requirements for windows and doors, could mean yours are non compliant ! You may have to pay more, find out why ?

1. How Do The July 2013 CE Marking Requirements for Windows
and Doors Affect You?
luxal.co.uk /how-do-the-july-2013-ce-marking-requirements-f or-windows-and-doors-af f ect-you/
By Frank Tate
An important piece of EU legislation has recently come into effect which is going to have a massive impact on
window and door products and manufacturers in the UK – and if you’re not careful you could find that the amount that
you have to pay for your future glazing purchases will increase.
As of 1st July 2013, it has become mandatory for all glazing products sold in the European Union to demonstrate
and prove their compliance with EU performance, energy and safety regulations by being tested for and labelled
with the CE mark.
The regulations are part of an EU-wide directive to harmonise standards across the 28 member countries, and
windows and doors are the latest product category to come under the CE marking spotlight. The aim is to give
consumers a consistent way to compare glazing products and to ensure that adequate performance and safety
levels are met across the industry.
Luxal – CE Compliant Since 2010
Here at Luxal we are keen supporters of the new regulations because we believe that they are a significant step
forward, with benefits for both consumers and the glazing industry at large. All of the windows, doors and curtain
walling we supply have been CE compliant for the last 3 years – because we know that our customers value the
peace of mind that comes from purchasing tested and certified products.
However, not all glazing manufacturers have chosen to be compliant with this in the past and many will be
unprepared for the now mandatory requirements. Many will sadly choose to ignore the new regulations and continue
shipping their glazing products without CE tests or markings.
The Government here in the UK has indicated that the law will be policed and controlled by Trading Standards, and
non-compliant suppliers risk a large fine and possibly a custodial sentence. Trading Standards also has the right to
challenge any manufacturer’s test results to establish if a false declaration has been made. The manufacturer must
then present all technical evidence to prove that their figures are correct.
What tests must be passed for CE compliance?
To be compliant, doors and windows must pass performance and
durability tests – known as Initial Type Testing – which can be
expensive and take several months to complete, especially if the
manufacturer has a wide range of products (and of course all products
that they sell in the UK and EU must go through this testing and fully
pass).
Windows and doors are required to pass tests for the different
performance characteristics defined by European standards –
including Watertightness, Resistance to Wind, Air Permeability,
Resistance to Fire, Smoke Leakage, Acoustic Performance and
Thermal Transmittance (“U Value”). Some tests are mandatory, and
some are optional – and there are different requirements for windows
and doors. The test results of up to 7 of these characteristics must be
shown on a CE label attached to the product itself, its packaging or
the customer invoice.

2. Quality assurance starts in the factory
Manufacturers must also implement a factory control system for any of
their products to be compliant and this again may take many months
of planning, design and implementation depending on the size and
complexity of their operation.
The factory control system put in place must ensure that any supply
and material failings, anomalies and flaws in the manufacturing
process are properly recorded and addressed to avoid sub-standard
or poorly performing units being shipped out to customers.
The impact on aluminium window prices
The testing is independently undertaken by accredited third party specialists. Some of the testing goes beyond
traditional national requirements, and higher ‘risk’ products (e.g. fire resistant) require greater involvement of third
parties.
All of these requirements will inevitably combine to place a considerable financial burden on some manufacturers,
and they may be forced to pass these costs on to consumers in the form of increased prices. However, we have no
plans to raise our prices because we have already done all of the background work and gone through the full
compliance procedure some time ago.
Make sure your supplier is CE compliant
The aim of CE marking is to harmonise the level of safety for products. It means that the manufacturer has verified
that the product complies with all relevant essential requirements of the European Construction Products Directives
(CPD):
1. Mechanical resistance and stability
2. Safety in case of fire
3. Hygiene, health and the environment
4. Safety in use
5. Protection against noise
6. Energy economy and heat retention
So make sure that any windows and doors that you buy are CE marked to know that you are buying from a
reputable supplier which has gone through the testing and compliance required to reach the standards called for in
the regulations.
Our commitment to our customers
At Luxal we are proud of our history and culture of pro-actively putting our customers’ safety first – and we will
continue to stay one step ahead of the regulations coming out of Europe to ensure that we always provide the
highest quality glazing products on the market.
For more information, please call us on 0203 00 22 088, or feel free to leave a comment or question below.
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