Comprehensive services in areas of testing, inspection, certification and training.
Comprehensive services in areas of testing, inspection, certification and training.
Our colleague, Ing. Jakub Dohnal, ENplus® Wood Pellets Specialist, had the opportunity to share his experience in an article for ENplus-pellets.eu.
In the interview he approached:
As an organization operating in the TIC sector (testing, inspection and certification), SZÚ covers a relatively broad portfolio of services.
Products such as pellet stoves, solid fuel boilers, water heaters and buffer tanks are strongly interconnected, so when we connect the testing of these products with our chemical laboratory, we provide manufacturers with comprehensive coverage of everything they need in the field of testing and certification of thermal technology.
My colleagues and I also test heating elements, floor convectors and ceiling panels, products without which no heating system is functional. In addition, fittings used for heat and water distribution can be tested by us.
In general, the SZÚ covers more than thirty fields for which it tests products - from the smallest things such as lighters to medical devices and equipment for nuclear power plants.
The SZÚ's services are therefore very comprehensive in order to ensure the safety of the product being assessed.
Thanks to its experience with similar certification marks such as Flamme Verte, EPA or KEYMARK, SZÚ as a certification body has managed to implement the ENplus® certification mark in its accreditations and thus be a stable partner for clients on the global market.
The ENplus® certification guarantees that the pellets meet strict standards not only in terms of the technical parameters of the pellets, but also in terms of the quality control system of the production. A company with ENplus® certification must systematically ensure continuous quality control of the entire production process. The correct set-up of the quality management system is checked annually by the SZU staff as part of the annual supervisory inspections.
During the ENplus® inspection, pellets are taken from the production process and subsequently analysed in our accredited laboratory. Thanks to the comprehensive ENplus® certification from SZU, the end customer is assured of the best quality pellets on the market!It can also be said that with the launch of the revised ENplus® certification scheme, the interest of foreign customers in our services is also increasing. Until 2022, we worked exclusively with customers from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Currently, our customer portfolio is expanding to include clients from Romania, Turkey and China.
Our clients are therefore many, but we enjoy their diversity and different approaches to production and quality management. Each market is unique and has its own specificities in terms of the raw material used and the production process itself.
In some ways we are very surprised that even a simplified and thoroughly optimised production process can produce very high quality pellets. The most interesting thing about being a controller is to learn about production processes other than those commonly established. Each company is unique and brings us new experiences. It helps us grow technically and professionally and do our job more responsibly.
We only use ENplus® certified pellets for testing and the stove conformity assessment process, where we have guaranteed quality and durability. We verify their quality in our own chemical laboratory, which among other things tests the samples for the pellet certification we issue.
Pellet stoves are rigorously tested for emission and performance parameters. One of the conditions for placing a product on the market is compliance with ecodesign requirements, i.e. strict emission limits and efficiency. The efficiency also includes any electricity consumption of the stove.
In order to meet and continuously achieve the strict limits, it is necessary to use quality fuel, the quality of which is proven by certification, which includes regular checks and verification of the quality of the pellets. Experience from pellet stove testing shows that the quality of the pellets plays a very important role, the results between certified and non-certified pellets differ by tens of % in efficiency, i.e. the user consumes tens of % more fuel (heat gained for heating) at the same output.
EN 16510 sets out ecodesign requirements and new test methods, as well as stricter requirements for equipment that must be met. For example, the methodology for measuring fine dust particles during combustion has changed, i.e. the worse the pellets, the worse the results and the higher the dust emissions to the environment (from the chimney).
The use of uncertified, poor quality pellets, especially in the heating season, will significantly affect the ambient air quality, especially in built-up areas. And this is certainly not pleasant for anyone. In short, by using the wrong fuel, the user degrades the quality of their pellet stove.Poor quality pellets produce more harmful substances that clog the combustion chamber and flue. Because of clogging, for example, the stove may not recognize that imperfect combustion is occurring and may misjudge the required fuel dosage, which, for example, becomes congested and risks dangerous conditions and backfiring into the hopper.
Imperfect combustion results in higher ash levels and glass discoloration, and the user is forced to clean the combustion chamber and glass more frequently. It also results in higher fuel consumption, i.e. the user has to refill the tank more often and during the heating season the user pays more for uncertified fuel than for quality pellets.
Read the full interview in the original here: https://enplus-pellets.eu/2024/10/28/jakub-dohnal-from-szu-about-the-importance-of-testing-and-the-benefits-of-quality-certification/
The SZÚ team would like to thank the ENplus-pellets portal and our colleagues Ing. Jakub Dohnal and Ivo Winkler for the realization of the article.
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