CE marking

The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) has introduced a new standard or norm for suspended ceilings EN 13964. Compliance with this norm is mandatory as of 1 July 2007. The norm covers Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. It applies to suspended ceilings for interior applications in general building and civil engineering structures and encompasses complete kits, substructures sold as kits, individual components of such substructures, and membrane components.

All relevant Rockfon ceiling tiles (membranes) and RockLink grids (substructure components) were CE marked from October 2005, across all our factories in Europe.

The European Suspended Ceilings Norm defines a number of product characteristics which must or can be declared on product labels and in product documentation. In the interest of maximising the information we provide to our customers, the Rockfon Group has selected a considerable number of parameters that are now declared for each of our CE marked products.

The declared parameters are:

  • Sound absorption – weighted sound absorption coefficient - alpha w (will be declared on all Rockfon products)
  • Reaction to fire – European fire class (will be declared on all Rockfon products)
  • Flexural tensile strength – a measure of ceiling tile deflection under certain humidity and temperature conditions (will be declared on all Rockfon products starting January 2006)
  • Release of formaldehyde (will be declared on all Rockfon products)
  • Thermal conductivity – the insulation value - lambda-D (will be declared for relevant Rockfon products)
  • Impact resistance – Hand ball impact class (will be declared for relevant Rockfon products)

All the declared values have been tested in an extensive Type Testing program conducted by notified laboratories in accordance with the Suspended Ceilings Norm and our production facilities have been audited by an independent Certification Body BCCA. Furthermore, continuously audited Factory Production Control will, as previously, always ensure that our customers can count on receiving the standard of product performance declared on the CE marked label.

With regards to the individual declared values, some explanations are required:

Sound absorption
All Rockfon product groups have been tested in accordance with EN ISO 354 and classified in accordance with EN ISO 11654, as required by the Suspended Ceilings Norm. The CE labels will show an alpha w value, which will be complemented by sound absorption curves over the frequency range 125-4000 Hertz in our product documentation.
 
Reaction to fire
Fire safety expressed as Euroclasses for Reaction to fire of Rockfon products, have been classified in accordance with EN 13501-1 by notified fire laboratories.
For most Rockfon products the fire classification is A1, Non-combustible – the safest class possible.
For materials not classified as non-combustible additional classification for smoke emission and flaming droplets is necessary.
For the few Rockfon products not classified as A1, our CE-labels will state for instance A2-s1,d0 meaning fire class A2, smoke emission s1 and no flaming droplets.
 
Flexural tensile strength
This parameter is a combination of membrane deflection, humidity resistance and load. The declaration on the CE label will be e.g. 1/C/0N, indicating deflection class 1, exposure class C, with no additional load. The non-hygroscopic Rockwool (resin bonded mineral wool) core ensures that Rockfon ceilings perform exceptionally well in this regard.

  • There are three deflection classes. The most severe class, Class 1, requires that the measured deflection, does not exceed the product span divided by 500, nor exceeds 4.0 mm. In Class 2 the measured deflection must not exceed the product span divided by 300. Class 3 is defined by no limit on the deflection.
  • There are four exposure classes, Class A to Class D, of which Class D is the most severe. Rockfon Group will declare most products in Class C, meaning that Rockfon ceilings are suitable for environments with varying temperature up to 30ºC with a relative humidity of over 90% accompanied with a risk of condensation. Some products will be declared in Class D for environments with conditions more harsh than Class C, typically swimming pool areas with corrosive pollutants.
  • For simplicity, the Rockfon Group has decided to declare all products with no load, as this is the normal application of Rockfon tiles. Guidance on load bearing capacity for special applications can be found by consulting with our representatives.

Release of formaldehyde
There are two classes, E1 and E2. In order to classify products in Class E1 – the best class,  the product must at any given time release less than 0.124 mg per m3 air as described in EN717-1.
All Rockfon products are well below that threshold and all Rockfon products are consequently classified as Class E1. 
 
Thermal conductivity
The thermal conductivity is declared where the insulation performance of Rockfon ceiling tiles can contribute to the overall building characteristics.
The declared value is expressed on the relevant labels as lambda-D, e.g. λD=0.037 W/mK in accordance with EN 12667. 
 
Impact resistance
Selected Rockfon solutions (including membrane and grid system) will be tested for resistance to ball impact. The test will be conducted in accordance with the Suspended Ceilings Norm EN 13964 and conducted by a certified laboratory.
 
New edge names
In connection with the introduction of the CE-marking, the Rockfon Group has decided to standardise edge names in line with those in the Suspended Ceilings Norm. This standardisation serves to avoid confusion between those  in  the Norm and the edge names used in daily business. Consequently, with CE marking the shadowline/tegular edges, previously called “E” or “F”, will all be renamed “E”.
Similarly, we have decided to simplify the edge description so that a shadowline/tegular edge will be called “E15” or “E24” regardless of its depth. For details on edge depths and angle of rebate / groves, etc. degrees of sloping customers can always refer to our product documentation where the edge formats are described in detail. 
 
Labelling
The new Rockfon ceiling tile labels have been designed to provide all important product information as well as the required CE-related information in an orderly and easy-to-read manner. The same design is used Group-wide.