The international standards for solar thermal collectors and components as a medium of quality assurance

الملخص EN

Within this publication a derated mwsw about the national and international solar thermal standards is made the various tests are described and a cross reference list foe comparing the chfferent standards is given moreover a cenacanca model is presented and die advantage of third party assessment is earned out.

tbe requirement for a solar thermal test laboratory to conduct independent third parry assessment by means of an iso tec 17025 accreditation is given finally die concept of a qualm- system for solar thermal markets is explained and major advantages are outlined.

soiir thermal systems and their components are described in various national and international standards.

in Europe the standard ex12975 defines the regulations and requirements tor solar thermal collectors, the standard en12976 is established for the evaluation of factory made solar thermal systems.

the en12977 is the state of the art standard for the evaluation of custom build systems.

nowadays in libya the standard is09s06 for solar collectors and the standard ts09459 for domestic water heating systems define the regulations and requirements for solar thermal collectors and systems.

in the meanwhile, empowered center for renewable energy and energy efficiency certification body is under construction.

ihis body is working now to set the minimum requirements of the testing facilities of solar thermal systems.

the international standard for collector testing is the is09s06 and the standard is09459 part 2.4.5 for domestic water heating systems.

within the year 2013 a revisxin of the is09s06 will be published and.

for the first time, a consistent harmonized standard for the main solar thermal markets will be set in force.

besides the various standards for solar thermal products a meaningful dement for the quality assurance and the customer protection is third party certification.

'ihird party certification involves an independent assessment, declaring that specified requirements regarding a product are fulfilled.

in a certification process based on specified certification rules an authorized certification body is confirming that a solar thermal product has passed performance tests, reliability tests and further requirements according to the standards.

in Europe a certification body holds an accreditation according to en45011.

at international level the standard iscviec17065 is in force.

test results as a basis for product certification arc determined by solar thermal test laboratories.

i be implementation and the business operation of such a solar thermal test laboratory is an important element within the national / regional solar thermal market.

to ensure the quality of the products and to attend the role of an observer on the market, the test facility has to fulfill a number of requirements.

besides the necessary- technical equipment and the implementation of tests in accordance with the various national and international standards, the laboratory shall realize a quality management system to guarantee the quality of tests and services.

based on the technical equipment, the testing scope and an implemented quality management system (qms), the test laboratory can achieve an accreditation according to iso/ieq7025 as basis for independent third party testing.

independent testing and evaluation of soiar thermal collectors and components like hot water stores and controllers olsers an important medium for quality assurance.

to guarantee a high degree of product quality and consumer protection a quality system for the solar thermal market is necessary.

core of the quality assurance of a functioning solar thermal market are the national standards body, which is developing standards and regulations as a working basis in technical committees, the national metrology institute that guarantees the traceability of measurements on fundamental and natural constants, and finally the national accreditation body which ensures the conformity of the various actors to a specific standard.

laboratories work closely with the certification authorities and apply the developed specific norms and standards.

'ihe certification bodies must ensure the conformance of their test laboratories with the standard iso/i kc17025, which include the quality standard iso9001:2008 and also include additional requirements.

the traceability of the metrics of solar thermal testing laboratories is usually made with the help of calibration laboratories that are specialized on certain measurements.

those are also accredited and ensure the traceability of their measurements to the national meteorology institute.

other stakeholders are the group of importers and exporters and foreign investors who are on the national market in entrepreneurial activities, as well as the group of consumer organizations that represent the interests of customers.

by means of good networking of stakeholders and focusing on the quality process, a high-quality and nourishing solar thermal market can be created.