Insulating glass units: harmonization by means of CE making

摘要

Standard harmonization has, in the last ten years, been a fundamental target for the European Commission; mandate to CEN has been given in order to prepare European Normatives covering all industrial fields. CEN/TC 129 "Glass in Buildings" Technical Committee has recently finalized its work, and all technical drafts for insulating glass units have been approved, becoming EN Standards: EN 1279-1: Glass in Building - Insulating glass units - Part 1: Generalities, dimensional tolerances and rules for the system description; EN 1279-2: Glass in Building - Insulating glass units - Part 2: Long-term test method and requirements for moisture penetration; EN 1279-3: Glass in Building - Insulating glass units - Part 3: Long-term test method and requirements for gas leakage rate and gas concentration tolerances; EN 1279-4: Glass in Building - Insulating glass units - Part 4: Test methods for the physical attributes of edge seals; EN 1279-6: Glass in Building - Insulating glass units -Part 6: Factory production control and periodic tests. These European Standards shall be given the status of national standards, either by publication of an identical text or by endorsement, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn. In accordance with EC Directive 89/106, which prescribes obligatorily CE marking for all glass products, when prEN 1279-5 "Evaluation of Conformity" is approved, and after a transitional period of 19 months, only IG manufacturers complying with this standard will be allowed to commercialize their products. It is, therefore, time for all manufacturers to approach standard contents. This article will give basic information on factory production control requirements, and inspection and testing methods focusing on sealants.