Construction Products Regulation (CPR) – coaxial and twisted-pair cables recommended for low-current systems in multi-family buildings.

The Construction Products Regulation (CPR) is the REGULATION (EU) No. 305/2011 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 9 March 2011 related to the construction products and repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC (Construction Product Directive). The regulation classifies construction products and lays down the rules regarding testing of said products. The Regulation entered into force on July 1, 2013.

In the case of isolated conductors and cables used as construction products, the CPR is based on the harmonized European standard EN 50575:2014, whose implementation date was set at July 1, 2016. Since that date, manufacturers/importers have had 12 months to fully comply with the new regulations and adapt to the new requirements. This means that from July 1st 2017 all installation cables should be treated as construction products and subject to appropriate regulations. The new regulations require manufacturers to issue Declaration of Performance (DoP), as well as label their products meeting the relevant standards with the CE mark. The manufacturer, by drawing up their DoP, assumes the responsibility for the conformity of the construction product with the declared performance(s). EN 50575 standard specifies the requirements for the fire performance of cables which are used in permanent systems in buildings, i.e. power cables, control and communication cables, fiber optic cables:

So far, the conductors and cables have been considered exclusively as electrical products subject to product safety regulations under the Low Voltage Directive (LVD) and were subject to CE marking by the manufacturer. The new rules established by EN50575 impose on the manufacturers (also importers and distributors) the obligation to commission relevant tests to notified certification bodies/laboratories in order to obtain certificates confirming the fire resistance classes of their products and to issue Declarations of Performance (DoP) with the relevant Euroclasses. The Euroclass of a construction product (including power, control and communication cables) allows for its classification in terms of reaction to fire according to the same rules and criteria across Europe. The markings of the fire classification can already be found on the labels of many construction products and will soon be required for all such products.

Most of the materials used for the cable sheath are combustible polymers (flammable or flame retardant). Polyvinyl chloride is the most popular electrical insulating material. Without special additives, it is flammable and causes flame propagation. In case of fire, thermal degradation processes occur, which may be accompanied by flame spread and emission of decomposition products, including smoke.

About 60% of the mass of polyvinyl chloride is chlorine, a highly poisonous gas used as a warfare weapon in World War I. Chlorine is a chemical element in group 17 of the periodic table (a halogen), which also includes astatine, bromine, fluorine, and iodine. Overheated PVC (polyvinyl chloride) decomposes releasing chlorine (Cl) and hydrogen chloride (HCl) which forms hydrochloric acid when combined with water. During normal use of the system, as the materials mentioned age without exceeding their maximum allowable operating temperature, these processes occur very slowly. When the decomposition temperature of 200-300°C is exceeded (under fire conditions), pyrolysis of polyvinyl chloride (thermal decomposition of a chemical compound by breaking up molecules of higher molecular weight into smaller ones) intensifies. During a fire, the softener combustion produces black, corrosive and opaque smoke and toxic gases. The mass of hydrochloric acid generation reaches 20% of the mass of burned PVC. The mass of 1 kg of PVC burned fills with smoke a room with a volume of 500 m3.

Cables as well as other products used in construction industry are subject to evaluation in terms of their reaction to fire. It is estimated that from 60% to 80% of all fire deaths are caused by poisoning, suffocation or inability to quickly evacuate the place of danger. It is required that the materials used for the furnishings of the building, including wires, cables and other elements associated with the electrical and telecommunications systems, work properly under normal conditions of the building use as well as under emergency conditions i.e. fire (no opaque, corrosive and toxic smoke emission).

According to CPR and the EN50575 standard there are seven Euroclasses classifying the reaction of cables to fire: Aca, B1ca, B2ca, Cca, Dca, Eca, Fca along with additional criteria characterizing smoke production, occurrence of flaming droplets/particles and acidity of combustion and thermal decomposition products. Aca class defines nonflammable cables (no reaction), whereas Fca class contains cables not fulfilling Eca class requirements (i.e. with undetermined performance). Additional classification includes:

• s1, s2 - smoke production,
• d1, d2 - occurrence of flaming droplets/particles,
• a1 - acidity.

The CPR regulation does not directly apply to the design and construction of buildings, but it does require fire safety of buildings to be ensured, that is, it indirectly requires the use of cables with a certain reaction to fire class. The CPR regulation does not impose on the EU Member States the requirements for types of buildings and associated cables with specific fire reaction classes. The requirements for using cables with a specific reaction to fire class in a given type of building should be based on a risk analysis made by the installation designer or other national formal and legal documents. Each member state introduces appropriate requirements for buildings on their own.

With the introduction of the common European reaction to fire classes, designers and architects have at hand clear regulations regarding the use of the appropriate types of cables. Where greater safety in case of fire is required (high-rise residential buildings), it is recommended to use cables with LSZH (LS0H) sheath, i.e. the halogen-free insulation.

With the introduction of the European classes of reaction to fire, designers and architects have clear regulations regarding the use of the appropriate type of cables. In order to achieve a higher level of fire safety, cable manufacturers recommend the use of B2CA cables in special-purpose buildings which have to meet very high safety requirements (e.g. in hospitals, nurseries, high-rise buildings, office buildings, and nursing homes).

Cable name	Code	DoP PL	DoP EN	Application	Type	Jacket	Impedance	Reaction to fire
TRISET 302 Eca	E1005_100 E1005_250 E1005_500			indoor	TRI-SHIELD triple shield - first foil Al/PET/Al + braiding 77% + second foil Al/PET	PVC	75 Ω	Eca
TRISET 302 Dca	E1006_500					LSZH	75 Ω	Dca s2, d1, a1
TRISET 302 B2ca	E1007_500					LSZH	75 Ω	B2ca s1a, d1, a1
TRISET 302 Fca (żelowany)	E1008_100 E1008_250 E1008_500			outdoor		PE	75 Ω	Fca
TRISET 113	E1015_1 E1015_100 E1015_200 E1015_500			indoor	double shield - foil Al/PET/Al + braiding 81%	PVC	75 Ω	Eca
TRISET PLUS LSZH	E1016_100 E1016_500				TRI-SHIELD tripel shield - first foil Al/PET/SY + braiding 81% + second foil Al/PET	LSZH	75 Ω	Dca s2, d1, a1
TRISET-113 PE (żelowany)	E1017_1 E1017_100 E1017_200 E1017_500			outdoor	double shield - foil Al/PET/Al + braiding 81%	PE	75 Ω	Fca
TRISET B2CA	E1020_500			indoor	TRI-SHIELD triple shield - first foil Al/PET/SY + braiding 82% (tinned copper)  + second foil Al/PET	LSZH	75 Ω	B2ca s1a, d1, a1
TRISET-11 PE	E1025_300			outdoor	double shield - foil Al/PET/Al + braiding 86%	PE	75 Ω	Fca
TRISET-11 LSZH	E1027_300			indoor	double shield - foil Al/PET/Al + braiding 86%	LSZH	75 Ω	Cca s1a, d1, a1
Tri-Lan 240 PE	E1171_1 E1171_100 E1171_500			outdoor	foil Al/PET/Al + braiding 83% (tinned copper)	PE	50 Ω	Fca
Tri-Lan 240	E1172_100			indoor	foil Al/PET/Al + braiding 83% (tinned copper)	PVC	50 Ω	Eca
Tri-Lan 400 PE	E1173_1 E1173_100			outdoor	foil Al/PET + braiding 83% (tinned copper)	PE	50 Ω	Fca

 

Twisted pair cables are used for data transmission in telecommunications and computer networks, mostly in Ethernet networks installed in buildings (structural cabling). They are composed of one or more pairs of twisted isolated wires. Twisting minimizes the effects of external and internal (crosstalk) electromagnetic interference.

Categories/classes of twisted pair cables enable users to select proper cables for applications in different networks, and ensure backward compatibility with existing solutions. The requirements for specific categories or classes of structured cabling (including compatibility issues) are defined by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The EIA/TIA standard and the European standard EN50173 define several groups of copper cables with different capabilities of data transmission.

As with coaxial cables, in order to achieve a higher level of fire safety, twisted-pair cable manufacturers recommend the use of cables in B2CA flammability class in special-purpose buildings ( particularly cables installed within escape routes), which must meet very high safety requirements (e.g., hospitals, nurseries, high-rise buildings, office buildings, nursing homes).

code	cable name	DoP PL	DoP EN	category	reaction to fire
E1408	NETSET U/UTP			5e	Eca
E1409	NETSET Lite U/UTP			5e	Eca
E1410	NETSET U/UTP PE+ żel			5e	Fca
E1412	NETSET U/UTP PE			5e	Fca
E1414	NETSET BOX U/UTP			5e	Dca s1, d2, a1
E1415	NETSET U/UTP			5e	Cca s1a, d1, a1
E1515	NETSET F/UTP			5e	Eca
E1517	NETSET F/UTP PE			5e	Fca
E1519	NETSET F/UTP 5e + linka			5e	Fca
E1608	NETSET U/UTP			6	Eca
E1611	NETSET BOX U/UTP			6	Fca
E1612	NETSET F/UTP			6	Dca s2, d2, a1
E1614	NETSET BOX U/UTP			6	Dca s2, d2, a1
E1615	NETSET U/UTP			6	B2ca s1a, d1, a1
E1616	NETSET U/FTP			6A	Eca
E1617	NETSET U/FTP			6A	B2ca s1a, d1, a1
E1626	NETSET S/FTP			7	Cca s1a, d1, a1