Be more aware of the products you use

Our goal is to make PENOSIL products users more informed about the used products and their qualities.

To help the users to a fast and best result, attention should be paid to the following points:

• Proper understanding of the properties of chemicals and how they react on different substrates.
• The right application techniques.
• Awareness of the environmental impact of products.

To be a more conscious user and as safe as possible for yourself and the environment, read more below, and find about different labels/certificates that can be found on PENOSIL products.

What is CE-marking?

The European Union sets requirements for all manufacturers who are selling their products inside the free trade area. The EU has introduced The Construction Products Regulation (CPR) 305/2011, which came fully into effect on 1^st of July 2013, which key concept is the Declaration of Performance – or as it is simpler called – DoP. The producing of the DoP became compulsory to all manufacturers whose product portfolio includes products covered by a Harmonised European Standard (hEN). The DoP gives the producer the opportunity to deliver the information about characteristics of its product and by drawing the document up the manufacturer assures the conformity of the construction product with the declared performance.

After the manufacturer has drawn up the DoP, the product has to be CE marked. The CE marking is a certification mark that may be called as the little summary of the DoP. The CE mark therefore shows that the products sold in the EEA meet high safety, health and environmental protection requirements set in the hEN (Harmonised European Standard).

For all the Penosil products that fall within the scope of any harmonized European Standard, the DoP and CE marking has been affixed according to the instructions.

What is VOC and how we can help to live in better environment?

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a set of substances belonging to different chemical classes that easily evaporate at room temperature and spread from materials and products into the surroundings. VOCs particularly affect indoor air quality. More than 300 different volatile organic compounds have been identified and many of them are primarily found indoors. They degas from construction materials, furniture, etc. If the content of VOCs is too high, a poor indoor environment can have different health effects. Breathing in VOCs for longer periods of time can cause irritation and may increase risk of health problems, some of the substances are carcinogenic.

The houses are built ever more airtight to save energy therefore the question to reduce VOC level indoor has become important topic and requirements have been set for the chemicals used indoors. As the European Union has not yet introduced overall regulation the countries are regulating the VOCs degassing concentration by themselves to protect health. In Europe, there are 3 main classifications that proof the low VOC of building materials and therefore offer customer a better indoor environment:

• The Emicode classification

EMICODE® is the name of a classification system protected by trademark, which is used to classify flooring installation products, adhesives and construction products into the three classes according to their emission characteristics. The system has 3 emission categories with certain limit values for VOCs – EC2, EC1 and EC1 plus. Emicode label is widely known and recognized all over the Europe.

• The M1-classification

The aim of the classification is to enhance the development and use of low-emitting building materials so that material emissions do not increase the requirement for ventilation. The classification presents emission requirements for the materials used in ordinary work spaces and residences with respect to good indoor air quality. M1-label on the product tells that the product complies with the M1-criteria for emission and odour. M1 label is mostly recognized in Finland and Scandinavia.

• French VOC Label

Construction products, decoration and furnishing products to be traded in France are to be labelled with an emissions classification on the basis of VOC emissions tests. This is stated in the “Décret n° 2011-321”. The Decree no. 3011-321 sets 4 emissions classes of the VOC emissions – C, B, A and A+.

Penosil offers variety of products that have been tested and certified by all 3 of the classifications mentioned above.