Standards, Regulation and Conformity Assessment for mCHP

Abstract

micro Combined Heat and Power (mCHP) relies on standards in around a dozen technical areas, related to topics like product safety, electricity grid access, and environmental performance. This chapter provides an overview over relevant standards and their effect on mCHP. Under the European 'New Approach', many of these standards define 'essential requirements' in line with European regulation. This link makes standards important elements for conformity assessment and proving mCHP appliances' regulatory compliance. Standards are therefore key enablers for mCHP's developers to place the technology on the European market. The chapter concludes with an overview over the effects of standards and regulation on innovation in the mCHP case. Keywords Standards · European regulation · European new approach Effects of standards on innovation · Conformity assessment Regulatory compliance Standards, together with regulation and conformity assessment, have been crucial for the development of mCHP.