Gas appliances must comply with the requirements imposed on them in the relevant legislation.
Manufacturers, importers and distributors are, in relation to their respective roles in the supply chain, responsible for the compliance of gas appliances that are placed on the market, i.e. put on sale and distribution. The obligations of the manufacturers, importers and distributors are regulated in more detail in the Gas Appliances Regulation.
Gas appliances means appliances burning gaseous fuels used for cooking, refrigeration, air conditioning, space heating, hot water production, lighting or washing, and also forced draught burners and heating bodies to be equipped with such burners. Examples of such gas appliances include the following gas-burning
- barbecues
- stoves
- ovens
- camping cookers
- patio heaters
- space heaters
- water heaters.
On the other hand, some gas-burning tools and gas devices that do not burn gas are not considered gas appliances under the Gas Appliances Regulation. Examples of these include
- welding equipment
- gas-operated insect traps
- LPG burners
- weed burners.
Gas appliances are covered by the Gas Appliances Regulation (EU) 2016/426 that replaced the earlier Gas Appliances Directive 2009/142/EC. The national Finnish Governmental Degree on Gas Appliances (1434/1993) has been repealed due to the implementation of the Gas Appliances Regulation (EU) 2016/426.
Gas appliances are classified into appliance categories depending on the gas types and pressures the appliances are designed for. Each gas appliance must bear appliance category marking that indicates the country/countries of destination where the appliance can be used without adjustments or modifications. Finland's country-of-destination code is FI.
Application categories used in Finland: I2H, I3B/P, II2H3B/P
- category I2H appliances use natural gas only, supply pressure 20 mbar
- category I3B/P appliances use LPG only, supply pressure 30 mbar
- category II2H3B/P appliances can be converted to use either natural gas (20 mbar) or LPG (30 mbar) in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
Health and safety requirements
The manufacturer must ensure that the gas appliance complies with the relevant health and safety requirements (Gas Appliances Regulation (EU) 2016/426, Annex I). The gas appliance is considered to comply with the relevant requirements if it complies with the relevant harmonised standards.
In case a harmonised standard setting out the requirements and test methods applicable to the gas appliance is not used in the EU type examination, the manufacturer must provide detailed information in the technical documentation of the product concerned as to how the health and safety requirements for that gas appliance have been met.
More information on the position of standards in demonstrating compliance can be found on page The position of standards in demonstrating compliance.
Technical documentation
The manufacturer of the gas appliance must prepare the technical documentation (Gas Appliances Regulation (EU) 2016/426, Annex III).
The technical documentation must make it possible to assess the appliance's or fitting's conformity with the applicable requirements of the Gas Appliances Regulation, and must include an adequate analysis and assessment of the risk(s). The technical documentation must specify the applicable requirements and cover, as far as relevant for the assessment, the design, manufacture and operation of the appliance.
The importer must ensure that the manufacturer has prepared the technical documentation and that the documentation is kept available for authorities.
The technical documentation must, wherever applicable, contain at least the following elements:
- a general description of the appliance or the fitting
- conceptual design and manufacturing drawings and schemes of components, sub-assemblies, circuits, etc.
- descriptions and explanations necessary for the understanding of those drawings and schemes and the operation of the appliance or the fitting
- a list of the harmonised standards applied in full or in part the references of which have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. If these harmonised standards have not been applied, the technical documentation must contain the descriptions of the solutions adopted to meet the essential requirements of this Regulation, including a list of other relevant technical specifications applied. In the event of partly applied harmonised standards, the technical documentation must specify the parts which have been applied.
- results of design calculations made, examinations carried out, etc.
- test reports
- for appliances, instructions for installation and use
- for fittings, the EU Declaration of Conformity that includes the instructions on how the fitting should be incorporated into an appliance or assembled to constitute an appliance.
The manufacturer must keep the technical documentation for 10 years after the gas appliance or the fitting has been placed on the market.
Markings and operating instructions
The gas appliance or its data plate must bear the CE marking and the following information
- the manufacturer's name, registered trade name or registered trademark
- the appliance type, batch or serial number of the appliance or other element allowing its identification
- the type of electrical supply used (on products that use electric power)
- the appliance category marking
- the nominal supply pressure for the appliance
- the necessary information to ensure correct and safe installation, according to the nature of the appliance.
The fitting or its data plate must bear, as far as relevant, the aforementioned information.
In addition to the above, the importer must indicate on the appliance or fitting its name, registered trade name or registered trademark and the postal address at which the importer can be contacted. If this is not possible, the required information must be provided on the packaging or in a document accompanying the appliance. In Finland, the contact details must be in Finnish and Swedish.
More detailed information on the requirements for the markings and instructions of gas appliances can be found in Annex IV of the Gas Appliances Regulation and in the standards applying to gas appliances.
Conformity assessment procedure
The manufacturer is responsible for the conformity assessment for the gas appliance during the design and manufacturing stages.
If the importer or distributor puts a gas appliance on sale under its own trade name or trademark, the obligations of the manufacturer apply to the importer or distributor.
More information on the conformity assessment procedures and the modules applied can be found in Annex III of the Gas Appliances Regulation.
In the EU type examination, a notified body assesses the technical design of the gas appliance and the conformity of a specimen of the gas appliance. The notified body issues an EU type-examination certificate for the gas appliance that meets the relevant requirements.
Notified bodies are inspection bodies approved and supervised by EU Member States. These bodies are authorised to carry out EU type examinations or otherwise verify that a product complies with the relevant requirements. Information on the notified bodies can be found on the NANDO website of the European Commission.
The maximum period of validity of an EU type-examination certificate is 10 years. The manufacturer must ask the notified body to review the EU type-examination certificate if
- the manufacturer has modified the product
- changes in the state of the art, such as a new standard version, have taken place
- at the latest, before the date of expiry of the certificate.
Before placing a gas appliance on the market, the distributor must ensure that the appliance bears the CE marking and that it is accompanied by instructions and safety information in Finnish and Swedish. The distributor must also ensure that the manufacturer and the importer of the gas appliance have complied with the relevant requirements for the markings of gas appliances. The importer must, in addition to the above, ensure that the appropriate conformity assessment procedure has been carried out by the manufacturer.
EU Declaration of Conformity
The manufacturer draws up the EU Declaration of Conformity before placing the gas appliance on the market. Placing on the market means the first making available of gas appliance on the EU market. More detailed information on the contents of the EU Declaration of Conformity can be found on the EU Declaration of Conformity page and in the EU Gas Appliances Regulation. A copy of the EU Declaration of Conformity must accompany the fitting.
The EU Declaration of Conformity must be in the languages required by the relevant Member State, in Finland in Finnish and Swedish.
CE marking
Gas appliances placed on the market in the European Economic Area must bear the CE marking. The manufacturer affixes the CE marking to the gas appliance. By affixing the CE marking to the product, the manufacturer declares that the product complies with all relevant requirements of the directives and regulations that apply to the product and are necessary for the CE marking.
General information on the CE marking can be found on page CE marking.
The CE marking must be affixed to each gas appliance. The CE marking must be affixed visibly, legibly and indelibly to the gas appliance. If the marking cannot be placed on the gas appliance or fitting on the account of the properties of the product, the CE marking can be affixed to the packaging and accompanying documents.
The CE marking must include the four-digit identification number of the gas appliance's notified body and the last two digits of the year in which the CE marking was affixed. The CE marking and identification number may also include any other mark indicating a special risk or use.
Low pressure regulators and gas hoses
Low pressure regulators and gas hoses are often used in connection with gas appliances. If sold separately, these products do not fall in the scope of the Gas Appliances Regulation; their safety requirements are regulated at the national level in Finland.
