Resilient, textile and laminate floor coverings - Essential characteristics
The European Standard EN 14041:2004 specifies the health, safety and energy saving requirements for resilient, textile and laminate floor coverings. These products are intended for use as floor coverings within a building according to the manufacturer's specifications. This standard describes the system for Assessment and Verification of Constancy of Performance of products, to which the product shall be submitted. This standard allow for the evaluation of conformity of the products and the requirements for CE marking and labeling, as required by Regulation (EU) No 305/2011.
The European Standard does not apply to floor coverings containing asbestos. This European Standard does not specify requirements unrelated to health, safety and energy saving.
The CE marking process is the responsibility of the manufacturer. The manufacturer has to produce "Declarations of Performance" and apply the CE label. All that is required is given in the Standard EN 14041.
Tests
Reaction to fire
The fire testing has to be carried out per product or a family of products. The floor covering shall be tested and classified according to the requirements of EN 13501-1 and the resulting class and subclass shall be declared.
Content of Pentachlorophenol (PCP)
According to the European Standard EN 12673 resilient, textile and laminate floor coverings shall not contain PCP or a derivative thereof as a component in the production process of the product or of its raw materials. Carpets marked as Class DL (Detection Limit) contain no Pentachlorophenol.
Formaldehyde emissions (HCHO)
When formaldehyde-containing materials have been added to the product as a part of the production process, the product shall be tested and classified into one of two classes: E1 or E2. The test requirement does not apply to floor coverings to which no formaldehyde-containing materials were added during production or post-production processing. These are classified as NA (Not Added).
Water tightness
Where required, resilient floor coverings shall meet the requirements of EN 13553.
Slip resistance
A floor covering intended to be used in dry and non-contaminated conditions shall have a dynamic coefficient of friction of ≥ 0,30 when tested ex-factory under dry conditions in accordance with EN 13893 and shall be declared as technical class DS.
Electrical behaviour
The body voltage, measured in accordance with EN 1815 for resilient and laminate floor coverings or ISO 6356 for textile floor coverings, shall not exceed 2,0 kV when tested at 23 °C ± 1 °C and (25 ± 2) % relative humidity after conditioning the test specimens in the same atmosphere for seven days.
This indicates that carpet has "antistatic" properties immediately discharging static electricity after walking on the textile floor covering.
Thermal conductivity
When floor coverings are to be installed over an under-floor heating system the design thermal conductivity values given in EN 12524 shall be assumed for design calculation purposes. Alternatively, the thermal resistance measured in accordance with EN 12667 may be used.
The FCSS symbols for the additional characteristics
Source: www.cen.eu / EN 14041:2004