Gas appliances

Gas quality and pressure

Unlike many other product groups harmonised by EU legislation, the safety assessment of gas appliances must take permanent national differences in how the appliances are used in different countries into account. In Finland, 30 mbar for LPG, and 20 mbar for natural gas supply pressures are used.

There are also differences in the quality of the gases used. Due to the cold winter conditions, the LPG used in Finland is generally propane, while in some countries with warmer climates more butane may be used. The composition of natural gas also differs from one member state to another, as the chemical structure of natural gases from different sources differs slightly. This leads to different combustion characteristics, which must be taken into account in the design of the gas appliance.

Appliance 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.

All member states have informed the Commission of the quality and supply pressures of the gases used in that country. This information is commonly referred to as “gas supply conditions”.  You can find the information on gas supply conditions in different member states in the Official Journal of the EU. You will find links to these publications on the Commission’s website on gas appliances:

https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/pressure-gas/gas-appliances/regulation_en.

If a gas appliance is sold to a country where it is not designed to be used, the gas quality and pressure used may give rise to a significant risk of fire or carbon monoxide poisoning, because the appliance will no longer function as intended by the manufacturer. For example, impure combustion of gas due to incorrect gas pressure results in the release of elevated carbon monoxide.

Example:

You are not allowed to market a gas appliance with a conformity assessment that was carried out under Swedish gas supply conditions in Finland until its conformity has been assessed as corresponding to the gas supply conditions in Finland.