EN    EN 
 
 
 EUROPEAN  
COMMISSION   
Brussels, XXX   
[…](2016) XXX  draft  
  
COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) …/...  
of XXX  
on the classification of horizontal settlement and short term water absorption 
performance for in -situ formed loose fill cellulose (LFCI) thermal insulation products 
under EN 15101 -1 pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European 
Parliament and of  the Council  
(Text with EEA relevance)   EN 2   EN EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM  
1. CONTEXT  OF THE  DELEGATED  ACT  
Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9  March 
2011 laying down harmonis ed conditions for the marketing of construction products and 
repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC1, acknowledges two main alternatives to establish 
classes of performance in relation to th e essential characteristics of construction products. 
According to Articles 27(1) and 60(f), this can be done by delegated acts of the Commission, 
whereas Article 27(2) allows for the use of harmonised standards for this purpose, on the 
basis of a revised mandate. In accordance with Article 27(2), first subparagraph, where the 
Commission has established such classes, the European standardisation bodies shall use those 
classes in harmonised standards.  
According to the definition comprised in Article 2(7) of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011, 
“class” means a range of levels, delimited by a minimum and a maximum value, of 
performance of a construction product. Classes in Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 are thus 
always expressing a given range of determined performance of  the product.  
Moreover, Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 does not distinguish, unlike its predecessor Council 
Directive 89/106/EEC, different kinds of classes, depending on their origin. Classes of 
performance established by the Commission and such classes esta blished by the European 
standardisation bodies are thus to be acknowledged and respected quite in the same manner.  
Furthermore, the whole classification of performance would need to be defined open -ended, 
entailing all possible levels of performance in re lation to a given essential characteristic for 
the products covered by the standard in question. Otherwise, also a threshold level for such 
performance would be established at the same time.  
The European product standard EN 15101 -1 on in -situ formed loose fill cellulose (LFCI) 
thermal insulation products was adopted by European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) 
in September 2013. It contains classifications for the performance of the products covered by 
it notably in relation to two of its essential chara cteristics, settlement for horizontal 
applications, lofts and floors, with seven classes of performance introduced, as well as short 
term water absorption, with two classes of performance introduced.  
The first one of these classifications, concerning horiz ontal settlement, differs from that 
previously introduced in the harmonised product standard EN 14064 -1, which covers certain 
mineral wool thermal insulation products. According to the available information, these 
existing classes are not sufficient for th e products at hand, since using cellulose as base 
material causes the horizontal settlement to become generally higher. Therefore, and to extend 
the classification to the whole typical range of performance in relation to this essential 
characteristic, it h as been enlarged to cover also the upper performance levels, by adding four 
classes to the said previously used classification. This resembles the practices currently in use 
for certain Member States.  
The second classification, concerning short term water absorption, relates to the customary 
intended u se circumstances for cellulose -based thermal insulation products. These are not 
expected to be used where subject to water penetration. However, and to avoid the 
establishment of a hidden threshold level for t his performance, the classification needs to 
remain open -ended. This is to be achieved by adding one upper class to the classification 
included in the standard EN 15101 -1 as adopted by CEN in September 2013. For the products 
                                                 
1 OJ L 88, 4.4.2011, p. 5.  EN 3   EN in question, it has been deemed  necessary to adjust this classification, so as to ensure that the 
classification foreseen for their performance in relation to short term water absorption covers 
all levels of performance for these products. The development of such a new version of EN 
15101-1 is currently underway in CEN.  
Since under the application of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 the introduction of such new 
classifications into a harmonised standard by the European standardisation bodies themselves 
would require the issuing of a new revis ed mandate, which has not taken place, it has been 
considered more opportune to proceed with this draft delegated Regulation.  
It has not been considered appropriate to include other performance classifications contained 
in the standard EN 15101 -1 within th e scope of the draft Regulation, because pursuant to 
Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 such classifications comprised in harmonised standards, the 
reference to which has been published under Directive 89/106/EEC in the Official Journal of 
the European Union, are  to be deemed applicable under Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 
without any further actions necessitated.  
2. CONSULTATIONS  PRIOR  TO THE  ADOPTION  OF THE  ACT  
The draft Regulation was discussed in the meeting of the Advisory Group for Construction 
(the AG) on 14 J une 2016 and also submitted for a written consultation of experts between 31 
May and 28 June 2016. Before these steps, all Member States were presented an opportunity 
to nominate experts to participate in them. In addition to these experts, also other exte rnal 
stakeholders were consulted. The documents discussed in the AG and relevant to the written 
consultation were transmitted simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council, 
as foreseen in the Common Understanding on delegated acts. The obser vations presented in 
these contexts have been taken into account when preparing the final draft version of this act 
for the inter -service consultation.  
3. LEGAL  ELEMENTS  OF THE  DELEGATED  ACT  
Pursuant to Article 27 of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011, classes of  performance may be 
established in relation to the essential characteristics of construction products. According to 
Articles 27(1) and 60(f), this can be done by delegated acts of the Commission. In accordance 
with Article 27(2), first subparagraph, where the Commission has established such classes, the 
European standardisation bodies shall use those classes in harmonised standards.  
According to Article 2(7) of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011, “class” means a range of levels, 
delimited by a minimum and a maximu m value, of performance of a construction product. 
Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 does not distinguish different kinds of classes. Classes of 
performance established by the Commission and such classes established by the European 
standardisation bodies are thu s to be acknowledged and respected quite in the same manner.  
Since under the application of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 the introduction of new 
classifications of performance into harmonised standards by the European standardisation 
bodies themselves would  require the issuing of new revised mandates, which has not taken 
place, it has been considered more opportune to proceed with this draft delegated Regulation.  
For these reasons, the draft Regulation should be adopted to establish new classes of 
performanc e for in -situ formed loose fill cellulose (LFCI) thermal insulation products under 
the European standard EN 15101 -1. 
The draft Regulation conforms to the principle of proportionality. It results in alleviating 
certain difficulties caused by the impact of R egulation (EU) 305/2011 on the establishment of EN 4   EN classification systems for the performance of construction products, and therefore can be 
assessed to benefit the whole European construction sector.  EN 5   EN COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) …/...  
of XXX  
on the classification of horizontal settlement and short term water absorption 
performance for in -situ formed loose fill cellulose (LFCI) thermal insulation products 
under EN 15101 -1 pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European 
Parliament and of t he Council  
(Text with EEA relevance)  
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,  
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union , 
Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 9 Ma rch 2011 laying down harmo nised conditions for the marketing of 
construction products and repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC2, and in particular Article 
27(1) thereof,  
Whereas:  
(1) Where the Commission has not established classes  of performance in relation to the 
essential char acteristics of construction products , according to Article 27(2) of 
Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 they may be established by the European 
standardisation bodies, but only on the basis of a revised mandate.  
(2) The European product standard EN 15101 -1 on in -situ formed loose fill cellulose 
(LFCI) thermal insulation products contains classifications of performance concerning 
two of its essential characteristics, settlement for horizontal applications, lofts and 
floors, as well as short term water absorption. Th ese classifications represent a step 
forward for the consolidation of the internal market for the products in question.  
(3) For tho se new classifications, a revised mandate has not been issued,  
(4) New classification systems to be used for products covered  by EN 15101 -1 should 
therefore be established,  
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:  
Article 1  
The performance of in -situ formed loose fill cellulose (LFCI) thermal insulation products, in 
relation to their essential characteristics settlement for horizontal applications, lofts and floors, 
as well as short term water absorption, shall be classified in accordance with the classification 
syste ms set out in the Annex.  
Article  2 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publ ication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union . 
                                                 
2 OJ L 88, 4.4.2011, p. 5.  EN 6   EN This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.  
Done at Brussels,  
 For the Commission  
 The President  
 Jean -Claude Juncker