Paige’s patented GameChanger Cable™,  the first four-pair datacom cable to perform beyond the 100-meter channel distance for Ethernet data and power (PoE) was recently launched in the United Kingdom and Europe.  To gain acceptance, this cable went through rigorous testing to earn the CE “Conformitè Europëenne” mark, which is a European marking of conformity that indicates that a product complies with the requirements of the applicable European laws. The CE label is legally required to appear on many types of products sold in specific European countries to show that they meet European health, safety and environmental standards.

Where cabling that is permanently installed in the building is concerned, the CE mark means that that a product meets the safety standards specified by the European Union Directive 305/2011 Construction Products Regulation, known as CPR.  CPR was announced in the Official Journal of the European Union in 2015, which then became mandatory for cables on July, 2017.  CPR provides unified requirements for reaction to fire for power, control, communications, and optical fiber cables intended for installations in all types of construction works in all EU member states.

UL vs. CE vs. CPR

UL Listed means the product meets the standards of Underwriters Laboratories, a private safety testing organization. There are some key differences between a UL Listing and a CE Mark.  One of the biggest differences is that the UL Listing must be performed by a 3^rd-party lab with approved flame and smoke tests.  Another, and probably most importantly, is that cable products used in U.S. construction may not necessarily be required by law to be UL Listed, even though most contractors choose to use UL Listed products in order to avoid potential liability issues, whereas the CE Mark is mandatory by law.

A product that is already UL Listed in the U.S. doesn’t automatically qualify for the CE Mark. If a UL Listed product has also been tested to the European harmonized standards, then it may be eligible for CE certification; however, it still must receive a CE Mark and have a Declaration of Performance certificate available before it can be used in Europe.  And on the flipside, products that carry the CE Mark are not automatically considered to be UL Listed. Some product types with the CE Mark do not have to be third-party certified and are not necessarily compliant with U.S. standards.

The CPR requires the construction products, such as cables, to be assessed against a harmonized standard or have a European Technical Assessment (ETA) before the declaration can be issued and the CE marking affixed. If there are no applicable harmonized standards and the manufacturer has not requested an ETA, then the product cannot be CE marked under the CPR and as a result, cannot be sold or installed in the EU.

Steps to obtaining the CE Mark to comply to the CPR includes: identifying the applicable harmonized European standard (hEN), review the essential characteristics (which can vary depending on the specific products), undertake initial type testing and factor production controls (which might require the involvement of a Notified Body) and finally complete a Declaration of Performance and affix the CE Marking.

One critical thing to remember for both UL Listings and CE Marks is that compliancy can differ from city to city or country to country so it is key to work with the local Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ)

Cracking the code

The GameChanger product certified for the EU to the CPR is coded to the standard “Cca-s1a, d0, a1” So, what does that coding mean?

CPR defines several classes that indicate the impact of cables on the spread of fire, using a series of parameters obtained from the corresponding tests. Refering to Table 1, cables are classified by seven performance classes, running from Aca to Fca, with Aca being the least reactive to fire.  Additional subclasses call out for smoke production, flaming droplets and acidity for cable classes B1ca, B2ca, Cca and Dca, as well as a more stringent, larger scale test using bundled cable.

Smoke production is rated on a sliding scale from s1a to s3, where s1 is the most demanding classification and s3 is for products where no performance is declared or which do not comply with the requirements of s1 or s2.

Flaming droplets during combustion is similarly rated from d0 to d2, where d0 is the most demanding and d2 is for products where no performance is declared or which do not comply with the requirements of d0 or d1.

Acidity is also rated on sliding scale from a1 to a3, where a1 is the most demanding criteria and a3 is for products where no performance is declared or which do not comply with the requirements of a1 or a2.

Table 1 CPR Classifications

So, let’s break it down for GameChanger’s CE Mark: Cca-s1a,d0,a1. The “Cca” rating meets a reduced flame and fire reaction as well as heat release.  The “s1a” relates to the meeting the most demanding smoke protection. Regarding flame droplets, noted as “d0” for the GameChanger relates to the most demanding droplet reduction.  And finally, “a1” for acidity also comes under the most demanding criteria.  In short, GameChanger cable meets the highest performing CPR rating to earn its premier CE Mark.

We at Paige recently had the honor of recognizing an esteemed client, Johnson Controls (JCI), with the 2019 Game Changing Integrator of the Year Award.

The award was presented to Hank Monaco, Director of Marketing and Tony Mucci, Director of Product Management. It recognizes Johnson Controls for having demonstrated, through their use of GameChanger Cable, how making smart technical choices can result in significant cost savings and help them achieve their goal of providing the best solution for their customers.

As Hank Monaco stated in his post on LinkedIn – “Powering our customers’ mission and making their lives that much easier is a shared goal of Johnson Controls and Paige DataCom Solutions. We were thrilled to be recognized as their Game Changing Integrator of the Year for 2019, and can’t wait to see what 2020 brings!”

JCI was an early adopter of GameChanger achieving impressive results in smaller installations as early as 2018, in 2019 JCI began to leverage GameChanger in major projects. One example is an application where JCI deployed over a quarter million feet of GameChanger for a large logistics company.

Since 1885 and with a global team of 105,000 experts in more than 150 countries,  Johnson Controls transforms environments where people live, work, learn and play, from optimizing building performance to improving safety and enhancing comfort in industries such as healthcare, education, data centers and manufacturing.

The terms “smart” or “intelligent” are synonymous when referring to designing today and tomorrow’s commercial buildings.  A smart or intelligent building incorporates ICT-based systems, services and technology to reduce operating costs, optimally utilize space, and improve energy efficiency at all stages of its life cycle.  And smart buildings are one of the fastest growing segments in the enterprise market.  In fact, it has been reported by market researchers that the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for smart component solutions and services will grow 11-15% in the next four years. 

Smart buildings require an intelligent infrastructure that can support an integrated network of building systems.  The cabling infrastructure becomes the foundation of a smart building.  But a smart building is only as smart as its infrastructure design and component choices. And because of the diversity of applications and their requirements and locations, network designers are looking at unique solutions, such as Paige’s long-distance GameChanger Cable™ to reach these devices.

Smart Applications

For over 30 years the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry has been designing and installing the cabling infrastructure for voice and data applications.  Data and voice structured cabling easily became standardized to address generic requirements.  Most installations were cookie-cutter designs as the cable was pulled from the telecom room (TR) to work area outlets located 15” above the finished floor for connection to computers and phones.

Standards were put into place so that manufacturers’ cable and connectivity could be interchangeable, versus previous proprietary systems. IEEE-802.3 deemed that due to bandwidth requirements along with allowing backwards compatibility, that four-pair copper cable be limited to 100 meters (m) from the active equipment. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) introduced power to be run alongside data within the same cable, which reduced the number of cables to the work areas, but the distance to the device remained limited to the same 100-meter rule.

IP cameras over twisted pair and fiber opened the floodgates for additional devices to jump on the network through the Ethernet protocol.  More network applications became IP-enabled, including wireless access points, access control, lighting and building automation systems.  The good news is that these applications when integrated with each other create a smart building which leads to energy efficiency, resulting in a better environment for the users and cost savings for the building owners. 

The challenge of designing the cabling infrastructure for an intelligent building is that the applications may have their own unique cabling and layout.  For example, some LED lighting fixtures are connected directly with a point-to-point copper cable while others are connected to a node and then daisy chained to the devices.   Other challenges are that these devices are not terminated to a work area outlet, but to a service outlet which could be in the ceiling or even waist height, and many located outside the 100m limit.  But where there are challenges, there are solutions.

Smart Standards