CPR (Construction Products Regulation, Cable Classification)

The European Construction Products Regulation (CPR, EU No 305/2011), which since 2017 mandates a CE marking with an accompanying Declaration of Performance (DoP) for cables permanently installed in construction works, based on their reaction to fire: the Euroclasses Aca through Fca (from virtually non-combustible to no requirement at all) describe the cable's contribution to a fire, while additional letters classify smoke production (s1/s2/s3), flaming droplets (d0/d1/d2) and the acidity of the combustion gases (a1/a2/a3). Unlike the earlier, often nationally divergent test methods (such as Dutch practice before 2017), the CPR provides a single harmonised European framework, in which the client or designer determines the required Euroclass based on the application (escape routes, high-rise buildings, fire compartmentation), and the installer is required to use a cable with a valid DoP and the accompanying CE mark. Notably, the CPR classification only says something about the reaction to fire of the cable jacket itself, not about circuit integrity during fire — the latter is regulated separately through the PH classification of NEN-EN 50200.