Law

Hot water boilers must be constructed and operated in accordance with the same rules as steam boiler systems. Consequently, hot water systems may also be subject to monitoring requirements and therefore be subject to various legal framework conditions, which must be observed and complied with during the manufacture of components, the planning and construction, and the operation of the system. The following requirements come from various levels of legislation (and monitoring):

• European directives and regulations, such as the Pressure Equipment Directive, the Machinery Directive, the Low Voltage Directive, the Gas Appliances Regulation, the Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive, the Hazardous Substances Directive and the Explosion Protection Directive
• National, regional and local laws, ordinances and regulations, such as the German Health and Safety at Work regulation, emission and immission laws (BImSchG, BImSchV, TA-Luft), Occupational Safety and Health Act (ArbSchG), Hazardous Substances Ordinance (GefStofV), Water Resources Act (WHG), building law, water/water protection (VAwS), fire protection, supplementary emission requirements

The following section describes the laws, directives, regulations and standards that are important for the installation and operation of hot water and steam boiler systems. These are divided into the following groups:

• Manufacture of boiler systems
• Emissions control laws
• Authorisation laws/operating permits
• Operation of boiler systems

It should be noted that other EU directives or national laws and regulations may apply. These must be checked individually for each boiler system.

The following diagram shows the basic procedure, separated into manufacturing, which is governed by European law, and operation, which is predominantly governed by national law.

DGRL: Directive 2014/68/EU regarding pressure equipment
BetrSichV: Regulation on safety and health protection when using work equipment
ZÜS: Approved inspection agency