Combustion systems

European regulations and guidelines

In Europe, the following guidelines provide the legal framework and define minimum requirements that must be more precisely formulated at national or regional level.

Validity/
combustion output

Guideline

≤ 400 kW

EuP Directive 2005/32/EG Energy-using Products Directive

1 – 50 MW

MCPD EU 2015/2193 Medium Combustion Plant Directive

> 50 MW

IED 2010/75/EU Industrial Emissions Directive

Validity of European directives for combustion equipment

A gap between 400kW and 1MW therefore exists and must be covered by national law in the absence of EU requirements. In addition, the important topic of emission analysis is not defined in the EU guidelines and can therefore be dealt with differently from one country to the next.

The combustion outputs of systems with several heat sources, if applicable, are to be added up, according to the MCPD and IED. This basically depends on whether the flue gases are removed via a shared chimney or whether in the view of the relevant authority they can be removed. This also allows freedom for interpretation in national legislation and regional regulations which means that systems in different parts of Europe can be evaluated differently.