EN 15493:2019
(Main)Candles - Specification for fire safety
Candles - Specification for fire safety
This European Standard specifies requirements and test methods for the fire safety of candles intended to be burned indoors.
Kerzen - Spezifikation für die Feuersicherheit
Dieses Dokument legt Anforderungen und Prüfverfahren für die Feuersicherheit von Kerzen fest, die für den Abbrand im Innenbereich bestimmt sind.
Bougies - Spécification relative à la sécurité incendie
Le présent document spécifie les exigences et les méthodes d'essai relatives à la sécurité contre les risques d'incendie des bougies destinées à un usage intérieur.
Sveče - Specifikacija za požarno varnost
Ta evropski standard določa zahteve in preskusne postopke za požarno varnost sveč, namenjenih za uporabo v notranjih prostorih.
General Information
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Standards Content (Sample)
SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-januar-2020
Nadomešča:
SIST EN 15493:2008
Sveče - Specifikacija za požarno varnost
Candles - Specification for fire safety
Kerzen - Spezifikation für die Feuersicherheit
Bougies - Spécification relative à la sécurité incendie
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 15493:2019
ICS:
13.120 Varnost na domu Domestic safety
13.220.01 Varstvo pred požarom na Protection against fire in
splošno general
97.180 Razna oprema za dom in Miscellaneous domestic and
trgovino commercial equipment
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.
EN 15493
EUROPEAN STANDARD
NORME EUROPÉENNE
October 2019
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
ICS 71.100.99 Supersedes EN 15493:2007
English Version
Candles - Specification for fire safety
Bougies - Spécification relative à la sécurité incendie Kerzen - Spezifikation für die Feuersicherheit
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 9 September 2019.
CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this
European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references
concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN
member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by
translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management
Centre has the same status as the official versions.
CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and
United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION
EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG
CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2019 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN 15493:2019 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.
Contents Page
European foreword . 3
Introduction . 4
1 Scope . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms and definitions . 5
4 Safety requirements . 7
5 Test equipment and apparatus . 8
6 Sampling . 8
7 Sample preparation . 8
8 General test conditions . 9
9 Test methods . 9
10 Test report . 11
Annex A (informative) Hourly fuel consumption . 12
Annex B (informative) Analysis of container candle surface temperatures. 13
Bibliography . 15
European foreword
This document (EN 15493:2019) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 369 “Candle fire
safety”, the secretariat of which is held by DIN.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an
identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by April 2020, and conflicting national standards shall be
withdrawn at the latest by April 2020.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This document supersedes EN 15493:2007.
— terms and definitions have been improved;
— a test method for self-extinguishing candles has been introduced;
— the requirement for the aftersmoke time has changed;
— the test procedure has been defined in more detail and the burn test cycles have been modified;
— an informative Annex A for the calculation of the hourly fuel consumption has been added;
— an informative Annex B for the analysis of container candle surface temperatures has been added.
According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organisations of the
following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of
North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the
United Kingdom.
Introduction
Candles have accompanied mankind for more than 2 000 years serving above all as a light source.
Closely connected to the development history of the candle are the efforts made to improve its quality
and its safety in use. Discussions in the past and present over possible self-forming, harmful emissions
and fires caused by unsafe candles and/or inappropriate use during the burning of candles have led to
consumer concern for these issues.
This document helps to ensure a reasonable degree of safety during use, thereby improving personal
safety and reducing the risk of fires, deaths and injuries.
1 Scope
This document specifies requirements and test methods for the fire safety of candles intended to be
burned indoors.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
EN 15494:2019, Candles - Product safety labels
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp
3.1
aftersmoke time
time the wick continues to smoke visibly after extinguishing the flame
3.2
base material
intended fuel source for a candle flame
[SOURCE: EN 15426:2018, 3.1]
3.3
burning period
time the candle burns from being lit initially until it is extinguished
3.4
burn test cycle
total time of a burning period and pause
3.5
candle
one or more combustible wicks supported by a material that constitutes a fuel, which is solid or
semisolid at room temperature ((20 to 27) °C) with the main function of sustaining a light-producing
flame, including any coatings on and articles or substances in the fuel
[SOURCE: EN 15426:2018, 3.2]
3.6
container candle
candle that is produced and used in the same container
Note 1 to entry: This definition includes tea lights.
[SOURCE: EN 15426:2018, 3.3]
3.7
flame height
vertical distance between the base of the flame and the top of the flame
Note 1 to entry: The base of the flame is not always visible. In such cases, the point where the wick colour
changes from light to dark is considered the base of the flame for measuring the flame height. See Figure 1.
Key
h flame height
Figure 1 — Flame height
3.8
floating candle
candle intended and designed for use in a suitable bowl or container filled with water
3.9
freestanding candle
candle that is designed to be used without a supporting holder
[SOURCE: EN 15426:2018, 3.4]
3.10
indoor candle
candle intended and designed for use inside a house or a building with typical indoor conditions
concerning ventilation, draught and temperature
Note 1 to entry: An outdoor candle is a candle intended and designed to be used outside buildings in the open
air.
[SOURCE: EN 15426:2018, 3.5]
3.11
molten fuel pool
portion of the fuel of a candle that is in the liquid form when the candle is burning
[SOURCE: EN 15426:2018, 3.7]
3.12
non-freestanding candle
candle that is designed to be used with a supporting holder
3.13
re-ignition
self-ignition of the wick after it has been extinguished
3.14
residual height
height of the candle, measured from the bottom of the candle to the surface of the molten fuel pool
[SOURCE: EN 15426:2018, 3.8]
3.15
secondary ignition
self-sustained flame other than that on the intended wick(s), including flash over where vapours of the
base material ignite over the molten fuel pool or the ignition of a container
3.16
self-sustained flame
flame that continues to burn until the fuel source is removed or depleted or is actively extinguished
3.17
tea light
cylindrical candle that is burned up in a container which may be suitable to keep vessels containing
coffee, tea or other liquids warm, by using a warming stove
Note 1 to entry: Diameters of tea lights typically range from 36 mm to 39 mm.
Note 2 to entry: A tea light container can be made from metal, glass or plastic.
3.18
wick
object that delivers fuel to a flame through the process of capillary action
[SOURCE: EN 15426:2018, 3.14]
4 Safety requirements
4.1 Stability
Freestanding candles, container candles and candles that are sold together with a holder or other
accessories shall not tip over when tested on a slope of (10 ± 0,2)° according to 9.2.
4.2 Secondary ignition
No secondary ignition shall occur for more than 10 s, when the candle is burning according to 9.3.
4.3 Flame height
The flame height for all candle types, except tea lights, shall not exceed 75 mm. The flame height for tea
lights shall not exceed 30 mm. Test method see 9.3.2.
NOTE The natural tendency of a candle is for the flame height to vary during the burn life. The maximum
allowable flame height requirement in this document takes into account such variation and anticipates that
manufacturers will design candles to ensure that they remain below the maximum flame height requirement
throughout the burning.
4.4 Self-extinguishing
4.4.1 To prevent the ignition of the surface underneath, freestanding candles marketed as self-
extinguishing shall self-extinguish at the end of the burning time. The candles shall neither burn a paper
placed underneath nor cause any scorch marks on it during the whole burning test (see 9.3).
4.4.2 To prevent the ignition or cracking of a supporting holder, non-freestanding candles marketed
as self-extinguishing shall self-extinguish at a residual height of ≥12 mm in case of candles with a
diameter of ≤ 14 mm and at a residual height of ≥ 18 mm in case of other candles (see 9.3).
NOTE Holders for non-freestanding candles with a smaller diameter are typically lower than those for larger
diameters.
4.5 Behaviour after extinguishing
4.5.1 After extinguishing the candle shall not spontaneously re-light.
4.5.2 The wick shall not continue to glow or smoke for an average time of more than 30 s after
extinguishing. For the test method, see 9.3.3.
4.6 Container candles
The container shall not crack or break at any time throughout the burning test.
NOTE 1 The risk of cracking or breaking glass containers can be reduced by several measures, e.g. by using
annealed glass containers, by forcing the flame to extinguish before the entire base material is consumed or by
fixing the wick sustainer to the centre of the candle so that the flame does not get too close to the edge of the
container when the entire base material is liquid.
NOTE 2 The risk of burns caused by touching a container candle during or after burning of the candle cannot be
completely avoided (see Annex B).
5 Test equipment and apparatus
5.1 Incline plane (fixed or adjustable) with an angle of (10 ± 0,2) ° from a horizontal level.
5.2 Measuring device, non-flammable with millimetre grading.
5.3 Stop watch.
5.4 White copy paper, standard copy paper used for printing and with a weight of 80 g/m .
6 Sampling
The test shall be carried out on finished candles representative of those intended to be supplied
commercially. For the test result to represent a specific candle type, a minimum of 3 samples shall be
tested.
7 Sample preparation
Remove any outer wrapping and label ma
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