Solar Collector Certification by Market: Solar Keymark, SRCC OG-100, AS/NZS 2712 and NRCS Explained

Short answer: The EU and most of Europe use the Solar Keymark (testing to EN ISO 9806, requirements from EN 12975). The US uses SRCC OG-100 (ICC 901/SRCC 100, which also uses ISO 9806 test methods). Canada now references ICC 901/SRCC 100 for collectors after CSA withdrew F378. Australia requires AS/NZS 2712 certification for a system to be listed on the Clean Energy Regulator’s register and earn STCs. South Africa applies an NRCS compulsory specification, approved by a Letter of Authority. Because the core collector test is ISO 9806 almost everywhere, one well-run test programme can support several markets. The certificates, factory audits and listings are still separate.

Key Takeaways

• ISO 9806 is the shared test method behind Solar Keymark and SRCC OG-100, so test reports can often be reused. Certification and factory surveillance are not transferable.
• A Solar Keymark certificate lasts five years, with annual factory inspections and product testing every two years (DIN CERTCO).
• The US federal 25D tax credit, which required SRCC certification for solar water heating, ended for expenditures after 31 December 2025. SRCC listings still matter for codes, local incentives and project specifications.
• In Australia, STC eligibility for a listed model ends at its certificate expiry or 31 December 2030, whichever comes first.
• Always verify a supplier’s certificate number in the public database. The company name and model names should match what you’re buying.

Why Does Collector Certification Matter to Distributors?

Certification is what turns a collector into something your customers can buy with a subsidy, install under a building code, or specify in a tender. It also shifts some of the performance risk from you to an independent lab. Without it, even an excellent collector competes only on price.

It also affects your cost to enter a market. If your supplier already holds the right certificate for your market, you avoid months of testing and fees. For example, a residential brand launching in Germany with a Millionsun 1.5 m² blue coating collector under an OEM partnership passed its Keymark audit on the first attempt. The limit is that certificates belong to a specific manufacturer, factory and model. Rebranding a certified collector usually requires a listing change or a new certificate in your name, so plan that with the supplier before launch. For the broader sourcing picture, see the flat plate solar collector buyer’s guide.

Certification Requirements at a Glance

Solar Keymark: Europe’s Collector Certificate

The Solar Keymark is a voluntary European certification mark for solar thermal collectors and systems. It’s voluntary in law, but in practice it’s the entry ticket to most European markets. The CEN Keymark site states that more than two thirds of collectors sold are Solar Keymark certified and lists subsidy eligibility as one of its benefits.

How a collector gets certified

According to the Solar Keymark network, the process has four stages:

1. Random sampling: an independent inspector picks the test sample from current production or stock. The manufacturer can’t hand-pick a “golden” unit.
2. Testing at an accredited lab to EN ISO 9806. This covers thermal performance (the efficiency curve) and reliability tests such as internal pressure, high-temperature resistance, exposure, thermal shock, rain penetration, mechanical load and impact.
3. Factory inspection: an inspector checks the production process and quality management system on site.
4. Certificate issued by an empowered certification body.

DIN CERTCO states that a KEYMARK certificate is valid for five years and can be extended by another five if factory and physical inspections are positive. Continued validity depends on annual factory inspections and product testing every two years. After the extension, a new type test is needed. For a buyer, this means a Keymark certificate is also evidence that the factory’s process is audited every year, not just that one sample once passed.

SRCC OG-100: The North American Standard

In the United States, collector performance is certified under the SRCC OG-100 programme. It assesses compliance with ICC 901/SRCC 100 and uses internationally accepted test methods such as ISO 9806 and ISO 9459. It covers glazed, unglazed, concentrating, PVT and ICS collectors. All current OG-100 certificates are published in a searchable public directory that code officials and designers rely on.

What changed in 2026: the federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (IRC §25D), which covered solar water heating and relied on SRCC certification, no longer applies to expenditures after 31 December 2025, following the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Congressional Research Service). Expenditures count as made when installation is completed. OG-100 is still the reference certification for US building codes, commercial project specifications and many state or utility programmes. Check the programmes in your target states before you rely on any incentive in a sales pitch.

Canada

Canadian buyers often ask for “CSA certification”, but the collector standard has moved. According to SRCC, CAN/CSA F378 was formally withdrawn in 2021, and the F378 reference in F379 (the packaged-system standard cited by the National Building Code of Canada) has been superseded by ICC 901/SRCC 100. For collectors, the practical requirement is now an OG-100-based listing, and SRCC offers F379 listings for packaged domestic systems.

Australia: AS/NZS 2712 and the STC Register

In Australia, the certificate that matters is the one that gets a system onto the Clean Energy Regulator’s (CER) register of solar water heaters. Listed models can create small-scale technology certificates (STCs), which is how most residential systems are discounted at the point of sale. Key rules published by the CER:

• All listed solar water heaters and air source heat pumps must be certified to AS/NZS 2712:2007, which is also a WaterMark specification for plumbing products.
• Systems with 700 litres of storage or less need product certification through an accredited conformity assessment body. Larger systems need their relevant components certified to the applicable Australian standards.
• A model’s STC eligibility runs from its AS/NZS 2712 certification date to its certificate expiry, or to 31 December 2030 (the end of the Renewable Energy Target), whichever comes first.

AS/NZS 2712 certifies the water heater as a system, so a collector supplier’s role is to provide components and test data that fit a certified system design. If you’re building your own system brand, agree early who holds the certification and who supplies the documents for the CER application.

South Africa: The NRCS Compulsory Specification

Domestic solar water heaters in South Africa fall under a compulsory specification administered by the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS), based on SANS 1307. The published specification says collectors imported or sold separately as components of domestic solar water heaters must meet the collector requirements in the specification. The NRCS confirms approval of each model with a Letter of Authority (LOA). Ask your supplier whether the collector model is covered by an existing LOA before you order stock.

How to Verify a Supplier’s Certificate in Five Minutes

1. Get the certificate number, not just a scan. Scans are easy to reuse from another company or model.
2. Search the public database (Solar Keymark, SRCC, CER register) for that number.
3. Match the licence holder: the manufacturer name and factory address should match your supplier or its disclosed production site.
4. Match the model: check that the gross area, dimensions and model code on the certificate match the collector on your purchase order. Certificates often cover a family of sizes, so confirm yours is included.
5. Check validity: expiry date, and for Keymark whether surveillance is current.
6. Keep the data sheet: the certified performance values (η0, a1, a2 and the rest) are what installers and engineers will use.

Certification covers type performance. Batch quality still depends on the factory’s day-to-day controls. Our flat plate collector quality control checklist shows how to check those.

Bottom Line

• Match certification to market: Keymark for Europe, SRCC OG-100 for the US and Canada, AS/NZS 2712 for Australia, NRCS LOA for South Africa.
• Verify certificate numbers, licence holders and models in public databases.
• Plan private-label certification before launch, not after the first container arrives.

Back to the flat plate solar collector buyer’s guide, or see how CKD and SKD supply affects which party holds certification.