To operate in safety and meet all the legal security requirements, enclosures’ electric and electronic components must meet certain standards and be confirmed to strict tests required by certification laboratories. Today we will see together what are the most widespread.
CE mark
The CE marking is a mandatory procedure for the manufacturer, who declares the conformity to the safety requirements of the European Union directives applicable on electrical and electronic product and, therefore, guaranteeing the possibility that this product can be freely sold, purchased and installed within the EU countries.
CE Reference directives for electrical enclosure
Specifically, the control panel sector products must meet this main reference directives:
- Low voltage or LVD: products that operate in the range of 50 to 1,000 VAC and from 75 to 1,500 VCC
- Electromagnetic compatibility or EMC: the ability of an equipment to operate in the presence of others, without the generated electromagnetic waves being able to cause or receive disturbances, which modify their or others functioning
- ROHS: indications on the absence or presence below the limits indicated by the law of pollutants and harmful substances
- RAEE: requires that the collection of electrical and electronic waste must be managed by special union
- ErP: adoption of ecodesign criteria
- ATEX: indication on the use of products and protection systems in potentially explosive atmospheres
IP protection degree
IP degree of protection of the electrical panels and its components must be adequate to the environment and to the installation conditions, as prescribed by the EN 60529 standard.
The IP grade classifies and evaluates the class of protection provided, and therefore the resistance of the products, to the intrusion of solid bodies, powders and water, as well as the protection against acess to hazardous parts.
Product certifications for US and Canada markets
Certifications add value to the electrical and electronic product on the reference market, making it more reliable for specific geographical area consumers. For example, if you are exporting to the US and Canada markets, it is advisable, but not mandatory, to certify the product with the UL/CSA mark as evidence of its compliance with specific regulations regarding fire risk and electrical and mechanical hazards. There are several UL marks, but the two most frequent are, as we have already seen here, the “Listed” mark, affixed to products with their own function and without any particular conditions of use, and the “Recognized Component” mark, affixed to the components intended to be installed in a machine according to precise conditions of use. Moreover, in the American and Canadian market, the degree of protection is defined as “Type” (envelope type) according to the UL classification.
Relevant product certifications in other countries
As for the other geographical areas, the most important quality certifications for the products exported in the German market are the GS, TÜV and VDE marks. Other certifications, however, mandatory for non-EU countries, are EAC for Russia, SASO for Saudi Arabia and CCC for China.
Visit our website fandis.com and discover our products for electrical panels and related international certifications, or leave a comment to this article. One of our technicians will answer you as soon as possible.
Leave a Reply