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Luminaires Manufacturers Get New ENERGY STAR Certification Resources
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has posted new materials that aid in the testing and certification of lighting products for ENERGY STAR: Certifying Luminaires – Utilizing the Certified Subcomponent Database (CSD) This document helps luminaire manufacturers select components for ENERGY STAR fixtures. Items listed on the CSD have already been tested for photometric, life... Read More
Top 35 Blogs for Electrical Product Manufacturers
We received so much positive feedback on our blog posts for EMC Compliance Links and Product Safety Compliance Links, that we decided to dedicate a post to spotlight the top blogs for electrical product developers. With a few exceptions, these blogs are from independent sources, like industry associations, publishers or consultants. What are we missing?... Read More
Five Tips for Avoiding Counterfeit Electrical Products
Counterfeit electrical products are a huge and growing problem. Counterfeit products worth billions of dollars enter the U.S. each year. According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 13% of all counterfeit products seized are electrical products, ranking them second among all category totals. The manufacture of counterfeit electrical products is popular because the profits... Read More
UL 1741 Safety Testing of Inverters Includes Anti-Islanding Requirement
UL 16741 the standard for anti-islanding protection In the event of a power failure on the electric grid, it is required that any independent power-producing inverters attached to the grid turn off in a short period of time. This prevents the DC-to-AC inverters from continuing to feed power into small sections of the grid, known... Read More
ENERGY STAR Partner Meeting Discusses New Requirements for Lighting & Consumer Electronics
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR Partner Meeting was a couple weeks ago in St. Paul, MN and MET Labs was there. Following is a summary of key meeting discussions. New Requirement for Dimmable CFLs and LEDs The meeting agenda began with a roundtable, which was focused on dimmers. EPA has encouraged consumers... Read More
Hazardous Location Product Safety Certification Requirements for EU, China, Russia, Korea & India
This post is the second of two posts on hazardous location product safety testing and certification. The first post explored testing for UL/CSA, ATEX & IECEx. This post looks at certification requirements for particular markets/countries. North America In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) governs the Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTL) program,... Read More
FCC Outlines Testing of Consumer Wireless Charging Devices at TCB Council Workshop
At the recent Telecommunication Certification Body Council Workshop in Baltimore, Kwok Chan and Mark Neumann of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Office of Engineering and Technology outlined testing and certification requirements for Consumer Wireless Charging Devices. Wireless charging devices are generally used to charge batteries in portable electronic devices via magnetic induction. Chargers can deliver... Read More
Hazardous Location Product Safety Testing Explained for UL/CSA, ATEX & IECEx
Safety testing and certifying products for hazardous locations is complicated, especially when a manufacturer is exporting to multiple markets. Following is a basic primer. For more detailed information or questions, contact MET Labs. Standards In countries with formal certification and a 3-zone system, the IEC60079 series of standards is commonly used, adopted as National Standards... Read More
ENERGY STAR Most Efficient Program Made Permanent for 2013
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made the “Most Efficient” Program permanent for 2013. This ENERGY STAR program identifying the most efficient products has been in pilot mode since being introduced in 2011. In 2012, more than 1,400 qualifying models from over 50 manufacturers in 8 product categories were recognized as ENERGY STAR Most... Read More
FAA and EASA Accept RTCA/DO-160 Test Reports from Accredited and Non-Accredited Labs
Despite some reports to the contrary, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will accept RTCA/DO-160 commercial aircraft equipment test reports from accredited and non-accredited labs. Accreditation is a 3rd party assessment of a laboratory’s quality systems, processes, and documentation. Accreditation assures a minimum level of competence, but it does... Read More
