September 7, 2020
Electrical equipment that is in conformity with a harmonized European Standard (EN) cited in the Official Journal of the European Union may be presumed to be in conformity with the corresponding requirements of harmonization legislation.
New European harmonized standard editions or amendments become mandatory starting from the “Date of cessation of presumption of conformity of superseded standard” as published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Generally, this date is the same as the “Date of Withdrawal” (DOW) as published in the individual superseding standards.
This date marks the end of the period during which both the old and the new version of the standard can be used to claim “presumption of conformity” to the essential requirements of the relevant directive. After that date, the presumption of conformity can no longer be claimed for a product manufactured according to the old version of the standard.
Here is a recent change in harmonized standards:
EN IEC 55015:2019/A11:2020 DOW of the amendment 2022-11-27
The EN 55015:2019/A11:2020 deals with limits and methods of measurement of radio disturbance characteristics of electrical lighting and similar equipment. The amendment A11/2020 adds the Annex ZZ to EN IEC 55015:2019. The Annex ZZ shows the relationship between the coverage of the standard and the individual parts of the essential requirements of the directives so that the standard can be listed in the Official Journal of the European Union under the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Directive 2014/30/EU. This aligns the standard with the new legislative framework of EMC Directive.
EN 60598-2-22:2014/A1:2020 DOW of the amendment 2023-03-27
EN 60598-2-22:2014/A1:2020 is in alignment with IEC 60598-2-22:2014/A1:2017 and deals with particular requirements of luminaires for emergency lighting.
This edition constitutes a technical revision and includes the following significant technical changes:
- Clause 22.3, addition of definitions for PELF and self-contained portable emergency luminaire
- Clause 22.5, updated with the introduction of requirements for non-replaceable lamps and batteries
- Clause 22.6, improved requirements to confirm that the charge indication is correctly connected to the circuit together with other clarifications regarding the control gear and the remote box with its connecting cable to the emergency luminaire
- Clause 22.12, improved requirements to ensure that the luminaire shall not become unsafe
- Clause 22.16, full revision of the photometric testing to align with ISO and CIE
- Clause 22.17, now only references the requirements which are now covered in IEC 61347 2-7
- Clause 22.19, now only references the requirements which are now covered in IEC 61347 2-7
- Annex A, now includes nickel metal hydride batteries and reference to cell types in IEC 61951-1
- Annex B, minor changes to the classifications
- Annex C, Figure C.1 deleted in favor of revised text
- Annex E, the additional requirements covering self-contained portable emergency luminaires
CB Scheme – International Standard IEC
The CB Scheme is a vast international arrangement established by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) for mutual acceptance of test reports among participating certification organizations in the field of electrical and electronic equipment.
The CB Scheme is an international network of product certification organizations in more than 50 countries around the world.
The CB Scheme benefits product manufacturers and distributors engaged in international trade by providing:
- A single point of product testing for efficient global market access
- Global acceptance of test reports leading to national certification in CB Scheme member countries
- Unilateral acceptance of test reports in many developing countries that are not yet participating in the CB Scheme
On May 14, 2020, a new International Standard IEC 62868-1:2020 has been published. It deals with organic light emitting diode (OLED) light sources for general lighting.
The IEC 62868-1:2020 specifies general safety requirements of OLED products for use on DC supplies up to 1,000 V or AC supplies up to 1,000 V at 50 Hz or 60 Hz for indoors and similar general lighting purposes. This document applies to any OLED light sources which are not covered by IEC 62868-2 (all parts). This first edition cancels and replaces IEC 62868 published in 2014
On May 13, 2020, the new standard IEC 62384:2020 (Edition 2.0) has been published. It specifies performance requirements for electronic control gear for use on DC or AC supplies up to 1,000 V (alternating current at 50 Hz or 60 Hz) and with an output frequency which can deviate from the supply frequency, associated with LED modules according to IEC 62031.
This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous edition:
- Scope extension (direct current from 250 V to 1,000 V)
- New specifications for measuring the power factor for control gear with settable/non-constant output (for instance, to allow for constant light output)
- Deletion of audio frequency requirements (selection of current test circuit by module capacitance (instead of selecting by having or not having logic circuitry) plus test circuit setup changes)
How UL can help
We are expertly qualified to assist companies in demonstrating their products meet the essential requirements of EU directives and regulations and help customers achieve compliance testing according to the applicable harmonized standards.
We also provide product certification marks such as the D-mark, UL-EU and ENEC marks. Widely recognized throughout Europe, the D-mark, UL-EU and ENEC marks are voluntary for appliances and they demonstrate compliance of products with harmonized European standards verified by an independent third party. Therefore they could be complementary marks to the mandatory CE marking, which is basically based on a self-declaration.
In addition, we are one of the largest and most active CB Scheme members and operate four National Certification Bodies (NCB) in different countries and over 50 CB Testing Laboratories (CBTLs) to provide local service with global coverage for our customers.
UL NCBs in Denmark, USA, Japan and Canada, with CBTLs in all major regions, can assess your products to a broad range of IEC standards, with any relevant national or group differences.