EU Low Voltage Directive Update 2014/35/EU
To adapt to the New Legislative Framework (NLF) of the European Union, on March 29, 2014, the official journal of the European Union published a new version of the Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU, replacing the original Low Voltage Directive 2006/95/EC.
The new directive will be implemented from April 20, 2016. Each member state must complete the legislative process by April 19, 2016. In other words, VOC (Declaration of Conformity) based on the old low voltage directive will not be accepted after April 20, 2016.
Products involved: Electrical devices with a rated voltage range of 50-1000 volts (AC) and 75-1500 volts (DC).
The new directive aims to ensure easier market access and higher levels of protection for consumer life and property:
Clarify the responsibilities of manufacturers, importers, and distributors;
Wider application of electronic means in compliance certification;
By improving the traceability system for defects or unsafe products, and continuously improving the system and supervision of conformity assessment agencies, consumer safety is more guaranteed;
More comprehensive market supervision agencies track and prevent the import of dangerous products;
The new directive clarifies:
Manufacturers are solely responsible for compliance assessment,
The notified body is no longer involved in the conformity assessment process.
2006/95/EC Directive Reading
The LVD Low Voltage Directive 2006/95/EC aims to ensure the safety of low-voltage devices during use. The scope of application of the directive is to use electrical products with voltages ranging from 50V to 1000V AC and 75V to 1500V DC. This directive includes all safety regulations for this equipment, including protection against hazards caused by mechanical reasons. The design and structure of the equipment should ensure that there are no hazards when used under normal working conditions or fault conditions according to its intended purpose, especially in evaluating the following hazards.
Command Range
The low voltage directive covers all electrical products with a nominal supply AC voltage of 50-1000V and a nominal DC voltage of 75-1500V, and requires them to comply with certain electrical safety requirements For example, insulation distance requirements, high voltage resistance requirements, flame resistance requirements, temperature rise limits, service life and abnormal condition testing of key components, etc.
LVD Testing Product Standards
EN60601-1/EN 61010... | Safety testing of industrial, medical, and scientific products |
EN 60065/UL 6500 /UL1492/CSA C22.2 M1... | Safety testing of broadcasting and television products |
EN 60335-1 /CNS3765/CNS3766 | Safety testing of household appliance products |
EN 60598/UL 153 /1571/CSA C22.2 No.9/ No.12 ... | Safety testing of lighting products |
EN 60950/UL 1950 /CSA22.2-950... | Security testing of information technology products |
EN/IEC61558 | Power transformer products |
EN/IEC61029 | Electric tool products |
EN61347 | Lamp control device products |
EN292 | Basic concepts of mechanical safety |
EN60034 | Industrial motor products |
EN60432 | Bulb products |
EN60730 | Household automatic control products |
EN62094 | Signal light products |
EN12157 | Water pump products |
EN71 | Toy products |
EN ISO12100, EN60204 | Mechanical products |
UL1026 | Cooking and food processing household electrical products |
UL1082 | Coffee pot and water boiling household electrical products |
UL1083 | Pan fried and fried household electrical products |
UL982 | Motor food processing products |
UL499 | Heating electrical products |
UL1647 | Massage and fitness products |
UL153 | General lighting fixtures |
UL507 | Electric fans |
UL1310 | Class II power supply equipment |
UL1585 | Class II and III transformers |
UL1411 | Transformer for audio and video |
UL1778 | Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) |
UL1993 | Energy-saving light |
LVD declaration methods - three methods
There are three ways to prove that your product complies with the low voltage directive:
(1) Adopting standards negotiated by the European Community;
(2) If there is no negotiated standard for the product, the manufacturer's own national standard will be used;
(3) Directly using LVD.
Technical documents required
According to the requirements, manufacturers must provide relevant technical documents to the governments of each member state of the European Community within a few weeks, and these documents must be properly stored for 10 years after the end of production. These documents include:
(1) Product description;
(2) Design drawings, circuit diagrams, component lists, and product structure introductions;
(3) A list of all or part of the referenced standards;
(4) Test reports are mainly safety standard test reports, which require the completion of specified testing requirements and the documentation of actual measured results.
Declaration of Conformity