The latest developments in international certification

Date：2021/4/20　　Clicks：1175

EU promulgated updated eco-design regulations

At the end of February, the European Commission issued a new Eco-Design Regulation (EU) 2021/341, which revised the eco-design requirements for the following products:

• Servers and data storage devices
• Electric motors and variable speed drives
• Refrigerator refrigeration appliances
• Light source and independent control device
• Electronic display
• Household dishwasher
• Household washing machines and household washing dryers

• Refrigeration appliances with direct sales function

The main amendment of the new version of the regulations is to provide a more precise definition and a more detailed description of the required tests. It must be noted that the revised Eco-Design Regulations (EU) 2021/341 European Energy Labelling Regulations (EU) 2021/340 are independent of each other, and the Eco-Design Regulations cover more types of products. Therefore, when testing the above-mentioned products to prove that they meet the EU environmental protection requirements, both of these regulations need to be complied with. Regarding electronic displays and televisions, the latest ErP directive related to Eco-Design Regulations (EU) 2019/2021 and the new regulations on energy labeling (EU) 2019/2013 are now effective. The new regulations cover more types of displays and include power consumption requirements. At the same time, material efficiency is now included in the regulations. Material efficiency limits the use of raw materials and requires products to be repairable and reusable. In addition, the labeling method for energy efficiency levels is now changed from A to G.

Switch standard EN IEC 61058-1: 2018

The latest version of the EU safety testing standard EN IEC 61058-1: 2018 general requirements for electronic equipment switches has been implemented at the end of 2018. The old standard EN 61058-1:2002 +A2:2008 will be officially abolished on May 25, 2021. The abolished old standards cannot be used to declare that products comply with the EU Low Voltage Directive. The new version of the standard EN IEC 61058-1: 2018 is mainly to integrate and reformat the previous main standard and multiple revisions.

• Mechanical switches must comply with standards: EN IEC 61058-1:2018 & EN 61058-1-1:2016
• Electronic switches must comply with standards: EN IEC 61058-1:2018 & EN 61058-1-2:2016 and EMC related requirements.

Whether you are a manufacturer of electronic device switches or a finished manufacturer of electronic switches, you should pay attention to this standard update and ensure that the electronic switches you produce or use comply with the latest version of the standard requirements.

If the reporting period of the old standard is less than five years, the requirements for this update are relatively simple. You only need to check the product consistency and re-write the report according to the new TRF. If the test report is updated for more than five years, the endurance test and temperature rise test need to be re-verified.

UKCA logo certification for wireless products

From January 1, 2021, wireless products entering the UK market can continue to be used if the Type Examination Certification (TEC) and its technical documents originally held by the EU RED CE mark are issued by an NB institution outside the UK By the end of 2021, the transition period for the CE marking is over. If the CE-marked RED TEC was issued by a British NB institution and the holder has not converted to a RED TEC certificate for a non-UK institution within 2020, the NB institution recognized by the UK after Brexit must be adopted from January 2021 Wireless certification issued and marked with UKCA.

The name of the regulation for wireless products in the UK after Brexit is: UK Radio Equipment Regulation 2017, referred to as RER 2017. From January 1, 2022, all wireless products entering the UK market need to be certified by the market conformity assessment agency recognized by the UK after Brexit to issue wireless certification regulations, namely RER 2017 TEC and the UKCA logo on the product. Legally sold.

Australian market access requirements

Although the market access requirements for electrical and electronic equipment in Australia and New Zealand are basically the same as those in the EU, there are still some differences.
For most electrical and electronic equipment, there are both electronic safety requirements and EMC compliance requirements. The safety part is supervised by the "Electronic Equipment Security System" (EESS), while the EMC part (refer to the 2017 announcement) is supervised by the telecommunications regulatory agency ACMA, which is also responsible for the supervision of the radio/telecommunications field.

Electronic products must be issued by an Australian "responsible supplier" with a relevant declaration of conformity and should be registered in the "registration database" jointly managed by ACMA and EESS.

Regarding safety, there are different requirements according to the risk level of the equipment, namely:
Risk level 1: Equipment defined as low risk or unknown risk. Risk level 2: Equipment defined as moderate risk in the AS/NZS 4417.2 standard. Risk level 3: Equipment defined as high risk in the AS/NZS 4417.2 standard. The risk levels of different types of equipment can be viewed through the links in the lower right corner.

Equipment classified as risk level 3 (high risk) must have a valid certificate of conformity issued by a certification authority in Australia or New Zealand and be registered in the national EESS database. Equipment with a risk level of 2 also needs to be registered in the EESS database. Equipment classified as risk level 2 or 1 does not require a certificate of conformity, but the supplier must provide evidence that the equipment meets the relevant safety requirements as required.

Similarly, for the EMC part, ACMA classifies devices as high risk (compliance level 3), medium risk (compliance level 2), and low risk (compliance level 1). All equipment must be determined and meet the required EMC compliance level, but only for high-risk and medium-risk equipment, the Regulatory Compliance Marking (RCM) mark must be marked on the nameplate.

The RCM mark shared by EESS and ACMA is just lke the CE mark of the European Union. However, the RCM mark can only be marked by the manufacturer or importer located in Australia/New Zealand after confirming that the product meets the requirements of the relevant standards and is registered.

Saudi Arabia market access update

According to the official announcement of the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization SASO, starting from July 1, 2021, more products will be included in Saudi Arabia's mandatory IECEE report accreditation certification, that is, the scope of the SIRC certification. Products within the scope of SIRC certification need to obtain IECEE test report and CB certificate from NCB agency, and then the official Saudi certification agency SASO has issued an IECEE report accreditation certificate before applying for PC certificate from SABER platform for use before shipment Apply for the electronic version of CoC for customs clearance. Now, the updated SIRC certified product range includes:
Ø • Mobiles and their accessories.
Ø • Mobile batteries.
Ø • laptop.
Ø • Electronic watches.
Ø • Household dishwasher.
Ø • Televisions.
Ø • Technical regulation for electronic devices used in vaping systems.
Ø • Technical Regulations for Small Solar PV Systems.
Ø • Lighting Products
Ø • Electric water pumps (from July 1, 2021)
Ø • Coffee makers (from July 1, 2021)
Ø • Cables (from July 1, 2021)
Ø • Water heater (from July 1, 2021)
Ø • Video games machines and their accessories (from July 1, 2021)
Ø • Electrical house friers (from July 1, 2021)

In addition, it should be noted that starting from July 1, 2021, Saudi Arabia will only accept IEC 62368-1 2018 edition reports for information technology products. The report of IEC 60950-1 or IEC 62368-1 2014 edition is no longer accepted.