Notes on Regulations Governing the Export of Lamps

Notes on Regulations Governing the Export of Lamps

Background

Lamps are subject to high safety requirements and shall conform to the local laws and regulations when being imported into European and American countries/regions. For example, lamps imported into North America must be UL certified (the US), or CUS certified (Canada and the US), and lamps imported into the EU must be CE certified.

The EU

Typical technical regulations include directives issued by the European Commission and Council, such as Low Voltage Directive (LVD), Energy-related Products Directive (ErP), and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Directive.
A product which conforms to harmonized standards is deemed to comply with the essential requirements of applicable directives and can be freely traded in the EU.
CE marking is mandatory for products which fall under EU legislation. Any product that meets the essential requirements of the directive and has passed the conformity assessment procedure can be labelled with a CE mark. The CE Marking is the only marking indicating conformity with the relevant European directives.

The US

Manufacturers shall provide safety certificates (recognized by NRTL).
Meet the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s authorization requirements, which is an essential condition for ensuring the safety of radio and wire communication products.
Meet the requirements of the US Department of Energy (DOE).
Meet the requirements of the California Energy Commission (CEC).

In addition, California Proposition 65 (CP 65) was enacted by California to ensure the safety of drinking water. CP 65 requires businesses to execute the obligation to give warnings for listed chemicals.

The TPCH Legislation on packaging materials in the US establishes restrictions on the use of hazardous substances in packaging materials.

Scope

In the EU, general lighting equipment includes fixed, recessed, and portable lighting installations, street lamps, project lamps, underground lights, and string lights, while bulbs are categorized into general self-ballasted fluorescent, LED, double-capped fluorescent, and single-capped fluorescent light bulbs.

In terms of installation methods, general lighting equipment in the US can be divided into portable and fixed lighting installations. Portable lighting installations include table and floor lamps, while fixed lamps include ceiling, wall, and pendant lamps. Bulbs mainly include fluorescent, HID, and LED light bulbs.

Regulations

The EU

Lights:

The harmonized standards for the low voltage directive (LVD) 2014/35/EU are the EN 60598-1 general requirements for luminaires and the EN 60598-2 Part 2-20 particular safety requirements for different categories of lights. The standards specified various requirements for lights: general introduction, definition, classification, marks, structures, external and internal wires, grounding requirements, electrical shock prevention, dust prevention, foreign substance prevention, waterproof, insulation resistance, dielectric strength, creepage distance, electrical clearance, endurance test, thermal test, heat resistance, fire resistance, tracking, screw terminals, screwless terminals, electrical connectors, and appendixes.

The ERP directive 2009/125/EC is currently implemented according to the regulation (EU) No 1194/2012, which will be replaced by (EU) 2019/2020 on September 1, 2021.

The regulation (EU) 2017/1369 setting a framework for energy labelling will be replaced by (EU) 2019/2015 on September 1, 2021.

The electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) directive 2014/30/EU is implemented in accordance with standards EN 55015, EN 61000-3-2, EN 61000-3-3, and EN 61547.

The radio equipment directive (RED) 2014/53/EU is implemented in accordance with standards ETSI EN 300 440, ETSI EN 301489-3, and EN 62311.

According to the EU Directive 2011/65/EU on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electronic and electrical equipment, all homogeneous materials in electronic and electrical products shall comply with the restrictions on controlled substances.

According to the regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 on the registration, evaluation, authorization, and restriction of chemicals, if the contents of SVHC exceed 0.1%, obligations for notification and information transfer shall be performed. Contents of the substances listed in Annex XVII in products shall not exceed limitations.

As per the regulation (EU) 2019/1021 on persistent organic pollutants, the contents of some substances in products shall not exceed the limitations listed in Annex XVII.

According to the directive 2012/19/EU on the control of waste electrical and electronic equipment, products shall meet the requirements for the recycling labels for waste. Products shall also reach the standards for collection and reuse rates if possible.

As per the directive 94/62/EC on packaging, the sum of concentration levels of Pb, Cd, Hg, and Cr VI present in packaging or packaging components shall not exceed 100mg/kg.

Bulbs:

2014/35/EU (LVD):

- Self-ballasted LED lamps for general lighting services: EN 62560

- Self-ballasted fluorescent lamps for general lighting services: EN 60969

- Double-capped fluorescent lamps: EN 61195

- Single-capped fluorescent lamps: EN 61199

The ERP directive 2009/125/EC is currently implemented according to the regulation (EU) No 1194/2012, which will be replaced by (EU) 2019/2020 on September 1, 2021.

The regulation (EU) 2017/1369 setting a framework for energy labelling will be replaced by (EU) 2019/2015 on September 1, 2021.

The electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) directive 2014/30/EU is implemented in accordance with standards EN 55015, EN 61000-3-2, EN 61000-3-3, and EN 61547.

The radio equipment directive (RED) 2014/53/EU is implemented in accordance with standards ETSI EN 300 440, ETSI EN 301489-3, and EN 62311.

According to the regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 on the registration, evaluation, authorization, and restriction of chemicals, if the contents of SVHC exceed 0.1%, obligations for notification and information transfer shall be performed. The contents of certain substances in products shall not exceed the limits listed in Annex XVII.

As per the directive 94/62/EC on packaging, the sum of concentration levels of Pb, Cd, Hg, and Cr VI present in packaging or packaging components shall not exceed 100mg/kg.

The US

Lights:

Safety certificates (recognized by NRTL)

- Portable lighting installations: UL 153 + UL 8750

- Fixed lighting installations: UL 1598 + UL 8750

The authorization procedure for FCC Part 15B or FCC Part 18 for gas discharge lamps is SDoC (without wireless function); while the authorization procedure for FCC Part 15C and FCC Part 2.1091 is ID (with wireless function).

DOE, 10 CFR Part 430

CEC, CEC Title 20

US CP 65: a "warning" label shall be affixed to a product that contains listed substances.

US TPCH: the total concentration of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium or their compounds in packaging or a packaging component shall not exceed 100 ppm.

Bulbs:

Safety certificates (recognized by NRTL), UL 1993 + UL 8750

DOE, 10 CFR Part 430

CEC, CEC Title 20

US TPCH: the total concentration of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium or their compounds in packaging or a packaging component shall not exceed 100 ppm.

Legal Basis

For more information about lighting regulations, please visit the following websites:

The EU:

The US:

Note: The above information does not constitute any legal advice and shall not be deemed or represent the legal opinion or conclusion of the regulatory body. Further, we do not undertake or warrant that the information represents the latest laws and regulations. For specific information, please consult the competent authority, law firms, or third-party certification/testing/consulting companies in the target country or region.

AliExpress
August 31, 2020