Low Voltage Directive

The Low Voltage Directive (LVD) 2006/95/EC is one of the oldest Single Market Directives adopted by the European Union before the "New" or "Global" Approach.[1] The Directive provides common broad objectives for safety regulations, so that electrical equipment approved by any EU member country will be acceptable for use in all other EU countries. The Low Voltage Directive does not supply any specific technical standards that must be met, instead relying on IEC technical standards to guide designers to produce safe products. Products that conform to the general principles of the Low Voltage Directive and the relevant particular safety standards are marked with the CE marking to indicate compliance and acceptance throughout the EU. Conformance is asserted by the manufacturer based on its conformity assessment.

A new version of the directive is 2014/35/EU, dated 26 February 2014.

Application

The directive covers electrical equipment with a voltage at input or output terminals between 50 and 1000 volts for alternating current (AC) or between 75 and 1500 volts for direct current (DC). Importantly, it does not cover voltages within equipment[1] The directive does not cover components (broadly, this refers to individual electronic components).[2]

Certain classes of equipment, covered by other technical standards, are listed in Annex III of the Directive as excluded from its scope. These items include medical devices, electricity meters, railway or maritime equipment, and electrical plugs and sockets for domestic use.

UK implementation

In the United Kingdom, the directive is implemented by "The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994"[3]

See also

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, February 05, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.