Aug 28, 2019

ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES SAFETY: Standards and Certification

Conformity with safety standards is obviously part of the criteria for selecting a charging station. Applicable standards are defined by recognized standardisation bodies. The charging station’s conformity must be certified by an accredited approval organisation. This organisation tests the charging station and its components in a laboratory according to a protocol defined by the standardisation organisation for each standard or requirement.

A certified product bears an official label confirming its conformity with applicable standards. Thus, both the installer and user can be confident that the product has passed the relevant tests and that, following an installation that meets established standards, it will operate safely.

Protect users and property

Standards are put in place to protect users and property. The Sécurité publique Québec website (Québec Public Safety) states that one must always use approved electrical products in order to protect against electric shocks and fires. An approved electrical product bears a seal of approval or certification. This seal is affixed or printed directly on the product in the form of a mark or a label. Under Chapter V – Electricity of the Québec Construction Code, any electrical accessory sold in Québec must be approved or certified by an accredited approval body.

Approval bodies

The list of accredited approval bodies is available on the Régie du Bâtiment Québec website. Two types of approval procedures are presented: certification and special evaluation.

As mentioned above, certification implies that one of the certification bodies has TESTED the product and attested that it conforms with applicable Canadian or international standards.

Special evaluation is a case-by-case type of approval used for limited-quantity products or when there are no existing standards. In these cases, the recognized organization evaluates the product and certifies, by affixing a personalized label, the minimum safety level required. Even if it meets the approval requirement, the special evaluation – which does not require laboratory testing – does NOT constitute a proper certification and is generally not used for consumer products.

CSA, UL and SAE Standards or Requirements

In common parlance, it is sometimes said that a product is “CSA certified” or “UL certified” whereas it should instead be said that the product’s conformity with CSA or UL standards is certified by XYZ organization”. The CSA (Canadian Standards Association) and UL (Underwriters’ Laboratories Inc.) groups provide certification services while also being recognized standardisation bodies.

The international organisation SAE (formerly Society of Automobile Engineers) defined the J1772 standard for charging stations. When choosing output cable and vehicle connector parts, charging station manufacturers usually procure supplies from providers who offer this product along with this certification. This standard covers the physical, electrical, functional and performance requirements for electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids charging in North America.

Conformity certificate of the EVduty charging station

The EVduty EVC30 charging station’s conformity with applicable CSA and UL standards is certified by LABTEST CERTIFICATION INC. The certificate of conformity is also available in the documentation section of the website. This certificate certifies that the laboratory has TESTED the EVduty charging station according to established protocols and determined that it conforms with applicable safety standards and requirements (CSA and UL).

IMPORTANT: Demand proper installation without modification of the charging station.

An EVduty charging station’s type of connection (power cable) MUST NOT be modified in any case, otherwise the certification and warranty become void. In addition, the hardwired version of the EVduty charging station must absolutely be connected to a JUNCTION BOX. The junction must in no case be made inside the charging station.