Electrical product compliance
Why is product compliance so important?
- To prevent unsafe (substandard) non-compliant electrical equipment being sold in the Australian electrical equipment market.
- To reduce risk of problem installations, and ensure the safety of electrical workers and the general public.
- To create an even market, restricting the opportunities for non-compliant product suppliers.
What is the problem with inferior products?
- Inferior products will often fail to meet all the relevant Australian Standards for that particular product type. This is a huge concern because the Standards are designed specifically to protect people and property from harm.
- By design, genuine products are expected to have a much longer life than copy products.
- Inferior products may also have a much higher failure rate.
- Genuine products are designed carefully and specifically for their purpose with applied research and knowledge developed prior to manufacture.
- Genuine products are easy to install and include (where applicable) installation instructions and diagrams.
- Low priced products, especially those that don’t comply, are designed to the limits of the material meaning that if they are put under load, they may overheat and possibly burn out.
Example of non compliant product in the market
- Some of these MCBs found their way into the UK market.
- A group of manufacturers (including Schneider Electric) who are members of British Electrotechnical and Allied Manufacturers Association (BEAMA), conducted raids of counterfeit manufacturers in China.
- After extensive research the manufacturer was caught out.
- Problems with the MCBs included:
- no arc shield
- no working parts (although the switch appeared to work without actually switching anything),
- a copper braid between the Line and Load side of the MCB.
Typically, products
that are copied
and badly
manufactured include:
- Circuit breakers – with inferior components, some with no overloads
- RCDs and RCBOs – that don’t conform to rigid standards of protection
- Wiring accessories – poor imitations can overheat and cause fires
- Cables and wires – substandard or insufficient copper, short lengths
- Lighting – substandard designs, causing short life span and/or overheating.
