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IT
Certification Expiry Dates
Moe
Lamothe, P.Eng, Lamothe Approvals Inc.
Selecting
Power Supplies as Components - Understanding 60950
When selecting
components, particularly power supplies, intended for incorporation into
your equipment, it is important to ensure that the approval on the
component is current.
Traditionally, for
UL and CSA standards, this had been easy. A quick check in the published
directories to confirm that the component is certified was all that was
required.
This scenario is
no longer valid because of the rapid change in standards. For example, the
first editions of IEC 950 were published in 1987. The second edition (IEC
60950 Second Edition) was published in 1993/94.
UL published UL 1950 3rd Edition in 1998, and CSA
published CSA C22.2 No. 950 3rd Edition also in 1998, both of
which were based on IEC 60950 Second Edition.
When IEC published IEC 60950 Third Edition in 2000, UL and CSA
updated their standards to match the IEC standard numbering system (60950
Third Edition), producing UL 60950 Third Edition and CSA C22.2 No. 60950
Third Edition. The latest
version is IEC 60950-1 First Edition, CSA C22.2 No. 60950-1-03 and UL
60950-1.
(Note the -1 appended to the standard number!) Confused yet?
The difficulty is
that each of these editions and amendments introduced changes to the
requirements. In order to
guarantee compliance with the latest (current) requirements, you need to
ensure that the components you select also comply.
Obtaining
Proof of Certification
For European
certification, when
selecting power supplies and other components, you must request a copy of the approval
license(s) from the manufacturer. This document can be several pages
and it may be in a language other than English. The 'CE' Declaration of
Conformity from the manufacturer is not acceptable, it must be from a
certifying agency. Make sure you get the entire certificate.
Don't despair, look for
the key text:
EN
60950-1:2001, EN 60950-1:2001+A11 or IEC 60950-1:2001
or some similar
designation. The clue is to look for the standard number such as 'EN
60950' followed by a year 2001 and A11 indicates the
inclusion of amendment 11 in the approval. Power supplies
certified to earlier standards than 2001 are not likely to be usable without
additional testing and investigation.
Note that after July 1, 2006, EN 60950:2000 is not a valid standard.
For North
American certification,
when selecting power supplies and other components you must request a copy of the Conditions of Acceptability, which
is always included in the UL descriptive report and sometimes provided in
CSA descriptive reports.
There
are many Recognized Component standards for component power supplies. Ensure
that the power supply complies with one of the following:
- UL
60950-1 First Edition Information Technology Equipment – Safety –
Part 1: General Requirements
- UL
60950 Third Edition Safety of Information Technology Equipment
(may require additional investigation)
-
UL 1310 Class 2 Power Units
- CAN/CSA-C22.2
No. 60950-1-03 First Edition Information Technology Equipment –
Safety – Part 1: General Requirements
-
C22.2 No. 60950-00 Third Edition Safety of Information
Technology Equipment
(may require additional investigation)
-
C22.2 No. 223 Power Supplies with Extra-Low Voltage Class
2 outputs (direct plug-ins, with a mounting tab are not acceptable)
Information
Technology and Telephone Equipment Effective Dates
April 1, 2005 was
the effective date for compliance with the new First Edition of the CSA/UL
bi-national standard, CSA C22.2 No. 60950-1-03/UL 60950-1. No expiry
date has been given for this version.
See the following
table for expiration dates of the CSA and UL standards relating to
Information Technology and Telephone Equipment.
Remember to apply
for approval of your existing approved equipment well ahead of the above
mandatory dates since there is likely to be a huge backlog near the end of
the time limits. Many companies will wait to the last possible date.
Expect lead times of six months or more since CSA, UL, and independent
labs will only have the capacity for normal approval times.
The
bottom line is that all of the CSA and UL standards relating to IT and
Telephone equipment have had their expiry dates postponed indefinitely.
Note that the EN (European) equivalents have definite expiry dates so that
if you are also CE Marking your products you will have to update according
to the European dates.
All
products certified to editions of EN 60950 prior EN 60950:2000 are no
longer eligible to bear the CE Marking.
UL
Bulletin
The
following is extracted from a recent bulletin issued by UL. While the CSA
standards are not mentioned, they are following the same effective dates.
This will provide some additional clarification.
Effective
April 1, 2005
·
All existing product categories (EMRT, QAOT, QQBK, QQHX, WYQQ) will
be maintained so currently Listed products may continue to be Listed.
Category information in our on-line Database for categories not aligned
with the current standard will be modified by modifying the Guide
Information for these categories to clearly identify the status of their
certifications in relation to the Standards used within them. Any
construction changes to these products after April 1, 2005 will result in
the need to re-evaluate the product to the current UL 60950-1 First
Edition requirements.
·
The NWGQ and QQGQ categories will be maintained and utilized as the
"top-level" preferred categories, with all new product
certifications evaluated to UL60950-1 First Edition being placed under
them. All new products will only be evaluated to UL 60950-1 First Edition.
New files will only be created under NWGQ or QQGQ, as appropriate.
·
Applicants whose current certifications are to UL 114, UL 478 and
UL1950 1st & 2nd Ed (with or w/o D3's) may transition their
certifications to the latest requirements using valid CB Reports and
Certifications (Reports) by other IECEE CB Scheme NCBs in an effort to
significantly reduce the amount of work involved.
·
Transitioning from UL 1950 Third Edition or UL 60950 Third Edition
to UL 60950-1 First Edition will involve the minimal amount of effort.
Transitioning from other standards may involve proportionately more
effort, depending on the standard originally used and the status of other
international certifications for the same product(s).
Moe
Lamothe is the president of Lamothe Approvals Inc.
(Georgetown, ON, Canada). He can be reached at
info@lamotheapprovals.com.
The
copyright for all of the text, tables and illustrations remains with Lamothe Approvals Inc. Permission is granted to print or reproduce
this document provided that it properly attributed to Lamothe Approvals Inc.
Prepared
May 2003, Revised
August 2006
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