LED Driver Certification North America and Europe Safety Standards Difference Analysis

In recent years, many manufacturers are planning or manufacturing global LED driver products with wide voltage inputs. Different countries have different product standards, which leads to difficulties and obstacles in designing and manufacturing global LED drivers. The author tries to compare and analyze the difference between the North American safety standard of LED driver and the European safety standard. Select ANSI/UL 8750 as the representative standard of North America, EN 61347-2-13 (to be used with EN61347-1) as the representative standard in Europe. .

The first edition of UL 8750 was issued by UL in the United States in 2009. It was adopted by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as the national standard of the United States. After that, UL 8750 has undergone several revisions and improvements, the most recent revision date. It is April 01, 2015. The latest version of EN 61347-2-13 is the second edition of 2014. The main difference analysis is carried out from the following aspects: standard coverage, structural requirements, and test requirements.

Standard coverage difference

(1) Products covered by the standard

The title of UL 8750 (full name: Light Emitting Diode (LED) Equipment for Use in Lighting Products) can be literally translated as "LED device for lighting products". These LED devices include not only LED drivers, but also LED modules, LED controllers, and the like. And EN 61347-2-13 (Title: Particular requirements for dc or ac supplied electro nic co ntrolgear for LED modules) can be literally translated as "Special requirements for DC or AC electronic control devices for LED modules", the products covered are only LED electronic control devices . Therefore, UL8750 is wider than EN 61347-2-13 in terms of the range of products covered.

(2) Product voltage range

The UL 8750 covers a range of product input voltages including up to 600 V of mains and some DC power sources (including batteries, solar panels, etc.). The product input voltage range covered by EN 61347-2-13 is DC or AC not exceeding 1 000 V.

Structural requirements difference

(1) Definition of the use environment

The UL 8750 defines three LED driver environments: Dry location, Damp location, and Wet location. The products are used in different environments and the requirements in the standards are different. You can get a sensible understanding of the differences between the three environments from Figure 1 below. The specific use environment depends on the specific situation. Please refer to the standard.

The environment in which the LED driver is used in EN 61347-2-13 (EN 61347-1) is classified according to the IP rating. As a rule of thumb, LED drivers that comply with EN 61347-2-13 IP43 and above are confident enough to pass the UL 8750 Wet location test.

(2) Definition of contact hazard

UL 8750 and EN 61347-2-13 (EN 61347-1) consider voltage and leakage currents above the limits below to be electrically hazardous. See the standard for specific limits.

(3) Requirements for input power cord

UL 8750 specifies the color of the power cord that is directly connected to the mains. The color of the neutral line must be white or gray. The EN 61347-2-13 specifies that the external power cord needs to be a power cord that complies with the IEC/EN standard. Generally, the color of the three-core cable is yellow-green/blue/brown. Therefore, for a stand-alone LED driver, it is almost impossible to find a power cord that meets the requirements of UL 8750 and EN 61347-2-13.

(4) "Class 2" and "Class II"

These two nouns have the same pronunciation, but the meanings are quite different. “Class 2” is the definition of the LED driver output of UL 8750. The output voltage, current and power value of the LED driver of “Class 2” output are limited, which means that the output is safe. Generally, the voltage does not exceed 60 V dc, the current does not exceed 8 A, and the power does not exceed 100 W (see the standard for specific limits).

"Class II" is the definition of the level of protection against electric shock in the IEC/EN standard. According to EN61347-2-13 (EN 61347-1), the protection against electric shock of the LED driver of "Class II" is not realized by grounding, nor is it Relying solely on basic insulation, but relying on double or reinforced insulation is a common "back" mark. Therefore, the same pronunciation, different writing, different meanings.

Test requirement difference

(1) Dimmable temperature rise test

There are many dimming methods integrated in the LED driver. The most common ones are “0~10V”, “DALI”, “DMX” and so on. Another common dimming method is thyristor dimming, which is called Phase Cut Dimming in UL8750. For LED drivers with input-side thyristor dimmers in series, UL 8750 requires that the driver be additionally compliant with the dimmable temperature rise test in addition to the normal temperature rise test, ie the LED driver input can be controlled in series Silicon dimmers must also meet the temperature rise test requirements when working. There are no similar test requirements in EN61347-2-13.

(2) Related tests for plastic materials

EN 61347-2-13 requires that the insulating materials used in each LED driver, such as transformer frames, plastic casings, etc., be individually tested for resistance to fire, fire, or scratch resistance. There is no corresponding requirement in UL 8750. Manufacturers only need to purchase and use plastic particles that have been certified by UL94/UL 746 A/B/C/D to ensure that their certified parameters meet the requirements of LED drivers. Yes. UL has built a strong plastic database that allows manufacturers to set search criteria to suit their needs.

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