Electrical Equipment Designed for Use Within Certain Voltage Limits
Directive 73/23/EEC was
adopted by the Council on February 19, 1973 with the aim of harmonizing the
laws of the Member States relating to electrical equipment designed for use
within certain voltage limits.
In 1993 that directive was amended by Directive 93/68/EEC, the so-called “CE
Marking Directive”, solely in respect of the procedures for conformity assessment
and conformity marking. The objective of this amendment was to align the provisions
concerning conformity assessment and the CE marking of electrical equipment
on those introduced for the New Approach Directives.
The provisions introduced by the amendment mentioned have been mandatory with
effect since January 1, 1997.
The Low Voltage Directive (LVD) is a “total” harmonization directive in the
sense that it has superseded existing national regulations in the field covered:
electrical equipment may only be put on the market if it is in conformity
with the requirements of the directive and, on the other hand, Member States
may not impede free circulation or the marketing of conforming equipment.
Scope Of The Low Voltage
Directive
Which products are covered?
The directive applies to all electrical equipmentequipmentfor use with a
voltage rating of between 50 and 1000 v for alternating current and between
75 and 1500 v for direct current. Voltage ratings refer to the voltage of
the electrical input or output, not to voltages which may appear inside the
equipment.
Battery operated equipment outside the voltage rating is obviously outside
the scope of the LVD. Nevertheless, the accompanying battery-charger as well
as equipment with integrated power supply unit within the voltage ranges of
the directive, are in the scope of the LVD. This applies also in the case
of battery-operated equipment with supply voltage rating under 50 vAC and
75 vDC, for their accompanying power supply unit (e.g. Notebooks).
However, the following are excluded from the scope of the Low Voltage Directive:
- electrical equipment
for use in a potentially explosive atmosphere;
- electrical equipment
for radiology and medical purposes;
- electrical parts for
lifts;
- electricity meters,
which are covered by other Community directives, and:
- plugs and socket outlets
for domestic use;
- electric fence controllers;
specialized electrical equipment for use on ships,
- aircraft or railways,
which complies with the safety provisions drawn up by international bodies
in which the Member States participate;
which so far are not covered
by any Community directive and therefore must not be CE marked.
Broadly, the directive covers consumer and capital goods designed to operate
within those voltage limits, including in particular electrical appliances,
hand-held electrically driven tools, lighting equipment including ballasts,
switch gear and control gear, electric wiring, appliance couplers and cord
sets, electrical installation equipment, etc. The Commission confirms, as
already expressed in the Communication of December 15, 1982, that cable management
systems are covered by the Low Voltage Directive.
Are “components” included
in the scope?
In general, the scope of the directive includes both electrical equipment
intended for incorporation into other equipment and equipment intended to
be used directly without being incorporated.
However, some types of electrical devices, designed and manufactured for being
used as basic components to be incorporated into other electrical equipment,
are such that their safety to a very large extent depends on how they are
integrated into the final product and the overall characteristics of the final
product. These basic components include electronic and certain other components.
Taking into account the objectives of the Low Voltage Directive, such basic
components, the safety of which can only, to a very large extent, be assessed
taking into account how they are incorporated, are not covered as such by
the directive. In particular, they must not be CE marked.
However, other electrical components, which are intended for being incorporated
into other electrical equipment, but for which a safety assessment is feasible,
like, for example, some types of transformers and electrical motors, are covered
as such by the directive and must be CE marked.
Moreover, the scope of the exclusion of basic components must not be misunderstood
and extended to items like lamps, starters, fuses, switches for household
use, elements of electrical installations, etc., which, even if they are often
used in conjunction with other electrical equipment and have to be properly
installed in order to deliver their useful function, are themselves to be
considered electrical equipment in the sense of the directive.
The Specific Provisions
of Each Article of the Low-Voltage Directive 73/23/EEC
Article 1:
"... 'electrical equipment' means any equipment designed for use with a voltage
rating between 50 and 1000 v for AC and between 75 and 1500 v for DC...".
The lower limits, 50 vAC or 75 vDC, define Extra Low Voltage (ELV). ELV is
usually considered a safe, touchable voltage not giving rise to a shock hazard
under most conditions. The upper limits, 1000 vAC or 1500 vDC, define the
crossover to Medium Voltage, which are voltages used for distribution of power
to neighborhoods and facilities. Exceptions will be covered later.
Article 2: States shall control marketing of equipment to only
that, which "... does not endanger the safety of persons, domestic animals
or property ..." including conditions of proper installation and maintenance
in accordance with the intended application for the product. Additionally,
the product must meet the "... good engineering practice in safety matters
in force in the Community", which invokes all of the European based electrical
codes and standards. Key elements of good safety practice are laid down.
Article 3: Equipment complying as stated above shall have free
movement within the Community. Additional provisions include accepting equipment,
which meets harmonized European standards (EN's), area standards (CEE), international
standards (IEC) or local requirements. Meeting the basic requirements in a
way that would be acceptable to an independent, notified evaluator is also
allowed. These are covered in more detail in the following clauses.
Article 4: It is required that the states shall not impose any
more strict requirements than are laid out in this directive.
Article 5: Equipment that complies with harmonized standards
(European Normes or ENs) shall be acceptable in meeting the requirements for
marketing and free movement of goods within the community. Harmonized standards
are drawn up by CENELEC committees and published by each country in their
local language. (Note that CENELEC does not have a publishing arm and does
not publish the EN standards separately. Americans usually buy standards from
English speaking countries.) CENELEC has the responsibility to keep the standards
up to date technically and in accordance with good safety engineering practice.
CENELEC has an ongoing program to work closely with IEC committees to minimize
the differences between the European standards and the international standards.
Lists of harmonized standards are published in the European Official Journal
of the European Communities (OJ) and usually refer to a specific directive.
Article 6: For those cases where harmonized ENs have not yet
been drawn up, compliance with CEE (International Commission on the Rules
for the Approval of Electrical Equipment) or IEC (International Electrotechnical
Commission) standards is acceptable. Procedures are given for notification
to the states as to which standards and variations are acceptable; these are
published in the OJ. As an example, laser requirements are still taken from
IEC 820 and IEC 825 since no EN has been issued covering these requirements.
Article 7: "Where harmonized standards ... are not yet in existence
..." EU countries shall accept equipment, which meets the safety requirements
of other EU members, as long as those requirements are equivalent to the home
country requirements. For products in categories where ENs don't yet exist,
a company may be able to use German standards. Since the Germans have had
the most complete standards and certification system, companies that have
been meeting these German requirements (and appropriately marking the equipment)
should be accepted throughout the community until an EN is in place. The need
to invoke this requirement is rapidly going away as many new ENs are being
put into place each year by the CENELEC committees. Unfortunately, there is
no way described to use North American product safety certifications to meet
this requirement; in some cases, customers may informally accept North American
certification marks where the Canadian or US/ANSI standard is technically
equivalent to the European or IEC standard. There are only a few product categories
where there is equivalence between North American standards and European or
IEC standards, although this small group of harmonized standards is growing.
Article 8: Manufacturers may feel that they do not comply with
all the detailed requirements of a particular harmonized standard, but feel
that they meet the essential requirements stated in the directive and are
entitled to free trade and movement of goods within the community. But if
the product involved is challenged, the manufacturer must submit a technical
evaluation report showing compliance to the essential requirements drawn up
by a Notified Body. This Notified Body will be one of the safety test houses
within the community who has been listed in the OJ as being acceptable for
evaluating that particular type of equipment.
Article 9: If a product is deemed unsafe by any of the countries
and is prohibited from sale, that country shall immediately notify all the
other countries of the prohibition, whether the product is unsafe because
of a "... shortcoming in the harmonized standard ..." or because of inappropriate
application of the standard or "... failure to comply with good (safety) engineering
practice ... ." Note that this requires that there be communication between
the countries to stop the sale of the unsafe product throughout the EU. This
is different from past practice in that facing a problem in one country left
the manufacturer free to sell in the other countries while the dispute was
being resolved. This article also includes a method for resolution of disputes
among states concerning the unsafe product.
Article 10: Equipment displaying a country mark of conformity,
a certificate of conformity from a Notified Body, or a manufacturer's Declaration
of Conformity (primarily for industrial equipment) is to be accepted. Specific
country marks to be accepted are published in the OJ.
Article 11: Each country shall specifically list: their internal bodies
that will work to harmonize their internal standards to the CENELEC requirements;
their internal bodies that will establish marks and certificates showing compliance;
their internal bodies that may make reports or give opinions to resolve disputes;
where they publish the internal, harmonized standards information (their country
Gazette or Journal).
Article 12: The directive does not apply to equipment intended
for export outside the EU.
Article 13: The period for enacting laws and regulations to
show compliance ended in August, 1974.
Article 14: "This directive is addressed to the Member States."
