Andrew and Enci, Assuming you are talking about equipment subject to harmonized standards IEC/EN 60950, the U.S. and Canadian standard 60950 has the same definition for Class I equipment: it must be earthed, with at least BASIC insulation.
This would not be the first time that you should be diplomatically educating your customer. And this is not a time where the customer should assume the risk of the equipment not being earthed since, in case of a fault, the manufacturer would be sued big time for not providing a safe product. The regulation are there, it is the enforcement that is not necessarily consistent. Here is the pecking order: Both the U.S. and the Canadian National Electric Codes specify that equipment installed in buildings needs to meet stated requirements and be Certified (Canada) or Listed (by NRTL in the U.S.) Additionally, the U.S. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) requires equipment that is placed in the workplace be NRTL Listed. Thus, in public buildings and the workplace the enforcement is by local fire marshalls, city codes, or insurance carriers. OSHA goes out to inspect when a complaint is lodged, but not otherwise as a general rule. Unfortunately, in the private home, nobody comes in to check what is plugged into the house. However, the U.S. is notoriously litigious and any manufacturer providing unsafe equipment that does not meet the stated requirements is just asking to go out of business. I strongly recommend that you educate your customer and provide a proper U.S. grounded power cord with your equipment. If your equipment has a CB Scheme safety report and Certificate, you should not have any problem redesigning it to meet U.S./Canadian voltages and ship with the appropriate NRTL mark. Tania Grant [email protected] ----- Original Message ----- From: [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2001 2:15 PM To: Enci Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: US Mains Plug/Earthing If the equipment is for work place use you have the OSHA requirements for it to be NRTL listed. Which will mean it must meet a standard (ANSI/UL/IEC etc) and hence need an earthed plug. Then the National Electric Code, requires all equipment plagued into the domestic supply to be NRTL listed, so same situation as above. The legal requirements are on the end user, but they are there. Most importantly, make sure he is aware of the fundamental safety risk of not earthing a class 1 product. Enci wrote: > I am in the UK, a customer in USA wants us to fit > 2 pin mains plugs to the Class 1 appliances he > is going to be buying from us. > > He is very firm that there are no regulations in US > that requires this to be so. Is that true? > > Thank you. > > ------------------------------------------- > This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety > Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. > > Visit our web site at: http://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/emcs/pstc/ > > To cancel your subscription, send mail to: > [email protected] > with the single line: > unsubscribe emc-pstc > > For help, send mail to the list administrators: > Michael Garretson: [email protected] > Dave Heald [email protected] > > For policy questions, send mail to: > Richard Nute: [email protected] > Jim Bacher: [email protected] > > All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: > http://www.rcic.com/ click on "Virtual Conference Hall," -- Andrew Carson - Product Safety Engineer Xyratex Engineering Laboratory Tele 023 92496855 Fax 023 92496014 ------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. Visit our web site at: http://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/emcs/pstc/ To cancel your subscription, send mail to: [email protected] with the single line: unsubscribe emc-pstc For help, send mail to the list administrators: Michael Garretson: [email protected] Dave Heald [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: [email protected] Jim Bacher: [email protected] All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.rcic.com/ click on "Virtual Conference Hall,"<br clear=all><hr>Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at <a href="http://explorer.msn.com";>http://explorer.msn.com</a><br></p>
