This discussion has become interesting. Possibly ratings are common knowledge and possibly not. I'm sure everyone has an awareness of ratings, but do they have an understanding? And if they don't, do ratings serve any purpose for the end user?
I suggest most people understand they must match the voltage of devices to the place they plug it in. Even children understand batteries have polarity and must go in a certain way. But I've met people who do not know what a volt is and are somewhat intimidated or even frightened by it. On a recent trip to Israel we heard of an individual who plugged their electronic device into a power outlet of a different rating and completely ruined it. They said, "It was only plugged in for a second." Have you noticed, energy efficiency has been all the rage, mainly because of the press and tax incentives, but what does it really mean to the average consumer? High efficiency is better, right? Recently my wife was shopping for a new kitchen mixer and one of her criteria was it must have a high number of amps. She had managed to connect amps with horsepower. When I asked if she knew what it all meant, she admitted the answer was no. But it was a way for her to do comparison shopping. In the end, it's most likely about mitigating liability. Both for the manufacturer and the certifying agency. The almost exponential increase in product warnings over the last few decades is another indication of this. The saying used to be caveat emptor, let the buyer beware. Now, I believe it is caveat venditor, let the seller beware. Doug Douglas E Powell [email protected] http://www.linkedin.com/in/dougp01 Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry -----Original Message----- From: John Shinn <[email protected]> Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:17:37 To: <[email protected]> Reply-To: John Shinn <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [PSES] Is this common knowledge - Electrical Ratings The issue is that you said "most", not "all". John Shinn -----Original Message----- From: Richard Nute Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2012 1:23 PM To: 'John Woodgate' ; [email protected] Subject: RE: [PSES] Is this common knowledge - Electrical Ratings > >The ratings could just as well be in the accompanying documents. > > ... which are thrown away, no, sorry, *recycled*, with the packaging. Of course. But, as I said before, why do I need to know the ratings? Especially after the equipment is installed? Most manufacturers now provide e-copies on the web. So, I can get most any accompanying documents at any time. - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> David Heald: <[email protected]> - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> David Heald: <[email protected]> - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> David Heald: <[email protected]>
