States, counties and cities adopt NFPA-70, NEC, National Eclectic Code, as a building and life safety requirement. NFPA-70 requires electrical parts and all consumer goods to be listed and labeled. Listing is getting the certification from a nationally recognized testing organization. Labeling is the mark of that organization along with the electrical specifications of the item shown on the item. The big organizations in North America are ETL, UL, CSA, and FM. The mark on a product assures you and any safety inspector the product is safe to use as defined in the products instructions if properly installed. If you live where an electrical permit is required they will look for the label. With no permit and no inspection you are normally on you own if a problem happens even if listed parts were used. Even if everything is listed, was done to NFPS-70 code and was inspected your insurance company could go after the equipment manufacturer. That is why the manufacturer gets 3rd party testing to prove their design is safe and compliant and they were not negligent. So why don't smaller manufactures get listed? It is expensive and a lot of work. I was recently involved with getting an industrial device UL listed, similar to a home EVSE. Testing costs were $12K, it took 4 months and a lot of extra documentation, they needed 5 sample units 4 were destroyed with high voltage tests, they do 4 surprise product and component audits each year, you must have a registered ISO quality system in place, annual costs are $6K. David Kerzel Modulaer EV Power LLC
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