Compliance & Precision News Round-Up - Issue 33

This issue covers:

Energy impact of rise in use of domestic appliances
Cropico’s low resistance measurement guide on new format
Report highlights growing counterfeit product problems
Electrical product safety round table
New Lighting Association lab verification scheme

Energy impact of rise in use of domestic appliances

A review of the energy impact of domestic appliances looks at the implications of increased ownership and use of household appliances in the UK.

The report was produced by Dimplex using figures from The Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC's ) Housing Energy Fact File 2013, which looks at energy use in the home and how it has changed over the last 40 years.

Despite increased ownership and use of household appliances, improvements to the efficiency of appliances have helped to reduce energy use per household by 18% since 1970.

However, the growth in the total number of households (up 44% in the same period) more than offsets this saving - and overall domestic energy use in the UK has actually increased by 17% in the last four decades.

According to DECC’s report, standby appliances can amount to 16% of a household’s total power demand much higher than the previously believed 5 - 10%.

Some other interesting facts are that fridges and freezers are the biggest consumers of energy and that lighting accounts for more than 15% of electricity consumption in the home (previously thought to be 3%) due in part to the increased number of spotlights and security lights which often do not use energy efficient bulbs. For more details see www.voltimum.co.uk/

Cropico’s low resistance measurement guide on new format

Cropico’s popular illustrative guide providing an overview of low resistance measurement techniques, common causes of errors and advice on how to avoid them, is now available in a handy A5 format.

The free, colour 34-page ‘Guide to Low Resistance Measurement’ features tables of wire and cable characteristics, temperature coefficients and formulae to enable the user to select the appropriate measuring instrument and measurement technique.

It includes a helpful section explaining the role and importance of resistance measurement in the manufacture of electronic components, switches, relays, connectors cabling, electric motor and generators and fuses. Information on resistance measurement requirements in the automotive and railway utilities industries has also been featured.

There’s a useful Glossary of Terms at the end of the Guide, providing an easy-to-follow explanation of items relating to both bonding and earth resistance, as well as common industry acronyms such as DMM (digital multi-meter), DUT (device under test) and AWG (American wire gauge).

A PDF copy of the guide is available from Cropico (part of the Seaward Group) at /resistance or e-mail sales@cropico.com

Report highlights growing counterfeit product problems

The Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) has released the complete results of its 2014 Counterfeit Electrical Products Survey, which was developed to measure the awareness and response to the presence of counterfeit electrical products among several sectors of the electrical industry.

The results reveal critical information about the observations, attitudes and perceptions of those who manufacture, distribute, install, and inspect electrical products.

Over the past decade, US seizures of counterfeit products have increased more than 325%. Consumer electronics were the top commodity seized in 2011, with a value of nearly $40 million. If left undetected, counterfeit electrical products pose significant safety hazards and have been known to cause deaths, injuries and substantial property loss in the home and the workplace.

The ESFI 2014 Counterfeit Electrical Products Survey can be viewed at www.esfi.org.

Electrical product safety round table

Electrical Safety First will be hosting a roundtable on product safety, recalls and traceability, on Tuesday 9th September, at Church House, Westminster, London.

The roundtable – a prelude to Electrical Safety First’s well-established Product Safety Conference, which will take place on November 12th – attracts senior representatives from electrical manufacturers and retailers, as well as delegates from government, trade bodies and related organisations.

Discussions will have an in-depth focus on recall notices – their design, placement and consumers’ reaction to them – as well as methods for improving traceability.

“At our last roundtable, delegates raised concerns around consumer behaviour and how to get members of the public to act on a recall notice”, explains Phil Buckle, Director General of Electrical Safety First.

“Our previous research has shown that almost two million adults have knowingly ignored a recalled electrical item. For improvements to occur, we need the support and input of the entire electrical supply chain. A roundtable event of this nature provides the perfect opportunity to do just that.”

More details at www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk

New Lighting Association lab verification scheme

The new Lighting Association Lab Verified Scheme will independently measure and verify the safety and performance of lighting products such as lamps, LED modules and luminaires against manufacturer’s claims. The results are uploaded onto a publically accessible website, where the actual test results are published.

This scheme is developed and managed by the Lighting Association Laboratories, a UKAS Accredited Laboratory. Companies can commission the Lighting Association to performance verify product, with verified products being eligible to carry the relevant compliance logo and listed on a publicly available website.

To support manufacturers of products that do meet their claims, the scheme will also undertake market surveillance and those products making false claims will be revealed on the LAI site. In addition, verified products will be randomly purchased and tested to ensure continued compliance.

More at http://thelia.org.uk/.