David Geldart, Lumicrest
Lighting Solutions Inc.
 Regulations
& laws from 3 levels of Gov’t
(moreso in USA)
 CE
not recognized at all
 Two
primary concerns of regulations:
• Electrical safety
• Fire safety
 Why
not CE?
 Concern
that “self-declaration” may be
more open to abuse
 North American construction uses more
wood products and insulation than typical
European, so there are different
standards
 Resistance to change from existing system
 Before
NAFTA (North American Free
Trade Agreement) had to have CSA
approval (only)
 After
NAFTA, harmonized (almost) with
USA regulations, based on UL standards
 Now
use mainly variants on UL (ie. CUL)
 Products
must be tested by 3rd party labs
to these standards. Several different labs
are recognized.
 Any
Nationally Recognized Testing
Laboratory can perform the tests.
 Most
well known are UL, CSA & Intertek
(ETL)
 In
Ontario, electrical safety regulations
are enforced by the Electrical Safety
Authority (ESA).
 Known
as an AHJ (Authority Having
Jurisdiction)
 ESA
is a private, for-profit company.
 Understanding
the system
 “component” certification vs. “whole
product” & allowable uses
 Dealing with foreign manufacturers who
don’t understand/respect the system
 Finding products that are properly certified
 Determining if manufacturer’s certification
is real or fake
 Certifying uncertified products. (High cost,
no assurance of success)
 Canadian
Electrical Code C22.1-02,
Nineteenth Edition (Canadian
Standards Association). All electrical
products sold, displayed or connected to
a source of power shall be approved by
a recognized certification agency in
Canada.

Electrical product standards in Canada are
considered part of the Canadian Electrical Code
and thus are federally regulated. Compliance with
Canadian product standards must be evaluated by
a Certification Organization accredited by the
Standards Council of Canada. Certified equipment
is typically verified through the presence of a
mark from an accredited organization Source.

Canadian Provincial Laws: Ontario Electrical
Safety Code is mandatory. The OESC is passed
into law by the provincial Government.
 Use
as many certified UL recognized
components as possible. Otherwise each
piece tested from scratch. Very slow and
expensive!
 Some critical parts MUST be UL
recognized components
 Importer cannot know if product is
designed this way (probably not)
 Too risky for importer to submit for
certification on their own
 Testing
lab may require manufacturer to
make changes to the product to meet
requirements.
 Importer
has no assurance manufacturer
would comply.
 Annual
fees for maintaining certification,
quarterly factory inspections etc. Again,
manufacturer must be a willing player.
 Some
foreign manufacturers say:
“if an importer generates a big pre-order
for my product, THEN I will get it
certified”
However it will take 3-6 months or more
for a product to go through the process.
Client may lose interest.
So: importers reluctant to make effort to
“pre-sell” products based on this.
 Look
for the number near the mark.
 Look up on UL, CSA database etc.
 See if manufacturer, model # are there
 See if description matches product
 See if mark is properly designed. Ie. is it the
real mark, or an altered version of it.
 Sometimes certification is real but foreign
factory does not understand need to use
specific graphic art when applying the
mark!
 Looking
for power supply for LED products
 Searched UL database for suitable products
 Searched websites online also
 Found product sold by US company, very
inexpensive but seems solid
 Purchased sample, has CSA mark & number
 Looked up the number; the model is not
listed
 Emailed
CSA to ask them to clarify if the
product is actually approved
 Several days later, receive response
requesting photos of the unit, as they are
unable to determine without looking
 THUS: Hard to know if you are getting a
certified product, even when labeled and even for the certifiers!
 If
certification is fake & product causes
hazard or damage:
Insurance company may (will) sue
 Send
samples to importers etc. to get
feedback if product would be accepted
in market (if it were certified)
 In
some cases, can have “limited batch
certification” or “field evaluation” to
allow up to 300 (or 500 in some
provinces) units annually to be sold.
 Then
pursue full certification if successful.
 Cost: 10-20K to certify, plus annual fees
and inspections.
 Need to ensure product likely to pass or
need minimal changes before submitting
 Can purchase UL standards online for
several hundred $ for engineers.
David Geldart, Lumicrest
Lighting Solutions Inc.