UL Listed

[jhughes 1]

I have recently been thrown into the fire on getting some control panels we have built internally UL listed. This is new territory for me. Can anyone give me some in sight on what I am about to get into? I know I can order the UL requirements but they are incredibly expensive. Are there any resources to access these without purchasing? Are there any arguments as to the importance of acheiving this? All input welcome.....I am a UL virgin.

[Clay B. 1]

Unless you are going to do a lot of UL Certified panels I would call around to your local panel builders and find one that can certify the panels for you. Maintaining UL Certification can be costly and getting setup even more costly.

[Crossbow 295]

Clay's right. If the control panel is built by a UL certified shop, then they can place a UL sticker on it. I am not sure they will put a sticker on someone else's work, like the panel you built internally. But there are a huge list of rules that have to be followed on circuit protection, wire sizes, labeling, and of course all the components used in the panel must be UL listed. I used to work in a UL approved shop and we had to show the inspectors the UL certificates on the devices (if the UL logo was not clearly visible, which it usually wasn't once devices are mounted), they would check wire sizes, they verified wire colors, and every once in a while removed wires from connections to verify appropriate wire stripping length. Depended on which inspector we got. They did not inspect every panel we built, just came by about every other month to review one.

[HiGhVoLtAgEgUrU 0]

So all panel building shop have to be UL listed. We build our own small panels inhouse. We size breakers and wires to size according. Do UL rules apply to every panel that is built?

[TimWilborne 108]

No, you have to be UL Listed to put the little UL sticker on the enclosure. Many shops go for CE instead. I follow the guidelines but am not listed by any agency. It doesn't mean my panels are bad, it just means no one is checking up on me

[Crossbow 295]

I've had numerous customers who demanded UL listed panels, for insurance reasons. CE is a self-certification, but the official records must be maintained in the European Union somewhere. How do you get them there TW?

[TimWilborne 108]

The company I was working with was building panels for GE. They helped get it setup so I don't know the details

[jstolaruk 9]

I just gave the paperwork to the end customer (last one was in Poland) and they took care of it; its always been the case for us.

[PaulB 0]

CE is self sertification, but... You have to create document - Technical Construction File. EU standards are describing what have to be in this document. You have to be able to produce this document by customer request or authorities. PaulB

[jhughes 1]

Thanks all. It looks like my first step is to find a UL shop that I can work with. This is a pain in my a** but it is a good opportunity to add to my repertoire and resume at the expense of the company. I guess there is a silver lead based paint lining.

[scadametrics 0]

Jhughes, There are other laboratories besides UL that work from the same UL standards (in this case, UL508A). NRTL is the proper term that describes all of them (Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory), and each NRTL receives their credentials from OSHA. I personally use MET Labs (Baltimore, MD), and I recommend them without reservation. Also, if you plan to build your own panels, I don't see how you can avoid buying the standards documents. You'll definitely need them. But I'd shop around... There are many places that sell the same standards documents online but I've seen widely varying prices. Edited 30 Dec 2009 by scadametrics

[Clay B. 1]

It ususally is not as painfull as you imagine. There are a lot of shops that are UL listed. Just do a search in your area for intergrators and panel builders.For me I still design the panels, and I use the same panel shop for the non-UL certified panels as well as the certified ones. We just add to the panel cost if the customer requires the certification. I would say over 70% of our customers simply require UL componets and do not require the panel itself be certified.