LED Lighting Standards and Certifications

Modern LED Lighting technologies continue to evolve rapidly. The development of new products for LED lighting systems brings with it news and updates on certification requirements, to determine the quality of the products and the different applications in specific markets.

The certification of LED lighting products requires compliance with a series of reference lighting standards relating to safety, compliance and design of lighting systems and devices.

The certification process for LED lighting devices includes an initial technical and construction assessment, a series of tests and instrumental trials to verify the essential requirements for compliance with the regulations, and a final phase of issuing certifications.

LED lighting systems, products and devices used in Italy and Europe must comply with the CE marking guidelines and applicable European directives. The technical regulatory framework for LED lighting includes lighting standards from UNI, the Italian National Unification Body, and others from CEI, the Italian Electrotechnical Committee.

We can classify the main lighting standards into some areas:

• Standards relating to performance and requirements (for example ref. UNI 10840, UNI 11248, UNI 12464);

• Technical standards relating to lighting systems (ref. CEI 64-7 and CEI 64.8);

• Specific standards relating to lighting products (ref. CEI EN 60598).

Specifically, the regulatory standard for lighting fixtures is almost entirely made up of the CEI EN 60598:2015 standards - a set of lighting standards divided into:

CEI EN 60598-1: Lighting fixtures, part 1: general requirements and tests

This first part of the standard specifies the general requirements that are applicable to most lighting fixtures, with supply voltages up to 1000V, together with the related electrical, thermal, mechanical and photobiological safety tests.

CEI EN 60598-2: Lighting fixtures, part 2: particular requirements

The second parts of the CEI lighting standard indicate, instead, the specific requirements relating to a particular type of device or group of devices, powered with voltages not exceeding 1000V, applied in specific contexts and conditions of use. We can mention, for example:

• Standards for individual appliances: night lights, projectors, portable lamps, neon tubes, light chains, low voltage lamps, etc.

• Standards for groups of appliances: fixed, built-in, portable, emergency lighting products, with transformers or converters, with low temperatures, etc.

• Standards for particular applications: lighting appliances for photos and films, for swimming pools, for air treatment, for aquariums, etc.

• Standards for specific contexts: street lighting appliances, for stage and cinema lighting, for hospital and healthcare lighting, etc.

Among other CEI lighting standards related to products for LED Lighting systems, we mention:

• EN 62504: standards on LED products and related equipment

• EN 62722: standards on LED lighting fixtures

• EN 61347, EN 62384: standards relating to LED power supplies

• EN 62031: standards for LED modules for general lighting

When choosing LED Lighting products to apply in lighting systems, it is necessary to be aware of the possible safety risks: electric shock, fire and biological risks.

Regarding the danger of electric shock, certified class 2 LED drivers offer a reduced risk of shock and fire, thanks to their current and voltage limitation. Or again, since the risk of fire is often due to the heat production inside the LEDs, it is possible to opt for LED heat sinks to avoid overheating of the electronic components.

An often underestimated risk concerns photobiological safety, that is, the exposure to ultraviolet wavelengths of LED lighting systems: the EN 62471 standard was introduced in Europe precisely to establish specific requirements and performances for photobiological risk.

As LED technology progresses ever more rapidly, for companies and professionals working in LED Lighting it becomes necessary to rely on experts in the sector, to keep up with the safety standards and the performance of LED lighting products in continuous evolution.

In this sense, Digimax consultancy in the world of professional lighting and in particular LED Lighting, together with a wide range of interconnected products within the Lighting supply chain, proves successful in creating certified LED lighting solutions for indoor and outdoor environments.

At Digimax we offer LED driver power supplies, dimmer control units, LED and COB LED strips, lenses and reflectors, LED heat sinks and many other accessories from industry leaders such as Mean Well, Snappy, Colors, Citizen and Dalcnet, together with a customized design service for the most varied applications.

Discover the XLAB technical assembly and testing laboratory, the Digimax LAB functional and thematic area and the Digimax Showroom exhibition space, and contact us for technical-regulatory consultancy dedicated to your LED lighting project.