Why Manufacturers Prefer to Apply CSA or ETL for Their Explosion-Proof Light Offering Instead of UL?

Let’s briefly introduce UL, CSA, and ETL first.

UL, CSA, and ETL are the most used certificates for Explosion-proof Light in USA&Canada Market. The testing standards between UL, CSA, and ETL are also the same, all of which are adopting UL1598, UL1598A, and UL844. (Note: UL1598 is a safety requirement, UL1598A is a requirement for fixtures used in marine applications, and UL844 is the requirement for fixtures used in hazardous applications) The fixture is no problem to be used in hazardous application if it has either UL, CSA, or ETL.

Among these 3 certificates, UL is the most recognized one, followed by CSA and ETL, but UL is the most expensive certificate than CSA and ETL, and would take longer time to get a certificate than ETL and CSA.

UL does not have a testing lab to do explosion-proof tests in mainland China. For C1D1 product, the fixture is required to be tested in the USA, while for C1D2 product, the fixture is required to be tested in China Taiwan. Explosion-proof light would take at least 6 months to get C1D2, while C1D1 certificate would take at least 1 year. The testing time would be much longer if the testing facility is not in mainland China. As for ETL and CSA, they have testing lab in mainland China, so testing time would be much shorter compared with UL. More importantly, ETL and CSA costs are much lower than UL.

All clients want the most recognized certificate, but as for manufacturers, they need to think about operating costs and ROI for running explosion-proof business. The best way is to apply products with ETL or CSA first with lower application costs and testing tests. The manufacturers would get faster feedback to see if their product is good or not. When the manufacturers get more and more orders, they would think about applying UL certificate. In fact, big players do not apply UL. For example, Dialight applies ETL for their products, and Appleton applies CSA.

Evaluating a product is not just checking the certificate, but more importantly is the performance, functionality, and pricing of the product.

If you have any questions or inquiries about explosion-proof lights, contact james@agcled.com for more information today. Thanks.