UK test lab first

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Cranage EMC & Safety's new facility for testing lighting products is said to be the first UK test lab to be accredited by UKAS for EN62493 relating to the assessment of lighting equipment related to human exposure to electromagnetic fields.

EN62493 is published under the Low Voltage Directive 2006/95/EC, introduced in 2012 by the EU to protect people from possible health problems caused by excessive exposure to electromagnetic fields. There are questions as to whether they affect the brain and central nervous system. Although no major public health risks have come to light, with new EMF emitting technologies emerging all the time, vigilance is the preferred approach.

The EMF standard for lighting calls up special requirements for the measurement of induced current density. Known as a Van der Hoofden Test Head, it is a precision made hollow spherical conductor resembling the size of a human head which when connected to an electrical network with a frequency weighted response, enables current density to be measured and compared against a limit.

To comply with low voltage safety regulations, lighting equipment manufacturers are required to ensure that their products not only pass EMC standards for emissions, but also do not produce electromagnetic fields (EMF) above allowable limits for induced current density over the frequency range 20kHz to 10MHz.

01630 658568info@cranage.co.uk