On March 29, 2014, the European Commission published the recasts of eight CE marking directives. These directives have new reference numbers and are aligned with the rules and responsibilities for CE marking that were published earlier in Decision 768/2008/EU. These include:
1. Low Voltage Directive: Directive 2014/35/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits;
2. Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive: Directive 2014/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to electromagnetic compatibility (recast);
3. ATEX Directive: Directive 2014/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres (recast);
4. Lifts Directive: Directive 2014/33/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to lifts and safety components for lifts;
5. Simple Pressure Vessels Directive: Directive 2014/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of simple pressure vessels;
6. Measuring Instruments Directive: Directive 2014/32/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of measuring instruments (recast);
7. Non-automatic Weighing Instruments Directive: Directive 2014/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of non-automatic weighing instruments;
8. Civil Explosives Directive: Directive 2014/28/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market and supervision of explosives for civil uses (recast);
The Low Voltage Directive (LVD) applies to all electrical equipment and components designed for use with a voltage rating between 50 and 1000 V for alternating current or between 75 and 1500 V for direct current. LVD provides the important safety requirements that electrical equipment and components covered must adhere to, and also outlines the conformity assessment procedure that manufactures must apply to ensure compliance.
On February 26, 2014, the new LVD was issued and was subsequently published in the Official Journal of the European Commission. The new directives entered into force on April 19, 2014 and the new directive will be applicable from April 20, 2016, two years from the date of publishing.
The new directive was issued and published to align with the new legislative framework (Decision No 768/2008/EC). According to Europa.gov, the package of measures known as the "New legislative framework" was adopted in Council on 9 July 2008 and published in the Official Journal on 13 August 2008. The measures were designed to minimize inconsistencies, improve market surveillance and to tighten the CE marking requirements. The new framework is also intended to help the internal market for goods work better and to strengthen and modernize the conditions for placing a wide range of industrial products on the EU market.
Major Changes:
Scope Change: The LVD now includes protection of health of people, animals and property. It covers mechanical or chemical risks in addition to the electrical risks. Risk assessment and analysis is a major part of the change.
Market Surveillance has now been added to ensure stricter compliance.
The responsibility for the preparation of CE marking documentation, and the EU declaration of Conformity (DoC) now relies solely on the manufacturer.
There is no conformity assessment procedure in this Directive which requires the intervention of a notified body.
Manufacturers shall keep the technical documentation referred to in Annex III and the EU declaration of conformity for 10 years after the electrical equipment has been placed on the market.
It is necessary to ensure that electrical equipment exported from other countries entering the EU market must comply with this Directive, and in particular that appropriate conformity assessment procedures have been carried out by manufacturers with regard to that electrical equipment.
Stricter regulations and increased requirements for manufacturers, importers, representatives, and traders. In order to ensure traceability, products must now list in addition to the name and address of the manufacturer, Serial or Batch Number, Type etc… Exceptions should be provided for in cases where the nature of the electrical equipment does not allow.
Where harmonized standards are not yet available, the approrpriate IEC standard or national standard can be applied.
