UL listing, it's a private company you pay to get a listing for in testing your product for testing it for what you specify them to test it for. Note, there are other companies out there that will also test in a scientific and engineering type of way a product, UL is just the most recognized company for doing so. Listed means not persay code compliant, more that they list a product in having passed their tests for what you paid to
send the product into in testing. This stated, UL is very highly respected, and no matter what the above might sound like in pay for
play, it's very well respected and doubtful they would cheat even if paying to test the product.
Other privately owned testing companies out there being just as valid (I don't know of any but they are out there I believe), can do the same thing, more just a question of what a local inspector would accept in having been tested (kind of like drape flame testing athorouty acceptance - California being different and if they accept the testing as approved, it for the most part would rate certification.) On the other
hand, engineer the heck out of a product, the testing company for all intensive purposes tests for what you pay for. In theoy there is some amount of
broad safety type of stuff in them not listing an unsafe product for other reasons than what was specified for them to test for in compliance with norms or the UL/CE but that's not persay a given. One could get a listing on a product that otherwise for a different reason is unsafe.
Dont' know, other than one product where I work getting that compliance - totally seperate department for something they produce for resale by way of a distributer, nothing to do with what I produce which is not done in going for UL listing (at times why I pass on a project if I know there might be a problem there) and more or less in the end as an absolute sense subject in use to any local inspector as per my compliance and the local interpitation of the
NEC.
Double ended sword this UL listing in that it don't persay test in paying for what you get it tested for in listing as compling for their tests, but also persay being a safe product, but short of it's listing, also a in general lack of acceptence of it being safe. This much less, just because it is
UL listed even, don't mean it will be recognized by the manufacturer of the
fixture it would be installed into. Remember a few years ago the C3A
socket by Ushio that was was much toughted by members on Stagecraft as a great
socket as a replacement
socket for the
360Q. Yep, probably was, but in it not being a tested and accepted
socket by
Altman that recognized in complying for their own UL listing only sockets made by Osram, Bender & Wirth and Buhl, use of such a lamp
socket would void the warranty/liabilty of such a
fixture. Don't mean a lot years later such as in the fixtures you are replacing bases to but say for a school where they by law cannot do stuff other than code compliant and manufacture spec, such a UL listing, manufacturer acceptance of
etc. does matter a lot when it comes down to liability. Use even to date from what I understand by what of what even PA sells for use in the
fixture would very specifically void any
fixture/manufacturer liability of the equiment manufacturer. That's a very problematic thing but very specific where alternate products come into the concept of "doing the right or better thing" when it comes into conflict with what becomes the legal thing one should be doing.
Still remember a Menorah project I got stuck with a few years ago. Imagine a few like 12' square menorah's rope light lit 3/4"
conduit supported symbols in addition to some 10' scaff support bar star of David's lit in a similar way, hanging 80 stories up in the air down town in "the windy city." Couldn't get out of the project up until at 90% done and working a weekend and even shipping it out, I got a "stop"
call. Seems the building engineer had a card under his hat I didn't or couldn't find in constantly saying it was a bad idea but do it anyway. He somehow got a $120K engineer's wind tunnel compliance necessity in report
thru the management before he would hang the thing - even if half of it was already delivered. "Stop!!!" Way over budget now in if needing such a compliance, it was now way over budget even above doing it in the first place in not persay listening to say wind loading effects - we are talking 80 stories up in the Windy City, and wiring the thing by way of dropping down a
power line from like the 100'th story with rigging for it between the top and like 35th' floor. Talking insane here but if required I made it work at least - short of some potential wind / swinging damage to the building and windows on it given suspended symbols. Even
safety cabled the
conduit so even if it came apart, it wouldn't fall as opposed to the broken glass during a good wind.
In me relating this concept / concepts above, it's an attempt to
express the crazyness of any "listed gear" market - the EU has a better
system which might in compliance be better to comply with in as an alternate, somewhat better acceptance here. UL Listing a good thing, perhaps as secondary to any EU listing I would go for in necessity. Following both or alternate to UL, than you still have to have the individual
fixture manufacturers adopt and recognize your
lampholder before for insurance and compliance purposes, they can use them legally. Heck, the HPR lamp got discontinued before
Altman recognized it as a lamp as I see it.
Were I you in bringing a product to market, I would first produce it quietly as best in quality I could for sample. Not what I recommend for quality, but what you think best in product. For me in producing the product, it would follow my study into what the products are on the market already and what problems they have by way of improving it in making the next
ETC S-4
Leko as it were as a true improvement to what is offered and based on what is offered in problem solving.
I would than if sure of it, get that listing - UL or what ever other similar company. I would than in what mistake Ushio made, present that product to the manufacturers in getting it accepted by them. Will take a long time for both the above. But than in if other than advertised you perhaps wind up you perhaps as the supplier of their latest edition of
lampholder, or at least wind up with an accepted
lampholder that some junior highschool can use in their fixtures which if a problem the insurance company won't take legal note of in having big or small pockets to sue.
Anyway a concept.
Send me a sample, love R&D or
play testing, but in an overall sense, even if the UL listing don't really mean anything, it's a coin of the rhelm in getting to an end result in being a good thing that it tests for what you pay for but not persay being a statement of quality.