Is UL needed to make and sell Light Switch Plates?

[wbcarter]

Hi,

I am getting conflicting information from people I've asked outside of this forum before discovering this forum so I hope someone here can answer this definitively.

We are designing a new kind of plastic wall light switch plate. It's simply a plastic cover wallplate like the one in all homes but with a new cosmetic design.

Some tell me the National Electrical Code in the USA requires that switch plates be certified by an NTRL like UL however I saw some on the market at large retailers like Home Depot that don't seem to be UL Listed and don't bear a UL mark.

One manufacturer told me cover plates are not required to be approved, only the actual devices (switches, receptacles) are.

UL requirements cover materials, flammability and electrical arc resistance.

I got a ridiculous quote from UL which ranged from $2K is using UL recognized plastics to as much as $30K if they have to retest the material used for RTI. I maybe using a special additive at 10% mixed with this plastic to create a pearl shine that may mean it is not completely UL recognized plastic but one with some additional additive that may change the properties a bit, probably not by much.

Does something as simple as a light switch plate need to be UL Listed in order to make and sell in USA and throughout North + South America?

I noticed some do not have it and are still accepted in large retailers like Home Depot.

Am I subject to liability if I do not have it or is this a bunch of hooey to scare me into paying for UL certification when I can get sued either way.

I thought the switch itself had to be UL listed and safe and if that was safe, there would be no chance of fire right?

The standard is UL514D and must be flame rated for UL94 V0 or UL94 V2.

Thanks for any insights. i want to know if I have to blow the money to UL or not in order to market a plastic light switch plate.

 

[wbcarter]

What if I simpyl make the product using a UL recognized plastic and then just state "made with UL recognized UL94 V-0, V-2 plastics." without actually having the final end product actually UL tested and UL Listed?

Would that be sufficient for something that I doubt would really be unsafe.

It's a plastic light switch plate made in part with a flame retardant UL recognized plastic. Maybe only 10% other additive pigment but mostly 90% UL approved, flame retardant grade resin.

 

[davidbeach]

If you can't be bothered to do it right why should anybody want to buy it? You're talking fire safety, what does your 10% admixture do to the properties of the other 90%? Don't be a cheapskate, do it right.

 

[wbcarter]

Well according to UL they only allow 5% inorganic pigments to keep from retesting RTI. At 10%, they said it could cost $30K to reconduct test for RTI properties of a altered recognized material and up to 18 months turnaround.

 

[davidbeach]

So?

 

[MikePortlandUSA]

UL/CSA standard for this are as you indicated
UL514D / CSA C22.2 you also need to factor in their
yearly fees as the UL/CSA business models seems to be derived
from the Chicage Mob of the 20's that fee is $600-$1000 per quarter for visiting the factory to insure compliance.
we have done similar issue check

http://www.liteaswitch.com

& feel
free to contact me if you need more detail. but the short form is YES if you wish to have product accepted in retail
market by Big Boxes, The products you mentioned show up at the big box stores as a result of confusion of what applies & the current distributor not doing their job. You can sell product at your own liability but local building codes restrict the use of your product by professionals.

 

[Noway2]

As the UL engineers I dealt with used to say, "If you don't put the UL sticker on it, you can do whatever you want". As MikePortlandUSA pointed out above, the customer and above and ultimately the requirements will determine if you can sell the product without UL cert.

My first house had the old ceramic cased, push button knife switches and many of them still worked. I wanted to keep the look throughout the house and found a company that sold replicas. I learned after buying them (at about $35 USD each), that they did not have a UL label on them and yes, I DID look. I used them anyway, but the fact that they had not been approved by an NRTL made me nervous.