CIE

(Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage or, in English, the International Commission on Illumination) is an organization devoted to international cooperation and exchange of information among its member countries on all matters relating to the science and art of lighting. The relevant standard for LED lighting is CIE S 009/E:2002 (Photobiological Safety of Lamps and Lamp Systems).

IEC

(International Electrotechnical Commission) prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. These serve as a basis for national standardization and as references when drafting international tenders and contracts. The relevant standard for LED lighting is IEC 60825-1:2001 (Safety of laser products).

CENELEC

(Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique or in English, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization) prepares electrotechnical standards that help develop the Single European Market/European Economic Area for electrical and electronic goods and services removing barriers to trade, creating new markets and cutting compliance costs. The relevant standard for LED lighting is EN 60825-1:2001 (Safety of laser products) which is the European adopted standard from IEC 60825-1:2001.

The title of EN 60825-1 is misleading for LED (final) product manufacturers. The standard states that throughout the standard ”light emitting diodes (LED) are included whenever the word “laser” is used.”

In the European Union, EN 60825-1:2001 has implications for “CE” marking of products and potential health and safety issues. Called up by the Low Voltage Directive (72/23/EEC) and the General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) for consumer products containing LED’s, the CE mark can only be used if the product has been tested, measured, evaluated and classified to the standard. For business-to-business products such as entertainment LED lighting battens for example, the EU country’s appropriate health and safety legislation would look to EN 60825-1 to ensure that the product had been properly classified in the event of any potential litigation (in the U.K. the legislation covering this is the “Heath and Safety at Work Act 1974 – Section 6”).

All LED (final) products manufactured or marketed in the European Union must be appropriately labelled giving the LED classification, Product Brochures and marketing information must specify the product classification and service manuals must contain safety information.

Under the standard, LED products will fall into 1 of 7 categories; 1,1M, 2, 2M, 3R, 3B or 4. The safest classification is 1 and products in this category carry “Class 1 LED product” status. Beadlight always designs and manufactures its products to ensure that the “Class 1” status is attained.

Any danger from LED lighting derives from the intensity of the light on human (or animal) tissue. Because of the focussing effect of the lens of the eye, it is the retina that is most at risk. Bead*light® Technologies make LED light even safer by taking the directional light of LED’s and dispersing it across a very wide area, reducing the risk of photo-thermal or photochemical effects.

Beadlight also use a variety of technologies to ensure the safety of its customers and these can include current control and advanced thermal management.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that each (final) LED product manufactured or marketed in Europe holds a classification under EN 60825-1:2001. Be aware, check out the classification and be safe.