Latest news with #UnderwritersLaboratories
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Yahoo
Lithium-ion battery causes explosion inside Fond du Lac home, no one hurt
FOND DU LAC – No one was hurt after an explosion was reported in a Fond du Lac living room Wednesday night. Fond du Lac Fire Rescue crews were dispatched to the residence at around 11:36 p.m. June 18. When they arrived, they found a lithium-ion battery had been charging in the living room and overheated, causing a thermal runaway. The department said the fire was extinguished by the resident and crews determined there was no extension of the fire. The explosion damaged the floor and wall of the residence. Read more: Remember when Vulcan Manufacturing was a significant steel producer? Its projects still support Fond du Lac buildings. Fond du Lac Fire Rescue said in the release: 'Lithium-ion batteries have become a core component of modern life, powering everything from smartphones and laptops to e-bikes and power tools. However, as demand grows, so does the influx of cheaply made, uncertified batteries and chargers — many of which do not meet the rigorous safety standards established by Underwriters Laboratories.' As a result, the department shared the following 'key safety requirements' for lithium-ion batteries: Only use batteries and chargers that are UL listed (such as UL 1642, UL 2054, UL 62133, UL 2271); Purchase from reputable manufacturers and retailers; Avoid mixing components (like using a third-party charger with an unverified battery); Regularly inspect batteries for signs of damage, swelling or overheating; and Never charge batteries unattended or overnight. Contact Brandon Reid at breid@ This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Fond du Lac explosion inside home was caused by lithium-ion battery
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Japan's TechMagic to introduce stir-fry robots in US
Japanese company TechMagic is to introduce its stir-fry robots in the US to address staffing shortages and high labour expenses, as reported by Nikkei Asia. The company anticipates Underwriters Laboratories (UL) safety certification for I-Robo2 in June 2025. The machine automates the cooking process, with a tilted, rotating cylindrical pan that automatically adjusts seasonings and heat settings. It has a self-cleaning feature, requiring human staff only for ingredient preparation and insertion. Capable of cooking 30 meals every hour, the robot can handle a range of stir-fried items such as fried noodles, chili shrimp, Chinese fried tomato and egg, pad Thai and fried rice. The high heat induction heating (IH) and rotation control of the spatula and pan movement replicate the culinary skills of experienced chefs. The machine eliminates the need to shake the frying pan, allowing anyone to cook dishes easily. TechMagic plans to lease the robots, which are currently produced in Japan, for $1,440 a month, with an additional installation fee. Its target market includes local US restaurants and Japanese chains. It intends to deploy more than 1,000 units by 2030. In Japan, the Osaka Ohsho chain of Chinese restaurants has incorporated 39 robots across 16 locations countrywide, and the Ippudo ramen chain began to use them machines for fried rice making in February 2025. TechMagic CEO Yuji Shiraki stated: "Labour costs are higher in the US than in Japan, so there's strong interest in cooking robots.' "Japan's TechMagic to introduce stir-fry robots in US" was originally created and published by Verdict Food Service, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Associated Press
05-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
The Influence of UL Certification on Consumer Purchasing Decisions in the Commercial Refrigerator Market
06/04/2025, Lake Forest, CA // KISS PR Brand Story PressWire // In the world of commercial kitchen equipment, safety and reliability are paramount. For businesses like restaurants, grocery stores, and catering services, investing in high-quality refrigeration equipment is not just a matter of convenience—it's crucial for maintaining food safety and energy efficiency. Among the numerous safety certifications available, UL (Underwriters Laboratories) Certification stands out as a gold standard. This article explores how UL certification influences consumer purchasing decisions in the commercial refrigerator market, highlights its role in boosting consumer confidence, and examines its impact on sales and market competitiveness. What is UL Certification? UL Certification is an independent, globally recognized standard for product safety. Products with the UL Mark undergo rigorous testing to ensure they meet strict requirements for electrical safety, fire hazards, energy efficiency, and durability. For commercial refrigerators, this certification confirms that the equipment has been evaluated for: When business owners see the UL Mark, it serves as a guarantee of compliance with U.S. and Canadian safety standards, which are among the strictest in the world. Why UL Certification Matters to Consumers 1. Enhanced Safety and Reliability Commercial kitchen environments are busy and high-risk. Equipment failure or electrical malfunctions can lead to food spoilage, financial loss, and even fire hazards. UL certification minimizes these risks by ensuring that the commercial refrigerator is built to withstand heavy usage while maintaining safety. 2. Regulatory Compliance and Market Access Many states and local jurisdictions require UL certification (or its equivalent) for commercial appliances before they can be legally operated. For example: This means businesses that choose UL certified commercial refrigerators not only protect themselves from legal issues but also broaden their market opportunities. 3. Improved Brand Trust and Customer Confidence In competitive markets, certifications serve as a mark of trust. Restaurants, cafes, and supermarkets are more inclined to purchase from brands that display UL certification because it reflects a commitment to safety and quality. Impact of UL Certification on Sales and Market Performance 1. Increased Willingness to Pay a Premium UL certification is often associated with higher costs due to the rigorous testing and manufacturing standards required. However, research indicates that businesses are willing to pay a premium for the assurance of safety and reliability. 2. Competitive Differentiation In a saturated market, differentiating products is crucial. UL certification serves as a powerful marketing tool, allowing manufacturers to highlight their commitment to safety and quality. 3. Broader Market Access and International Trade UL certification is recognized not only in the United States but also in many global markets. For American brands looking to export, the UL Mark simplifies compliance with international safety standards. Challenges and Common Misconceptions 1. UL Certification Is Not Mandatory but Essential While not always legally required, UL certification is seen as essential by most commercial buyers. The absence of the UL Mark often raises questions about the product's safety and durability. 2. Confusion with Other Certifications Consumers sometimes confuse UL Certification with other marks like ETL or CSA. While these also represent safety and compliance, UL is the most widely recognized and trusted in North America. 3. Misunderstanding of Certification Scope Some consumers believe that UL certification covers all aspects of product performance, including energy efficiency and environmental impact. In reality, UL focuses primarily on safety and compliance. For energy efficiency, separate certifications like ENERGY STAR are evaluated. Conclusion The impact of UL certification on consumer purchasing decisions in the commercial refrigerator market is undeniable. Its assurance of safety, regulatory compliance, and quality builds trust and influences businesses to prioritize UL-certified products over non-certified ones. As safety standards become increasingly stringent, manufacturers that invest in UL certification are better positioned to dominate the market, access more sales channels, and earn long-term consumer loyalty. For buyers, the UL Mark is more than just a label—it's a promise of reliability, safety, and quality assurance, making it a critical factor in decision-making for commercial refrigeration equipment. Original Source of the original story >> The Influence of UL Certification on Consumer Purchasing Decisions in the Commercial Refrigerator Market
Time Business News
25-04-2025
- Time Business News
Key Safety Requirements for Solar Power Systems
Solar power systems provide users with reliable and sustainable energy, but they also come with very specific safety requirements that need to be met before the system can even be turned on. Proper installation, regular maintenance, and correct usage are all crucial to ensuring that a system operates safely and efficiently. Keep reading for a basic overview of some key safety requirements that every solar user should know about. Solar power systems must be installed correctly to prevent electrical hazards, including the risk of fires and system failures. As with any other electrical systems, it's essential to hire a licensed and experienced professional to install your system. The installation must meet local building and electrical codes, as well as national requirements that regulate the installation of these systems. A professional can ensure that the solar panels are securely mounted, your wiring is installed and grounded correctly, and you have a safe connection to the electrical grid. Your solar power system must also be built of only certified and high-quality components to ensure its safety and reliability. Key components like inverters, charge controllers, batteries, and wiring need to meet industry safety standards. You should verify that the equipment being used is certified by organizations like the Underwriters Laboratories (UL), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the National Electrical Code (NEC). Wiring your system properly helps prevent shocks, short circuits, and electrical fires. For solar power systems, wiring is required to be weatherproof for all outdoor connections, and there must be circuit breakers and fuses to prevent overloads in the system. The installer is also required to ensure the security and insulation of all connections. In the event of an emergency or when maintenance is being done on your system, it needs to be able to shut down quickly and completely. The NEC requires systems to have a rapid shutdown ability, allowing the system to de-energize quickly. The disconnect switches must be clearly labeled, and if a battery bank is included, a separate battery disconnect switch needs to be the average solar user doesn't have to worry about verifying their system has met all safety requirements, it's still valuable knowledge to have. This way, when purchasing your Fronius grid-tie inverters and speaking with your installer, you can make knowledgeable and informed decisions about the equipment you use and how your system is installed. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Balcony solar took off in Germany. Why not the US?
Raymond Ward wants to see solar panels draped over every balcony in the United States and doesn't understand why that isn't happening. The technology couldn't be easier to use — simply hang one or two panels over a railing and plug them into an outlet. The devices provide up to 800 watts, enough to charge a laptop or power a small fridge. They're popular in Germany, where everyone from renters to climate activists to gadget enthusiasts hail them as a cheap and easy way to generate electricity. Germans had registered more than 780,000 of the devices with the country's utility regulator as of December. They've installed millions more without telling the government. Here in the U.S., though, there is no market for balcony solar. Ward, a Republican state representative in Utah who learned about the tech last year, wants that to change. The way he sees it, this is an obvious solution to surging power demand. 'You look over there and say, 'Well, that's working,'' he told Grist. 'So what is it that stops us from having it here?' His colleagues agree. Last month, the Legislature unanimously passed a bill he sponsored to boost the tech, and Republican Governor Spencer Cox signed it. H.B. 340 exempts portable solar devices from state regulations that require owners of rooftop solar arrays and other power-generating systems to sign an interconnection agreement with their local utility. These deals, and other 'soft costs' like permits, can nearly double the price of going solar. Utah's law marks the nation's first significant step to remove barriers to balcony solar — but bigger obstacles remain. Regulations and standards governing electrical devices haven't kept pace with development of the technology, and it lacks essential approvals required for adoption — including compliance with the National Electrical Code and a product safety standard from Underwriters Laboratories. Nothing about the bill Ward wrote changes that: Utahans still can't install balcony solar because none of the systems have been nationally certified. These challenges will take time and effort to overcome, but they're not insurmountable, advocates of the technology said. Even now, a team of entrepreneurs and research scientists, backed by federal funding, are creating these standards. Their work mirrors what happened in Germany nearly a decade ago, when clean energy advocates and companies began lobbying the country's electrical certification body to amend safety regulations to legalize balcony solar. In 2017, Verband der Elektrotechnik, or VDE, a German certification body that issues product and safety standards for electrical products, released the first guideline that allowed for balcony solar systems. While such systems existed before VDE took this step, the benchmark it established allowed manufacturers to sell them widely, creating a booming industry. 'Relentless individuals' were key to making that happen, said Christian Ofenheusle, the founder of EmpowerSource, a Berlin-based company that promotes balcony solar. Members of a German solar industry association spent years advocating for the technology and worked with VDE to carve a path toward standardizing balcony solar systems. The initial standard was followed by revised versions in 2018 and 2019 that further outlined technical requirements. The regulatory structure has continued to evolve. Ofenheusle has worked with other advocates to amend grid safety standards, create simple online registration for plug-in devices, and enshrine renters' right to balcony solar. Politicians supported such efforts because they see the tech easing the nation's reliance on Russian natural gas. Cities like Berlin and Munich have provided millions of euros in subsidies to help households buy these systems, and the country is creating a safety standard for batteries that can store the energy for later use. Meanwhile, the United States has yet to take the first step of creating a safety standard for the technology. U.S. electrical guidelines don't account for the possibility of plugging a power-generating device into a household outlet. The nation also operates on a different system that precludes simply copying and pasting Germany's rules. The U.S. grid, for example, operates at 120 volts, while that country's grid operates at 230 volts. Without proper standards, a balcony solar system could pose several hazards. One concern is a phenomenon called breaker masking. Within a home, a single circuit can provide power to several outlets. Each circuit is equipped with a circuit breaker, a safety device within the electrical panel that shuts off power if that circuit is overloaded, which happens when too many appliances try to draw too much electricity at the same time. That prevents overheating or a fire. When a balcony solar device sends power into a circuit while other appliances are drawing power from the circuit, the breaker can't detect that added power supply. If the circuit becomes overloaded — imagine turning on your TV while a space heater is running and you're charging your laptop, all in the same room — the circuit breaker might fail to activate. This was a concern in Germany, so it developed standards that limit balcony solar units to just 800 watts, about half the amount used by a hairdryer. That threshold is considered low enough that even in the country's oldest homes, the wiring can withstand the heating that occurs in even the worst of worst-case scenarios, said Sebastian Müller, chair of the German Balcony Solar Association, a consumer education and advocacy group. As a result, Ofenheusle said there haven't been any cases of breaker masking causing harm. In fact, with millions of the devices installed nationwide, Germany has yet to see any safety issues beyond a few cases where someone tampered with the devices to add a car battery or other unsuitable hardware, he said. Another issue in the U.S. is the lack of a compatible safety device called a ground fault circuit interrupter, or a GFCI. They are typically built into outlets installed near water sources, like a sink, washing machine, or bathtub. They're designed to minimize the risk of electric shock by cutting off power when, for example, a hairdryer falls into a sink. Yet there are no certified GFCI outlets in the U.S. designed for use with devices that consume power, like a blender, and those that generate it, like a balcony solar setup. Germany's equivalent of a GFCI, called a residual current device, can detect bidirectional power flows, said Andreas Schmitz, a mechanical engineer and YouTuber in Germany who makes videos about balcony solar. Some people have raised concerns about the shock risk of touching the metal prongs of a plug after unplugging a balcony solar device. German regulators accounted for that by requiring the microinverter — which converts currents from the panel into electricity fed into the home — shut down immediately in an outage or when it is suddenly unplugged. Most of them already have this feature, but any U.S. standard will likely need to formalize that requirement. The lack of an Underwriters Laboratories, or UL, standard is perhaps the biggest obstacle to the adoption of balcony solar. The company certifies the safety of thousands of household electrical products; according to Iowa State University, 'every light bulb, lamp, or outlet purchased in the U.S. usually has a UL symbol and says UL Listed.' This assures customers that the product follows nationally recognized guidelines and can be used without the risk of a fire or shock. While some companies have sold plug-in solar devices in the U.S. without a UL listing, the company's seal of approval typically is a prerequisite for selling products on the wider market. Consumers might be wary of using something that lacks its approval. Utah's new balcony solar policy, for example, specifies that the law applies only to UL-listed products. Read Next How Germany outfitted half a million balconies with solar panels Akielly Hu Achim Ginsberg-Klemmt, vice president of engineering at the plug-in solar startup GismoPower, has been working on creating such a standard for more than a year and a half. In 2023, the Department of Energy awarded his company a grant to work with UL to develop a standard. GismoPower sells a mobile carport with a roof of solar panels and an integrated electric vehicle charger. Unlike rooftop solar, the system doesn't need to be mounted in place but can be rolled onto a driveway and plugged in, generating electricity for the car, house, and the grid. 'We're basically taking rooftop solar to the next level' by making it portable and accessible for renters, Ginsberg-Klemmt said. The product is in use at pilot sites nationwide, though a lack of standardized rules for plug-in solar has forced the company to negotiate interconnection agreements with local utilities — a time-consuming and sometimes costly process. GismoPower's product avoids one of the biggest technical challenges with balcony solar by plugging into a dedicated 240-volt outlet, the kind typically used for dryers. Such an outlet serves a single appliance and uses a dedicated circuit, sidestepping the risk of overloading. But it runs headlong into the same obstacle of lacking a compatible UL standard. Ginsberg-Klemmt is working with researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, other entrepreneurs, and engineers at Underwriters Laboratories to develop such a standard, but it hasn't been easy. 'We have found so many roadblocks,' he told Grist. One major sticking point is that any standard must comply with the National Electrical Code, a set of guidelines for electrical wiring in buildings that does not allow for the installation of plug-in energy systems like balcony solar. The rules are issued by the National Fire Protection Association, a nonprofit trade association, and adopted on a state-by-state basis. The code is updated every three years, with the next iteration due later this year for the 2026 edition. Ginsberg-Klemmt and his working group submitted recommendations for amending the code to allow plug-in solar — and every one of them was rejected in October. Jeff Sargent, the National Fire Protection Association's staff liaison to the National Electrical Code committee, told Grist that this is the first time the organization had received public comments about plug-in solar systems. For now, it cannot consider amendments to allow their use until a compatible ground fault circuit interrupter exists, he said. Once that's available, he said, the association can ensure that outdoor outlets can be safely used for balcony solar. Electrical standards are constantly evolving, and it often takes more than one cycle of code changes to allow for new products, said Sargent. Ginsberg-Klemmt said his group will continue to pursue other avenues to amend the codes. Until that happens, a UL standard for plug-in solar is unlikely to go anywhere. But interest in plug-in energy solutions isn't going away, and decision-makers will have to adjust to that reality eventually, Ward said. It happened in Germany, where people across the political spectrum have embraced the technology. Ward believes the same thing will happen here. The way he sees it, 'It's just a good thing if you set up a system so people have a way to take care of as much of their own problems as they can.' This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Balcony solar took off in Germany. Why not the US? on Apr 25, 2025.
