Whitepaper
Tackling The Issue of Non Compliant Products With A New EMC Directive
This paper examines conformity levels with the EMC Directive in Europe, based on analysis of six cross-border market surveillance campaigns conducted between 2004 and 2014, focusing on products like energy saving lamps, LED lighting, and solar panel inverters. The study found consistently low compliance rates; notably, only 33% of 55 sampled solar panel inverters met emission requirements as defined by the 2004/108/EC directive, while overall administrative compliance was at 38%. Despite high CE Marking prevalence (95%), a significant portion lacked correct documentation (Declaration of Conformity: 56% compliant; Technical Documentation: 63% compliant). The authors highlight that reported compliance figures are optimistic due to incomplete testing and assumptions about untested parameters like immunity. They conclude the actual compliance rate is likely far below the reported 9%, potentially even zero, indicating widespread non-compliance and unfair competition within the European market.