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Do the Products You Use Comply?
As Australia’s number one electrical brand, Clipsal by Schneider Electric’s greatest concern is the quality and safety of electrical products installed into people’s homes and workplaces. If you’re an electrical contractor and purchase or install inferior products that don’t comply with Australian Standards, you could risk your licence and hard-earned reputation. You could even risk potential fines and jail terms. Most importantly, you could endanger people’s lives and their property.
At Clipsal by Schneider Electric we design and manufacture quality electrical products that comply with all relevant Australian Standards. You can be confident with the service and support you receive when you buy genuine Clipsal products from a trusted wholesaler. Don’t risk it… it’s just not worth it.
Electrical product compliance
Why is product compliance so important?
- To prevent unsafe (substandard) non-compliant electrical equipment being sold in the Australian electrical equipment market.
- To reduce risk of problem installations, and ensure the safety of electrical workers and the general public.
- To create an even market, restricting the opportunities for non-compliant product suppliers.
What is the problem with inferior products?
- Inferior products will often fail to meet all the relevant Australian Standards for that particular product type. This is a huge concern because the Standards are designed specifically to protect people and property from harm.
- By design, genuine products are expected to have a much longer life than copy products.
- Inferior products may also have a much higher failure rate.
- Genuine products are designed carefully and specifically for their purpose with applied research and knowledge developed prior to manufacture.
- Genuine products are easy to install and include (where applicable) installation instructions and diagrams.
- Low priced products, especially those that don’t comply, are designed to the limits of the material meaning that if they are put under load, they may overheat and possibly burn out.
Associated Risks
The risks with using electrical products that don’t comply
Industry Situation
- Within the electrical industry, there are a number of new manufacturing companies entering the market.
- Some of these companies manufacture products which are deceptively similar to Clipsal or other manufacturer’s products.
- These products, whilst appearing genuine, are often made from inferior materials with little regard for meeting stated ratings or safety requirements.
- They will often not conform nor meet mandatory safety regulations.
- They will often fail independent certification testing.
- They can be sold deceptively and often at prices below market level to then be installed into homes and businesses and electrical infrastructure.
The main issues and risks are:
To people
- House burning
- Risk to life or significant health and safety issues.
- Risk to property or property damage.
- Can overheat or cause short circuits.
- Risk of fires, shocks or explosions.
To the industry
- Issues of public liability.
- Loss of confidence in reputable brands.
- Risk of litigation against distributors or installers.
- Damage to reputation of all electrical contractors.
- Decline of reinvestment into the electrical industry.
- Decline of new product development.
- Loss of business for manufacturers of genuine product, meaning loss of markets and people’s jobs.
- Infringement of intellectual property rights.
