File 13: Electrical and connected products
Electrical safety, batteries, chargers and connected products whose software keeps changing after sale.
The file guide
Working guides in this file
13Choosing and checking chargers and power supplies so the wrong adapter cannot quietly harm a product Charger safety means supplying or specifying a power supply whose behaviour matches the product, checking that it stays cool and intact in use, and warning users clearly against damaged or mismatched substitutes. 13How electrical products catch fire, and the design and use checks that reduce that risk Fire risk in electrical products grows from heat that cannot escape, insulation that wears, and faults that keep running unseen, so prevention combines enclosure design, protection devices and honest placement guidance. 13How to keep rechargeable batteries safe in the products people carry and charge at home Battery safety rests on choosing a cell that suits the load and the enclosure, controlling charging so heat and overcharge are limited, and giving users a clear route when a battery swells, leaks or is damaged. 13Low voltage and electromagnetic compatibility duties in plain language for sellers of electrical products Low voltage duties concern protection against shock, heat and fire from electrical equipment, while electromagnetic compatibility duties concern a product neither disturbing other equipment nor being disturbed by it in ordinary use. 13Radio equipment safety basics for products that transmit, receive or rely on a wireless link Radio product safety covers more than signal strength: it covers electrical safety, honest range, behaviour when the signal is lost, and the effect of the product on neighbouring devices. 13Recalling electrical and connected products when a charger, battery or update turns unsafe An electrical recall must reach every owner it can, including owners who bought through a marketplace, and must handle chargers, batteries and software updates as part of the same correction. 13Smart home safety when hubs, locks, heaters and alarms share one household system Smart home safety means checking the household as a system, so a hub failure, a shared account or a routine does not switch on a heater, unlock a door or silence an alarm by accident. 13Software updates that keep products safe instead of quietly changing what they do Safe software updates change one thing at a time, are tested against the product safety behaviour, and give users a clear way back when an update goes wrong. 13Testing electrical products in practice, from a bench sample to a home that uses the product daily Practical electrical testing combines bench checks, realistic use tests and sample checks across production, so a single good laboratory result is not mistaken for proof that every unit is safe. 13The basics of electrical safety for everyday mains powered products Electrical basics come down to keeping live parts out of reach, keeping heat under control, and making sure a fault fails in a way that protects the person using the product rather than quietly getting worse. 13Wearable product safety for watches, heated clothing and devices worn against skin for hours Wearable safety focuses on skin contact over long periods, heat against the body, batteries worn close to skin, and straps and sensors that must not trap, irritate or overheat. 13What connected products must get right when apps, accounts and radios join the safety picture Connected product safety means checking the whole system a user actually lives with, the device, the app, the account and the radio link, so a lost connection or a changed setting cannot silently create a hazard. 13Writing instructions for electrical products that users can actually follow before they plug in Good electrical instructions put the dangerous steps first, use pictures for placement and charger choice, and tell users what to stop doing, not only what to do.