Electrical products criticized
15% of the electrical products inspected by the Swiss Federal Inspectorate for Heavy Current Installations (ESTI) in 2014 had defects. 34 sales bans or sales stops had to be imposed. In addition, 17 recalls and safety information of consumer products from the household and residential sector and from the IT sector were publicly posted and consumers were informed.
The Market monitoring through the ESTI is carried out throughout Switzerland and is carried out in accordance with the Ordinance on Low-Voltage Electrical Products (NEV). Electrical products placed on the market for household, office, commercial and industrial use are randomly tested for conformity and safety to ensure that only safe electrical products are made available on the market in Switzerland.
The products inspected were recorded on the occasion of trade fair visits, visits to wholesalers, specialist markets and manufacturers, as well as in the context of inspections on Internet platforms and in print media. Inspections were also carried out on the basis of reports from consumers, competitors and experts from the electrical sector.
A total of 249 products with defects were recorded. Thus, 15% of all inspected electrotechnical products have defects. Of these, 106 products contain safety-related defects.
If there is a danger for the user, the ESTI can prohibit the further marketing of a product. In 2014, 34 sales bans or sales stops had to be issued. Particularly affected in 2014 were various mobile whirlpools from an Asian manufacturer, a wide variety of LED tubes that are not safe to touch, LED lamps and luminaires, unauthorized travel adapters, cotton candy machines and, in general, plugs with inadequate electrical properties on a wide variety of devices. In this context, it should be noted that the marketing of electrical devices with foreign plugs is prohibited in Switzerland.
In 25 cases, retailers and manufacturers as distributors have themselves withdrawn products from the market on the basis of the Federal Product Safety Act (PrSG) and informed ESTI. In 17 cases, the recalls and safety information were published on the website of the Consumer Affairs Bureau (BFK) in cooperation with ESTI. This concerned tumble dryers, electric water heaters, mobile whirlpools, power cords for notebook computers, smartphone power supplies, PCs, travel adapters, fan heaters, sterilizers, lamps and track heaters.
The ESTI recommends all consumers to rely on reputable suppliers with competent customer service in Switzerland when purchasing electrical equipment and to pay attention to legible operating instructions and test marks affixed to the product. Recognized Swiss test marks are, for example, the ESTI safety mark - such devices with safety marks are published at www.esti.admin.ch - and the SEV conformity mark from Electrosuisse. These test marks meet higher standards of product safety than self-declaration with a CE mark and offer added value to consumers and users.
Press release ESTI
