Becoming a panel shop

Status
Not open for further replies.
Mule

Mule

Senior Member
Location
Oklahoma
Im considering adding a panel shop to my EC business.

So my question is, what tells me I must have a UL approved control panel completely built with UL approved components? Is it the customer that requires work to be done by UL approved shop, and some don't, or is it ALL panels? And if so, what's involved in becoming a UL approved shop? I've done quite a bit of panel work, but never UL approved....

Educate me......
 
Last edited:
110.3(b) says equipment must be listed for use but I have never heard of UL approving a shop or its work. Some places have manufacturing standards like ISO 9000. Do you have a customer requiring this?
 
iaov said:
110.3(b) says equipment must be listed for use but I have never heard of UL approving a shop or its work. Some places have manufacturing standards like ISO 9000. Do you have a customer requiring this?
Click to expand...

I have customer that is friend that is trying to turn me some work, to help get me started in the business. but he says that SOME of his jobs are required to be done by a UL shop.
 
iaov said:
I have never heard of UL approving a shop or its work.
Click to expand...

Who do you think makes all the various control cabinets you see with UL stickers on them?

Our shop is UL listed. I have no idea what it took to get this certification, but we build 'em, slap a UL sticker on them, and the inspector can't touch it. We do our fair share of cabinets, if we didn't have that UL certification we'd have to pay another UL shop to build them for us. Washington state inspectors are sticklers for UL listed control boxes.
 
Cow said:
Who do you think makes all the various control cabinets you see with UL stickers on them?

Our shop is UL listed. I have no idea what it took to get this certification, but we build 'em, slap a UL sticker on them, and the inspector can't touch it. We do our fair share of cabinets, if we didn't have that UL certification we'd have to pay another UL shop to build them for us. Washington state inspectors are sticklers for UL listed control boxes.
Click to expand...

So maybe its just if the sticker doenst exist then the inspector would have inspect the entire insides, which he doesnt want to do, so he says "WHERES the sticker?" seriously I would like to find out where and why the UL sticker is required.......if it really is...
 
UL has a certification class on the UL508A procedure offered at one of their offices, last time I looked it was about $500.
You build the panel to the UL508A standard, a NEC for control panels. There are labeling requirements, documentation, etc.
In WA State you can make a panel with listed components as long as its inspected on a permit.

Not all control components are listed, some are recognized. The advantage of UL508A is you can take a recognized component and use it (they cost less than a listed part)
 
iwire said:
That is not what 110.3(B) says. :)




Most sign shops are allowed to apply UL stickers.
Click to expand...

That is a different UL number.
We had to use all UL components to build our signs.
The UL lady would come by every so often,check out a couple of signs to see if we were complying, invoice us for $500 for the visit and allow us to purchase X amount of UL stickers from the sticker vendor.
We had to keep a log book of where each sticker went.

Mule,
I would look into another testing lab. http://www.intertek-etlsemko.com/po...PGR/DOCUMENTS_PROD_PG/etl_mark_guidelines.pdf In some areas people think ETL is more user friendly and better to work with.
 
tom baker said:
UL has a certification class on the UL508A procedure offered at one of their offices, last time I looked it was about $500.
You build the panel to the UL508A standard, a NEC for control panels. There are labeling requirements, documentation, etc.
In WA State you can make a panel with listed components as long as its inspected on a permit.

Not all control components are listed, some are recognized. The advantage of UL508A is you can take a recognized component and use it (they cost less than a listed part)
Click to expand...

Got any idea where UL's offices are? in the DC area? I could visit my son, same trip....:grin:
 
Its not too hard to get UL to approve you to build UL listed panels. The upfront cost can be a little pricey sometimes. The initial UL side of the cost is not too bad. The training cost on your side may be more of an issue. And there is the ongoing cost.

Its likely that you will not have to change a lot in how you build stuff to be able to list it. Some labeling issues. One thing that may get you is the requirement to have schematic drawings for each panel you make.
 
It's not hard to get them certified when you are building a lot of them, it's when you're building one offs that it could get expensive.

I'm sure though if you built them to some UL standard that you could list them as a control panel instead of having to have each part UL listed.
 
Becoming a panel shop

When you get stickers off the internet they're worth exactly what you put into them-nothing.
If you get a certification for something for nothing it may seem like a beautiful thing until the day something goes wrong--then ,maybe you're found out for being a something for nothing guy-...,everybody else does it yousay?
you've only got to live with yourself baby-thats what I say-
I just came from a fire job-looked like some of what I saw could only have been done by someone who got his experience online combined with a "paid in full check."
I'll add that I am interested in this enough that I plan on getting more info from the reps that I am acquainted with at UL.
 
There was another discussion along these lines in a thread titled "UL vs NRTLs" on this same forum. If you have a look at (Post 12) You'll see a list of links to companies that can provide you with a NRTL certificate to Label.

They all follow UL 508A.

Regards
Dan
 
Mule said:
Im considering adding a panel shop to my EC business.

So my question is, what tells me I must have a UL approved control panel completely built with UL approved components? Is it the customer that requires work to be done by UL approved shop, and some don't, or is it ALL panels? And if so, what's involved in becoming a UL approved shop? I've done quite a bit of panel work, but never UL approved....

Educate me......
Click to expand...

While there is no NATIONAL code requirement that control panels must be UL listed, each individual state has the right to add anything they want to the NEC and many states do indeed add a requirement that control panels must bear an NRTL listing label. So UL, CSA, ETL and a number of other smaller companies are approved NRTLs. UL is just the most widely known. (Copied and pasted from a post of mine in another thread in this forum, in case anyone noticed a familiar tone).

If you live in a State that has this requirement, basically any panel that is going to be inspected will need to be listed. If the project is internal and inspection is not compulsory, listing may not be necessary. But many insurance companies will also have a rider in a company's policy that says if an electrical fire starts in an unlisted piece of equipment, they may or may not pay for the damages. That, by the way, was the original intent of UL, Underwriter's Laboratories, as in Insurance Underwriters.
 
Jraef said:
But many insurance companies will also have a rider in a company's policy that says if an electrical fire starts in an unlisted piece of equipment, they may or may not pay for the damages.
Click to expand...

Do you actually know this to be a fact?

Sounds like a myth to me.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top