U.L. Listing, Insurance and what we hang in our home.
in a conversation yesterday with one of our vendor reps the topic of UL listing came up. For those of you that don’t know when a fixture from another country comes into the USA the manufacturer can choose to get the fixture UL listed which ensures that safety codes are met by the fixture that meet the standards complaisance’s established for the US market.
One of the major reasons why this is of issue in the USA is because we operate on a different frequency 120volt vs. the European 220volt and therefore the way in which wires are connected because more critical for safety issues. On the residential front it does not technically matter so much if a fixture has been UL approved as we are talking typically about one or two pcs but you can image how this situation changes when the one and two grows to one hundred or even one thousand.
what had not occur-ed to me and what is worthy of special note is the interplay of insurance for your home and what you choose to put inside of it. Make sure you check with your insurance carrier and your policy to cover yourself if you choose to broaden your aesthetic when selecting fixtures. Also know that just because a fixture is made in the USA does not guarantee it’s UL approved.