What is UL Listing?

UL stands for the underwriter's laboratory, which is a standards laboratory designed for granting product compliance across a wide range of technical products and services. To give you an idea of the vastness of its operation, an incomplete list of services includes compliance in medical devices, medical software, industrial control panels, NEC (National Electric Code), plastics, fire safety, hazardous locations, quality training, and OSHA.

The UL is completely independent from corporations and governments, making its approval authoritative and unbiased. The numbers that it produces are quite staggering; 19,000 types of different products reviewed have resulted in 21 billion UL marks appearing on the products of 72,000 manufacturers, yearly. The organization is worldwide, serving 99 countries with 62 laboratory and certification facilities.

Pertaining to Outdoor Lighting
In the lighting industry alone, there are over 30 different standards by which manufacturers must comply. And, handily, the underwriter's laboratory is quite accessible and accommodating. Apart from simple product approval, they provide technical consulting and field engineering to ensure a client's success. With the above credentials, their approval has become the gold standard among industries seeking to assure their customers of a product's safety and security.

Damp? Wet?
On many products you'll see a rating of "UL-damp" or "UL-wet." It's important to keep in mind what this means as you choose outdoor lighting products. It's not terribly hard to figure out - UL-damp means the product will work well in locations that are sheltered outdoor areas that are protected from direct contact with rain, etc. UL-wet means the product will perform just fine in locations that are unsheltered outdoor areas that are exposed to direct contact with rain and water.

Since all the products on our site are UL-listed, it might be interesting to see exactly what constitutes product compliance. Then again, since it's likely that a fluent understanding in the electrical codes is not something possessed by our average reader, perhaps we'll leave this brief overview of the services provided by the UL as it is.