Is China's electric blanket in short supply in Europe? Has the Chinese electric blanket become the European "divine tool" for keeping out the cold this winter? Recently, the topic of "Europeans buying explosive Chinese electric blankets" has hit Weibo hot searches.
Due to various factors, many European countries have experienced limited natural gas supply and skyrocketing prices. Faced with the increasing demand for heating, more and more Europeans are seeking solutions from Made in China. The export of heating appliances such as electric blankets, electric heaters, and air source heat pumps has experienced explosive growth, with demand increasing by over 40%. Sales of electric blankets produced by some Chinese manufacturers have reached their best record in nearly five years.
If you want to sell electric blanket products in compliance with EU regulations and avoid unnecessary technical barriers, while paying attention to market sales, you also need to carefully understand the relevant requirements of EN 60335-2-17.
EN 60335-2-17:2013/A2:2021的全称为Household and similar electrical appliances - Safety - Part 2-17: Particular requirements for blankets, pads, clothing and similar flexible heating appliances。
Safety of household and similar electrical appliances - Part 2-17: Special requirements for electric blankets, electric heating pads, and similar flexible heating appliances.
The national standard that can be referenced is GB 4706.8-2008, but the GB standard lags behind the EN standard by one version. The new version of the standard covers an additional requirement for clothing heating appliances, namely ultra-thin electric blankets, compared to the old version.
The application scenarios of the flexible heaters mentioned in this standard are similar to those used in household, car or ship use, and commercial scenarios similar to household use. Such as electric blankets, electric blankets, electric mats, electric mattresses, electric sleeping bags, electric clothes, etc.
Its function is to heat the bed or healthy people. Heating pads used for pets, or for people with disabilities or baby care, are not included in this standard.
In addition to the above products, products that do not fall under this standard also include: rigid heaters (such as hot spring stone beds), hand warmers, foot warmers, and electric hot water mattresses that circulate by heating water (or similar liquid media) and continuously charging hot water into the water mattress.
The electric heating element of a flexible heater can be either a traditional electric heating wire or a uniform conductive fabric such as graphene.
For the testing of flexible heaters, including moisture resistance, electric shock resistance, fire resistance, and overheating prevention.
1. dampproof
Usually, a thin layer of rubber or plastic, or a waterproof treated fabric, is used to cover the entire blanket body. Testing is required according to Chapter 15 Moisture resistance and Chapter 16 Leakage current and electrical strength of the standard.
2. Protection against electric shock
The products powered by batteries or powered by safety isolation transformer for ultra-low voltage heating elements need to be tested according to the leakage current and electric strength at operating temperature in Chapter 13 of the standard.
3. Fire prevention and overheating prevention
This is generally done by limiting the output of the electric blanket, thermal protection switches, PTC resistors, electronic temperature controllers, and other methods. As the most important characteristic performance of the electric blanket, it needs to be tested according to Chapter 11 Heating, Chapter 17 Overload protection of transformers and associated circuits, and Chapter 19 Abnormal operation of the standard.
In addition to the above risks, considering the expected usage environment, electric blankets may be compressed, bent, torn or dragged for a long time, or soaked due to user leakage or other reasons. In order to ensure that the electric blanket can maintain the integrity and effectiveness of safety protection in these situations, it is also necessary to test the mechanical strength (including tear resistance, bending resistance, and compression resistance), corrosion resistance, and liquid splashing resistance of the protective layer.
Only electric blanket products that have passed the EN 60335-2-17 standard testing can be considered qualified products that meet the requirements of the European Union and can be legally sold in EU member states, providing safe and reliable services to consumers.
CCQS, as the EU authorized CE notification agency and the UK UKCA approval agency, can provide efficient and fast testing and certification services for domestic manufacturers of flexible electric heating products such as electric blankets, helping your products to be sold in compliance within the EU and the UK.
