Many Danish electrical sockets on market an 'unnecessary risk': agency
A Danish safety authority has warned about the number of electrical sockets not in line with national product standards after spot checks found one in three lacked documentation.
The Danish Safety Technology Authority (Sikkerhedstyrelsen) has undertaken spot checks in each of the last three years to monitor the safety of plug sockets on the market.
This year’s checks found that nearly 1 in 3 distributors or importers of sockets were unable to produce the necessary documentation showing that their product was in line with Danish standards, the agency said in a statement Monday.
To be more precise, 45 checks were undertaken of distributors or importers, and 14 of these failed to turn up the right paperwork.
“When there’s no documentation for how an electrical socket is constructed, you can’t guarantee their safety. That means you put yourself and others at unnecessary risk by using the socket in an electrical installation,” head of products Lone Brose of the Safety Technology Authority said in the statement.
Although the proportion of ‘unofficial’ sockets seems high, it represents an improvement compared to the first two years in which the authority did the checks.
In both 2020 and 2021, around 60 percent of electrical sockets were found to be without the required documentation.
“We are pleased to see a clear effect of our earlier efforts because distributors and importers should be more alert to whether the producer can document that sockets comply with Danish standards,” Brose said.
All of the 14 sockets which failed the documentation checks have since been withdrawn from the market.
Electrical sockets in Denmark must comply with the country’s national standard for the product, DS 60884-2-D1:2017. There is no European standard for sockets so Denmark, like other EU countries, has a national standard in place.
Denmark’s standards are designed to fit with Danish installation practice and safety standards, the agency notes. These include child safety features in all sockets used in homes.
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The Danish Safety Technology Authority (Sikkerhedstyrelsen) has undertaken spot checks in each of the last three years to monitor the safety of plug sockets on the market.
This year’s checks found that nearly 1 in 3 distributors or importers of sockets were unable to produce the necessary documentation showing that their product was in line with Danish standards, the agency said in a statement Monday.
To be more precise, 45 checks were undertaken of distributors or importers, and 14 of these failed to turn up the right paperwork.
“When there’s no documentation for how an electrical socket is constructed, you can’t guarantee their safety. That means you put yourself and others at unnecessary risk by using the socket in an electrical installation,” head of products Lone Brose of the Safety Technology Authority said in the statement.
Although the proportion of ‘unofficial’ sockets seems high, it represents an improvement compared to the first two years in which the authority did the checks.
In both 2020 and 2021, around 60 percent of electrical sockets were found to be without the required documentation.
“We are pleased to see a clear effect of our earlier efforts because distributors and importers should be more alert to whether the producer can document that sockets comply with Danish standards,” Brose said.
All of the 14 sockets which failed the documentation checks have since been withdrawn from the market.
Electrical sockets in Denmark must comply with the country’s national standard for the product, DS 60884-2-D1:2017. There is no European standard for sockets so Denmark, like other EU countries, has a national standard in place.
Denmark’s standards are designed to fit with Danish installation practice and safety standards, the agency notes. These include child safety features in all sockets used in homes.
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