There’s a lot that goes into electronics. It’s not as simple as that potato powered clock you made in third grade. One of the most common questions I get about understanding electronics is about standards. Often times, you see stamps on various electrical components, such as VDE, UL, and C-UL. What do these standards mean? And what can they tell us about these electronics? And what is tri-approval?

We’ll start with an explanation for each. UL stands for Underwriters Laboratories, which issues safety standards for different products. It is commonly viewed as the North American standard. Founded in 1884, the UL strives to promote safe work and home environments and to support the implementation of products that have guaranteed safety.  C-UL denotes the Canadian listing program implemented by UL. C-UL is most commonly understood as the certification mark for Canada. VDE is also known as the Association for Electrical, Electronic, and Information Technologies, and is based in Germany.  However, VDE is seen as the international standard. The DKE is the standards division of the VDE, whose aim is to foster standards to ensure global safety and the promotion of technological usage. Continue reading Tri-Approval Trifecta!