The Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Saudi Arabia issued an announcement stating that from February 9, 2016, the export of lighting products included in the standard SASO2870:2015 to Saudi Arabia must be compulsory to meet SASOEER energy consumption certification requirements.

Standard number: SASO 2870: 2015

Full name of the standard: EnergyEfficiency, Functionality and Labeling Requirements for Lighting Products Part1

1. Product range: Including ordinary household or similar purpose, directional and non-directional bulbs used in Saudi Arabia, mainly including ordinary incandescent bulbs powered by AC or DC, self-ballasted fluorescent lamps (energy-saving lamps), self-ballasted LED bulbs and halogens Light bulbs and so on.

Excludes: lamps, lamp controllers, and non-general lighting bulbs (such as signal lamps, infrared heating lamps, lamps in other household appliances, and other special-purpose bulbs for professional purposes).

2. Excerpts from standard requirements:

1. The standard clearly states that the product manual and warning words must have both English and Arabic versions;

2. For special purpose bulbs, the intended use of the product must be clearly stated on the packaging and other materials provided, and that the product is not suitable for ordinary household lighting;

3. For ordinary household or similar bulbs, the standard mainly evaluates:

Light bulb energy efficiency grade: It is mainly divided into 7 grades: A, B, C, D, E, F and G.

The performance requirements of the bulb: such as life span, lumen maintenance, switching cycle, start-up time, color rendering index and power factor requirements.

The following information must be displayed on the bulb: trademark, input voltage, rated power, country of origin. The above information must be clearly marked in English and/or Arabic on the label, outer packaging, manual and website.

Evaluation requirements for harmful substances contained in bulbs: including lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), hexavalent chromium (Cr6+), polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), mercury and other substances.

Energy efficiency label requirements for light bulbs: The label must be on the package and be clearly visible to consumers.

Details and requirements are as follows:

Starting from May 1, 2016, lamps imported into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia must meet the requirements of the Saudi Arabia’s designated energy efficiency regulations SASO 2870/2015;

The regulated lighting products covered by SASO 2870/2015 include directional lights or non-directional lights with luminous flux between 60 lumens and 12000 lumens, including:

1. Incandescent lamp;

2. Compact fluorescent lamp (CFLi) with rectifier;

3. Halogen lamps (including high-voltage halogen lamps and low-voltage halogen lamps);

4. LED lamps (modified fluorescent lamps or halogen lamps);

A. From May 1, 2016, lamps with 60W and above must meet the requirements of SASO 2870/2015;

B. From May 1, 2017, all wattage lamps must meet the requirements of SASO 2870/2015;

Exempted lamps that do not need to meet Saudi energy efficiency requirements include: traffic system/signal lamps; lamps for infrared heating; special-purpose lamps such as stage lights, photography lights, mosquito lights, pet care lights, pool lights, projection lights, TV lights Wait.

• Starting from May 1, 2016, lamps within the scope of SASO 2870/2015 must be registered in SASO for energy efficiency registration, and the registration number must be written on the Saudi Customs clearance document CoC certificate. This means that lamp manufacturers must also submit energy efficiency registration certificates when applying for SASO CoC documents.

• From August 1, 2016, lamps within the control area must be marked with energy efficiency labels. Saudi Customs will make special inspections, and if the controlled products do not have energy efficiency labels, they will not be imported.

• The requirements of SASO2870/2015 are basically the same as those of EU ERP implementation measures 1194/2012. The test report must reflect compliance with the regulations SASO2870/2015, and the scope of accreditation (ILAC/SAC) of the testing laboratory must include the SASO2870/2015 standard.

• In the energy efficiency test report submitted for registration before January 1, 2017, in the "life survival factor" test, 1000 hours of test results can be used to calculate 6000 hours of test results. But because "Lumen maintenance test" requires 2000 hours of testing, it means that the time required to complete a SASO2870 standard test is at least 2000 hours.

The documents required to apply for Saudi energy efficiency registration include:

1. SASO 2870/2015 energy efficiency test report issued by a laboratory accredited by ILAC (International Laboratory Accreditation Alliance) or SAC (Saudi Laboratory Accreditation Committee)

2. Saudi Arabia energy efficiency registration application form (our Saudi Arabia office fills in based on the report);

3. Product nameplate;

4. Product photos;

5. Product brand logo;

6. Declaration of conformity and authorization letter;

The QR code on the upper left corner of the Saudi energy efficiency label needs to contain the following energy efficiency label registration information:

o Manufacturer name

o Model number

oCountry of origin

o Luminous flux (lumens)

o Lifetime (h)

o Rated power (W)

o Equivalent power (W)

o EEI (unit-less)

o Efficacy (lumens/W)

o Annual electricity consumption (kWh/year)

Required information:

•Test report issued by an accredited laboratory (ISO 17025).

•Pro-forma invoice.

•Packing list

•Data Sheet, Brochure or catalogue of the goods.

•Photos for the shipment that show the products, packaging, labeling (name plate) and power plug used (when applicable).

•Commercial invoice.

Inspection fee:

Charge according to the FOB value of the goods; 3-5 working days after the information is complete, the certificate will be issued;

Saudi Arabia’s energy efficiency registration fees vary according to energy efficiency levels.

On November 13, 2015, Saudi Arabia officially announced the updated plug/socket standard SASO 2203/2015;

Starting from May 13, 2016, all 13A 220/230V plugs/sockets must comply with SASO 2203/2015. When applying for an import CoC certificate, a test report in compliance with SASO2203/2015 must be submitted. Important update information: The conductor cross-sectional area of the non-rewirable plug wiring shall not be less than 1.5mm;

Affected products include:

•Household and similar residential, commercial places, lighting industry and similar equipment use this kind of plug and socket;

• Portable equipment with plugs and sockets, home appliances, audio-visual equipment, lamps, etc.;

• For products using 13A 220V/230V plugs or sockets, when applying for import CoC, it must be proved that the plugs or sockets used comply with SASO 2203/2015.