Overview:

Electric scooter and skateboard are included under UL 2271 and UL 2272 when certificated in North America. Here is the introduction, on the range they cover and requirements, of distinctions between UL 2271 and UL 2272:

Range:

UL 2271 is about batteries on various devices; while UL 2272 is about personal mobile devices. Here are lists of matters covered by the two standards:

UL 2271 covers light vehicle batteries, including:

• Electric bicycle；
• Electric scooter and motorcycle；
• Electric wheelchair；
• Golf cart；
• ATV；
• Unmanned industrial carrier (e.g. electric forklift)；
• Sweeping vehicle and mower；
• Personal Mobile Devices (Electric Balance scooters)

UL 2272 is available for personal mobile devices, such as: electric scooters and balance cars.

From the standard scope, UL 2271 is the battery standard, and UL 2272 is the device standard. When doing the device certification of UL 2272, does the battery need to be certified to UL 2271 first?

Standard Requirements:

First, let’s know about the requirements of UL 2272 for batteries (only lithium-ion batteries/cells are considered below):

Cell: lithium-ion cells must meet the requirements of UL 2580 or UL 2271;

Battery: If the battery meets the requirements of UL 2271, it can be exempted from the tests for overcharge, short-circuit, over-discharge and unbalanced charging.

It can be seen that if the lithium battery is used in the equipment that is applicable to UL 2272, it is not necessary to do UL 2271 certification, but the cell needs to meet the requirements of UL 2580 or UL 2271.

In addition, the requirements of the vehicles’ battery applying to UL 2271 for cell are: lithium-ion cells need to meet the requirements of UL 2580.

To sum up: as long as the battery meets the requirements of UL 2580, the test of UL 2272 can completely ignore the requirements of UL 2271, that is, if the battery is only used for equipment that is suitable for UL 2272, it is not necessary to do UL 2271 Certification.

Recommendations for Certification:

Cell factory：The battery used for electric balance car or scooter should be tested and certified according to the standard of UL 2580 when it is certified in North America;

Battery factory：If the client does not require the battery to be certified, it can be omitted. If the client requires it, it will be done according to the requirements of UL 2271.

Recommendations for Choosing A Certification institution:

The UL 2271 standard is a standard regulated by OHSA, but not UL 2272. At present, the institutions that have UL 2271 accreditation qualifications are: TUV RH, UL, CSA, SGS. Among these institutions, the certification test fee is generally the highest in UL, and the other institutions are on a par. In terms of institutional accreditation, many battery manufacturers or vehicle manufacturers tend to choose UL, but the editor learned from the American Consumers Association and some sales platforms that they have no designated institution for the certification and test report accreditation of scooters, so as long as the OHSA-accredited institution is acceptable.

1、When the client does not have an agency, the certification agency can be selected based on the comprehensive consideration of the certification cost and customer recognition;

2、When the client has requirements, follow the client’s requirements or persuade he to consider the certification agency based on the cost.

Extras:

At present, the competition in the certification and testing industry is fierce. As a result, some institutions will give customers some wrong information or some misleading information for the sake of performance. It is necessary for the personnel engaged in certification to have sharp tentacles to distinguish the authenticity and reduce the cumbersome and unnecessary trouble of the certification process.