Notice! North American Standard UL2849 for Electric Bicycles Revised

When electric bicycles enter the US market, there are relatively strict market access thresholds, that is, they are required to pass the safety standard of UL2849. The UL2849 standard involves product safety, battery management system (BMS), software evaluation and functional safety evaluation requirements, as well as safety standards for components such as controllers, motors, and chargers.

The e-commerce platform Amazon has put forward clear requirements for electric vehicle products: all lithium electric vehicle products are required to pass the relevant UL certification before they are allowed to be put on the shelves. In response to market demand, UL launched a new voluntary safety certification program in early 2020, the US and Canada bi-national standard ANSI/CAN/UL 2849 for electric bicycle systems. Designated by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) as the national standard for the United States and Canada, respectively, this standard complements the previous UL 2272 standard for personal electric mobility vehicles.

About UL 2849

Recently, UL has made major revisions and supplements to the UL 2849 standard for electric bicycles, mainly focusing on the following parts:

1. The provisions apply to stress relief testing of power cords, as well as circuits where hazardous energy sources are present. The original standard was only for circuits with hazardous voltages.

2. For the Impact Test and the Mold Stress Test plastic shell stress relief test, the judgment after the test is explained in more detail, and the accessibility evaluation of dangerous energy sources, dangerous moving parts and batteries is added.

3. For the fire protection requirements of internal plastic parts, more exemption options have been added.

4. For detachable battery packs, it is necessary to evaluate the lifespan of the charging terminals by plugging and unplugging tests.

5. The functional safety assessment of the motor controller is clearly specified.

? The motor controller should play a role in preventing the occurrence of dangerous situations related to the auxiliary function of the motor, such as: accidental self-starting, motor self-starting without start activation, etc.

? The motor controller should do functional safety analysis according to chapter 12.4-12.6, and evaluate the functional safety according to chapter 12.7.

Through the above supplements and improvements, the standards are made more clear and clear, and the occurrence of inconsistent understandings in the industry is avoided.

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