Before an electrical product or piece of electrical equipment is used, sold, displayed or advertised for sale in Ontario, it must be approved by an accredited certification or evaluation agency. The item must carry the official mark or label of the agency which indicate that the product has been independently assessed for safety.
Source: Electrical Safety Authority
Check to see if the equipment is certified under an authorized equivalent
The Electronic Shop offers Electrical safety inspection, the only authorized service on campus that provides Ontario Electrical Certification (Hydro/CSA) pre-inspection.
Canadian suppliers hold the legal responsibility of paying for the approval of the items they sell. Past clients have shared that their Canadian suppliers paid for the approval, whereas others did not pay.
Suppliers of electrical product or equipment from outside of Canada will sometimes compensate the buyer, whereas others will not. Buyers should always consider that they have the right to ask for this payment, regardless of where the item originated.
The team works to pre-inspect items and assess whether any modifications are necessary. If the team detects that modifications are necessary, they will discuss the next steps and/or call in an inspector before making any changes. Warrantis migth be affected by changes but items built by a reputable company usually pass the inspection with very little modifications necessary.
With the modification approval and the payment source confirmation, the team will complete the modifications and book a consultation with the licensed electrical safety inspector. The electronic shop has had the pleasure of building an excellent rapport with the licensed electrical safety inspector they have worked with for many years. Only in rare cases will an item fail to pass the inspection once the team has modified it. The team has been working on these projects since 1988, with over 3,000 pieces assessed to date. Clearly, they have some experience under their belt.
Ringing in around $400, the cost of a single inspection does not come cheap.
Rest assured; the Electronics Shop team is able to reduce these costs by offering pre-inspections. These pre-inspections can deem the item “useable pending inspection”, allowing the owner to put the item to use right away. Once the team compiles three to four other pieces “pending inspection”, they will call the inspector. The $400 to $500 inspection cost (time depending) is then divided by the number of pieces the inspector is assessing.
Please note that the costs outlined above are estimates, not including unforeseen or irregular circumstances.
If you find yourself with an electrical product or piece of electrical equipment in need of an evaluation and/or certification, please contact the team through the Science Intranet web application.
