Cheap LED Lights from Amazon..are they UL approved?

[Bailey28]

Wife picked up two 6 pack boxes of LED night lights from Amazon for $16. They work as advertised and are actually pretty cool. However, the box, nor the website mentions nothing about them being UL approved.

Laugh, but the older I get the more I worry about these things. Seeing horrible stories about fires starting, houses being destroyed etc. has me looking at these things a little more now.

When I was younger I didn't seem to care so much, but I would bet most everything we bought was from a brick and mortar store and UL approved.

When I was real young I experimented with an old subwoofer and having no amplifer available I decided to plug the speaker directly into a wall outlet. 60hz hum! Darn thing started smoking but played amazing bass for a minute or two.

I realized that was not UL approved, but I am deeply concerned about these little night lights!!

 

[Rmay635703]

Whether they have a UL stamp or not past experience says it may not actually be.

 

[DCDG]

If not UL most imported electronics are Intertek - ETL

 

[CR94]

Do they show CSA or TUV approval?

 

[earlyre]

If not UL most imported electronics are Intertek - ETL

which if i'm not mistaken is the Chinese "equivalent" of UL....

 

[DCDG]

which if i'm not mistaken is the Chinese "equivalent" of UL....

The ETL Listed Mark is a certification indicating that a product has been independently tested and meets applicable safety standards. Issued by Intertek (formerly Edison Testing Laboratories), the mark confirms that representative samples of the product comply with nationally recognized requirements

 

[dishdude]

Even UL listed devices can pose a fire risk and end up on a recall list. I wouldn't worry about it, if they turn out to be dangerous they'll recall them and Amazon will notify you.

 

[dogememe]

Even UL listed devices can pose a fire risk and end up on a recall list. I wouldn't worry about it, if they turn out to be dangerous they'll recall them and Amazon will notify you.

I don’t know about that… I have had multiple cheap LED smart WiFi bulbs fail on me. Sometimes they just stop working but sometimes they make quite the show. Pop, smoke, etc. Despite Amazon reviews containing many such complaints none of them have ever been recalled. But the “brand” or seller disappears randomly and a hundred more pop up selling the same trash.

 

[Bailey28]

The box has no ETL, UL, IL, Intertek, CSA, TUV, or any type of rating or testing standard listed on it. The lights themselves have nothing printed or cast into them.

Link to the lights:

https://www.amazon.com/GEPLAD-Night...+sensor+night+led+light+,aps,182&sr=8-23&th=1

 

[DCDG]

I wouldn't worry about it they pull less power than a 5 watt phone charger and for what it's worth says they have some sort of safety over current protection.

 

[Vercingetorix]

Why not just buy quality bulbs with a high CRI and not worry about it. It’s one and done. They last forever.

 

[alarmguy]

Never had an LED fail to the point that it smoked or misbehaved in anyway. We have been using all kinds (and we have/had a lot of lighting in our homes) since the day they came out. Though, now, in today's day and age I like FEIT brand. Last a long time, trouble free and they have a deluxe type (high CRI) as well with great color temperature. We also like our home nice and bright, most all are 100 watt equivalent with a rare 75 watt equal in some fixtures.

 

[rszappa1]

you had me at CHEAP.....no thanks...

 

[Urshurak776]

I'm opposite of some of you that like your homes nice and bright. I have two migraine sufferers in my house. We could grow mushrooms, but, alas.
The OP's link for those LED's are super low wattage, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Bailey28]

We like our house somewhat dark, and we are using these lights mostly for under cabinet lighting in the kitchen. They consume 1 watt of power and provide 100 lumens of light. Sounds like nothing to worry about.

 

[racer12306]

If it plugs into a wall, IMO it should be certified in some way. They may be hanging their hat on the recognition of the transformer inside of it.

Many things plug into a USB and that ends up being the thing that needs certification.

I'm just here for NRTL education:

https://www.osha.gov/nationally-recognized-testing-laboratory-program

There are many labs that OSHA recognizes and each lab has a scope of accreditation. Assuming that a product category is the labs scope, then all labs are equal.

 

[bdc101]

If it plugs into a wall, IMO it should be certified in some way. They may be hanging their hat on the recognition of the transformer inside of it.

Many things plug into a USB and that ends up being the thing that needs certification.

I'm just here for NRTL education:

https://www.osha.gov/nationally-recognized-testing-laboratory-program

There are many labs that OSHA recognizes and each lab has a scope of accreditation. Assuming that a product category is the labs scope, then all labs are equal.

This is true, but OP says no labeling for any NRTL on the package.

This reads as "We are too cheap to do any kind of safety testing and we are just counting on Amazon letting us delete our seller account and make a new one next month"

Amazon is basically complicit in this scam, by now. They make it so easy for cheap chinese counterfeit sellers to set up shop and then disappear, set up shop again and disappear, over and over.

@Bailey28 -- just remember that even if they don't burn your house down, they will all fail within 12 months from now. Just buy from Costco! It's basically the same price.

 

[DCDG]

I have ordered many chinese smart plugs off the big (A) and always have had some sort of independent testing they meet standards and safety. Perhaps the rating is on the packaging or maybe a small spec sheet of some sort in the packaging.

 

[dlundblad]

Can you post a link to the lights?

 

[DCDG]

Can you post a link to the lights?

OP linked this earlier. https://www.amazon.com/GEPLAD-Night...+sensor+night+led+light+,aps,182&sr=8-23&th=1