Low Voltage Directive (LVD) - equipment rated 50–1000 V AC / 75–1500 V DC; module A, without a notified body.
The Directive covers electrical equipment designed for use with a voltage rating between 50 V and 1000 V AC and between 75 V and 1500 V DC, except for the items listed in Annex II (Article 1). It requires equipment, when properly installed, maintained and used for its intended purpose, not to endanger the health and safety of persons or domestic animals or property; the safety objectives in Annex I cover general conditions, protection against hazards arising from the equipment itself (electric shock, temperature, arcing, radiation, insulation) and protection against hazards caused by external influences (mechanical resistance, environmental conditions, overload).
Annex II excludes, among other things, electrical equipment for use in explosive atmospheres, radiology and medical equipment, electrical parts for goods and passenger lifts, electricity meters, household plugs and socket outlets, electric-fence controllers, radio-electric interference, specialized electrical equipment for use on ships, aircraft or railways that complies with safety provisions drawn up by international bodies in which Member States participate, and custom-built evaluation kits for research-and-development facilities.
An EU declaration under 2014/35/EU for a component (power supply, relay, circuit breaker, terminal) means that the manufacturer has itself demonstrated compliance with the safety objectives of Annex I within the 50–1000 V AC / 75–1500 V DC voltage range, usually by testing to a harmonized standard cited in the declaration.
The Directive does not provide for notified-body involvement, so the LVD declaration is the manufacturer's own declaration and does not demonstrate suitability of the component for rolling-stock conditions (vibration, temperature, a 110 V DC network with voltage variations), nor does it apply to equipment falling under the Annex II exclusion for specialized railway electrical equipment.
The sole conformity-assessment procedure is module A, “Internal production control” (Article 15, Annex III): the manufacturer prepares technical documentation, controls production, issues an EU declaration of conformity (Article 15(1): the declaration states that fulfilment of the safety objectives referred to in Article 3 and Annex I has been demonstrated), and affixes the CE marking to the equipment or its data plate (Articles 16–17).
Conformity with harmonized standards published in the OJ EU gives a presumption of conformity (Article 12); where such standards do not exist, the manufacturer may rely on international IEC standards (Article 13), and subsequently on national standards of the manufacturing Member State (Article 14).
The list of harmonized standards for the LVD is published by the Commission under Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/1956, as amended.
Check the component's rated voltage against the 50–1000 V AC / 75–1500 V DC scope (24 V DC components are outside the LVD scope, so an LVD declaration for them has no basis), the harmonized standard cited in the declaration, and whether the manufacturer invokes the railway exclusion in Annex II.
