Products and producer responsibility:

Control panels / Electrical cabinets

Further to legislation on producer responsibility for electrical and electronic
equipment DPA-System decides whether equipment or products are covered
by or exempt from the rules on producer responsibility, cf. the WEEE Order.
Also, if the product is covered by the rules DPA-System will assign the
product to one of the categories described in the Order 1. In addition, it will be
assessed whether the product is used in private households or only in
businesses 2.

The following assessment has been made for the product group of electrical
cabinets and modules (control panels, control boards, distribution boards,
meter boards, group panels etc.)

June 2019

Assessment
Electrical cabinets and modules incorporated in such cabinets are covered by producer responsibility for
electrical and electronic equipment cf. the WEEE Order. The term electrical cabinet covers several types of
boards such as: Control boards, control panels, distribution boards, meter boards, group panels, etc.
Regardless of the term the following principles apply to all equipment of this type.

In the following a clarification is given of the detailed implication of producer responsibility for the equipment
in question.

Definition and explanation

An electrical cabinet is seen as a generally unique combination and assembly of electrical or electronic
modules in which each module is considered as a finished product and thereby covered by producer
responsibility. The modules, such as automatic switches, HPFI circuit breakers, timers and similar, are
combined into the finished electrical cabinet or each of them can be incorporated in an already existing board.

Electrical cabinets ready for use, i.e. placed on the market in their final form for installation and use with the
end user without further preparation, are covered by producer responsibility as a separate product. This
applies whether or not the electrical cabinet is assembled with other equipment, such as major transport
systems, ventilation facilities, processing machines or assemblies, process lines or similar. This also applies if
the finished electrical cabinet is installed in private homes or commercial businesses in connection with the
general electricity supply system.

1
Read more about the WEEE Categories on the DPA-System website under WEEE categories.
2
Read more about end-users on the DPA-System website under Identification of the end-user.
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Categories of electrical cabinets and modules
Electrical cabinets and modules contained in them are categorised under Category 4. Large equipment, if an
outer dimension of the module or the cabinet is equal to or more than 50 cm, or Category 5. Small equipment,
if an outer dimension is less than 50 cm.

Any reproduction and interpretation must use the full text and acknowledge the source.
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