The following is provided by Natural Resources Canada.
Energy Efficiency Requirements for Battery Chargers
The questions asked of NRCan concerned docking cradles for laptop computers – are they considered battery chargers? As well, what happens when power adapters for laptops are imported separately from the laptops? What about jumper cables for motor vehicles – are these battery chargers and subject to energy efficiency requirements?
NRCan responded with the following:
A battery charger means a device that charges the battery of a wheelchair, golf cart, low-speed vehicle or any other end-use product. It does not include any of the following:
(a) a device that charges the battery of a vehicle other than a wheelchair, golf cart or low-speed vehicle;
(b) a device that charges the battery of a medical device;
(c) a wireless battery charger, other than a wireless battery charger that is inductive and designed for wet environments; or
(d) a backup battery charger.
Therefore, a battery charger for motor vehicles would be excluded by item (a) of the above definition.
If a product falls under the scope of the regulatory definition, it is considered a battery charger. Currently, if the product is incorporated into another product, it does not have to be reported at time of import. For battery chargers manufactured on or after June 13, 2019, other requirements will apply. These other requirements are:
– meeting the energy efficiency standard,
– having an energy efficiency verification mark, and
– being reported to NRCan prior to first import on an energy efficiency report.
Power adapters, or external power supplies (EPS), are regulated products. An external power supply is a device that:
– is designed to convert line voltage ac input into lower voltage dc or ac output,
– is able to convert to only one dc or ac output voltage at a time,
– is designed to be used with a household or office end-use product that constitutes the primary load,
– is encased in an enclosure separated from that end-use product and is connected to that product by an electrical connection, and
– has a nominal output power of 250 W or less.
but does not include a device that:
– powers the charger of a detachable battery pack of an end-use product,
– charges the battery of an end-use product that is fully or primarily motor operated,
– is an accessory to a medical device as defined in section 1 of the Medical Devices Regulations, or
– is a power sourcing equipment as defined in IEEE 802.3-2008 Standard entitled Standard for Information Technology – Telecommunications and Information Exchange Between Systems – Specific requirements Part 3.
Docking cradles for laptops likely fall within the scope of the regulatory definition, as do laptops with interior charging capabilities. They could be part of a battery charging system (some docking stations provide charging and other functions), and therefor fall under the requirements for battery chargers.
When power adapters for laptops are imported on their own, they fall under the regulatory requirements for external power supplies and would have to meet those requirements. If the power adapter is imported as part of a battery charging system, it would fall under the requirements for battery chargers.
IMPORTANT
If a product is imported using an HS code that has been flagged for NRCan, but the product is not a regulated product, no information is required to be submitted to NRCan. The SWI system has a “not-regulated†option for NRCan.