Electrical Safety Standards, Clearly Explained

This site explains product-level electrical and electronic safety standards in plain language. We focus on what major standards are designed to address, where they apply, and how they differ — without certification guidance, compliance steps, or regulatory advice.

What this site covers

Safety standards are often misunderstood because they're discussed only in the context of testing or certification. This site focuses on understanding standards themselves, not how to "pass" them.

We explain:

  • The purpose and intent of individual safety standards
  • What types of products or materials a standard applies to
  • Conceptual requirement categories and classifications
  • How related standards differ or overlap at a high level

We do not provide:

  • Certification or compliance instructions
  • Testing methods or pass/fail criteria
  • Product design advice or material selection
  • Legal, regulatory, or jurisdiction-specific guidance

This distinction matters. Everything here is descriptive, not instructional.

Standards explained on this site

Rather than listing every available standard, this site focuses on a small number of widely referenced product-level safety standards and explains each within its proper context.

IEC 62368-1

Hazard-based safety standard

Explains how the standard approaches safety through energy sources and safeguards, what kinds of equipment it covers, and how it differs conceptually from earlier generation standards.

View IEC 62368-1 explanation

UL 94

Flammability classification standard

Explains how UL 94 classifies material flammability, what the ratings indicate at a high level, and what UL 94 does — and does not — certify.

View UL 94 explanation

UL 62368-1

U.S. national adoption

Explains how UL 62368-1 relates to the IEC version, why national adoptions exist, and how alignment and localization are handled conceptually.

View UL 62368-1 explanation

How to navigate the explanations

Purpose of this site

Our Mission

This site exists to explain electrical and electronic safety standards clearly and accurately. It does not sell standards, offer certification services, or provide compliance guidance.

All content is informational and descriptive, based on publicly available descriptions of standards and their stated scope and intent.