SASO issued two new energy efficiency standards for lighting products in the second half of 2018: SASO 2902/2018 and SASO 2870/2018. Manufacturer/exporter of lighting products within the regulatory framework shall comply with the standards and register with SASO to obtain an energy efficiency (EE) certificate and attach the corresponding energy efficiency (EE) label to your officially registered products.

★ SASO 2870/2018 is an updated version of the original mandatory standard SASO 2870/2015, which mainly updates the new energy efficiency label styles of lighting products.

★ SASO 2902/2018 is the new energy efficiency standard for lighting products, covering some lighting products that are not included in SASO 2870, such as incandescent lamps with more than 12000 lumens, halogen lamps, LED and integrated CFL, directional and non-directional integrated lamps, control devices, etc., all of which are newly added to Saudi energy efficiency control product list. The SASO 2902/2018 standard has been officially mandatory since December 7, 2018.

SASO access requirements are updated as follows:

From January 1, 2019, lighting products subject to new energy efficiency control under SASO 2902/2018 standard shall have Saudi energy efficiency Certificate before shipment, so as to obtain customs clearance Certificate of Conformity. Saudi customs will give a one-month grace period for CoC certificates issued before 1 January 2019. From February 1, 2019, products without Saudi energy efficiency certificate and energy efficiency label will not be allowed to enter the customs after arriving at the port.

SASO 2870/2018 enters the third phase of implementation of the maximum energy consumption index EEI requirements from 1 January 2019.

From April 1, 2019, the regulated lighting products under SASO 2870/2018 and SASO 2902/2018 will be officially incorporated into the compulsory implementation scope of SASO IECEE Recognition Certificate. Lighting products applying for SASO IECEE RC certificate not only need to have CB report and CB certificate, but also need to have valid Saudi energy efficiency certificate issued by SASO.

From October 1, 2019, Saudi regulators will formally implement market spot check and supervision on energy efficiency regulated lighting products.

In addition, SABER, the online certification system developed by SASO to support Saudi Arabia's new SALEEM compliance assessment program, was officially launched on Jan 1, 2019. It is up to the importer to access the system, register controlled products, and select certification bodies with SALEEM program authorization.

The specific requirements are as follows:

1. The specific product range of SASO 2870/2018 is as follows:

Directional and non-directional light sources with luminous flux above 60lm and below 12000lm for general illumination. SASO 2870:2018 covers energy efficiency, functionality, labeling, hazardous chemicals and energy efficiency labeling requirements for all lighting products in its range.

2. Energy efficiency requirements for SASO 2870/2018 covered products:

The standard covers indirect and direct general light sources with luminous fluxes above 60 lumens and below 12,000 lumens, including the following technical light sources:

(1)  Incandescent lamps

(2)  Halogen lamps

(3)  Compact fluorescent lamps with integrated ballast

(4)  Light-emitting diode (LED) lamps (Incandescent retrofit types)

(5)  Light-emitting diode (LED) lamps (Halogen retrofit types)

3. The product scope of SASO 2902/2018 is as follows:

The luminous flux in the SASO 2870/2018 class is greater than or equal to 12000lm for a light source and greater than 60lm for a light source outside the range. It also includes directional and non-directional luminaire and drive control devices.

4. Marking requirements:

The following information shall be printed on the bulb using indelible ink:

(1) Brand name

(2) Nominal power

(3) Input voltage

(4) Country of origin

The information shall be in English and/or Arabic.

5. Hazardous substances limit:

Maximum content limit of harmful substances in luminaire within the scope of this standard:

6. Energy efficiency label:

The energy efficiency label shall be printed directly on the independent packaging surface of the product and shall be fixed and unremovable, as shown in the figure below.

7. Requirements for product registration and Family series documents to be submitted:

Product registration is mandatory and information about the registration requirements will be provided at the Saudi organization for standards, metrology and quality (SASO) information centre, with reference to separate SASO registration forms and requirements.

Once the product is successfully registered, the tag will be automatically published on the SASO web site.

The minimum performance requirements for the following items represent all Family products:

(1) Efficacy (Lumen/Watt)

(2) Lumen Maintenance

(3) Lifetime

(4) Color Rendering Index (Ra)

(5) Luminous Flux (lumen)

(6) Same country of origin

(7) All declared energy efficiency levels (ratings) of the product must be the same.

(8) The performance and reliability test of the luminaire can be provided by the factory according to the test standard.

(9) Failure of any model in the series will result in the cancellation of the whole series.

See the following table for specific documents:

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