Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL) was founded as a not-for-profit organization which provides testing for products and UL "Recognition" or "Listing" for manufacturers.  In the United States, UL sets standards for safety for wire, cable, tubing and other products.
  

• UL "AWM" RECOGNIZED COMPONENTS  
  Many wire and cable products have UL AWM (Appliance Wiring Material) Recognized component styles.  A wire or cable product bearing a UL Style can be used for internal or external wiring as Recognized component of an original equipment product.  By using an appropriate UL Recognized component AWM Style product, the manufacturer can then obtain the appropriate UL Listing for their product.
• C-UL RECOGNIZED COMPONENT MARK  
  This Recognized component mark is applied to products for the Canadian market. Products with this type of mark have been evaluated to Canadian Standard requirements.



• UL "LISTED" WIRE AND CABLE PRODUCTS   
  UL listed wire and cable products are used in applications where the product is not an integral part of the manufactured system.  UL listed wire and cable products are intended for use within residential, commercial, or industrial buildings.  The National Electrical Code NEC^R requires use of Listed products t meet the requirements of various "Articles" within the code.
• C-UL LISTED MARK   
  This mark is applied to products for the Canadian market. The products with this type of mark have been evaluated to Canadian safety requirements, which may be somewhat different from U.S. safety requirements.
  

CANADIAN STANDARDS ASSOCIATION   
CSA is an abbreviation for Canadian Standards Association, a non-profit, independent organization which operates a certification service for electrical and electronic materials and equipment.  Alpha Wire Company offers the following types of Canadian Standards Association ( CSA) Certification on a wide variety of both wire and cable products.

• AWM - Appliance Wiring Material (AWM) is manufactured in accordance with CSA Standard C22.2 No. 210.  These products are intended for the internal wiring of electrical and electronic equipment and interconnecting wiring between equipment.

All of these wires and cables must pass one of the following flame tests in order to fully comply with CSA Certification requirements.

• FT1 - The Vertical Flame Test per CSA C22.2 No. 3 which specifies that finished cable shall not propagate  a flame or continue to burn more than one minute after five, fifteen-second application of the test flame.  There is an interval of fifteen seconds between flame applications.
• FT4 - The Vertical Flame Test per CSA C22.2 No. 3 for cables in cable trays.  This test is similar to, but more severe than, the UL standard 1581 Vertical Tray flame test.  The UL 1581 has its burner at 0^o from the horizontal while the FT4 has its burner mounted at 20^o from the horizontal with its burner parts facing up.  The allowable char length is only 1.5m (4.92 ft.) while UL 1581 allows damage up to a maximum of eight feet.
• CE Conformity to European Directive.     
  CE (Conformité Europèene) is a European Economic Community approval indicating that a product complies with a European Directive.