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To understand how the Atlas-Soundolier FR
Series fits in the marketplace, it will help to
review the various standards, regulatory and
testing organizations. In general, while all of
these organizations play a part, the final
decision to accept or reject a ceiling design
or loudspeaker choice always rests with
local authorities.
There are three basic types of authorities
who affect the process of loudspeaker
system approval in public spaces.
Standards
bodies,
like the NFPA, write the standards
that affect building construction and
component usage (loudspeakers, lighting
fixtures, etc.).
Regulatory authorities,
like
the local building inspector, inspect and
approve buildings and components.
Testing
labs,
like Underwriters Laboratories, test the
performance of materials and systems.
Unfortunately, the functions and purposes of
these standards and regulatory bodies
overlap and can be confusing. For example,
local regulatory authorities commonly write
at least some of their own local standards.
While these standards are usually based on
recognized national and international
standards, they vary from locality to locality.
Standards, Regulatory and
Testing Organizations
Finally, it is seldom clear which authority
has jurisdiction in a given installation in a
given locality. Underwriters Laboratories
uses the term “Authority Having Jurisdiction”
or “AHJ” to refer to this local authority in a
general way.
Underwriters Laboratories (UL)
Standards and Testing
Underwriters Laboratories, commonly know
by the initials “UL” is an independent, (non-
governmental) non-profit product safety
testing and certification organization head-
quartered in Northbrook, Illinois in the USA.
UL tests and certifies products according to
their many standards. There are three main
categories of UL service, “UL Listing”, “UL
Recognition” and “UL Classification”.
1) UL Listing
Listing, UL’s most widely known
service, means that UL has tested and
evaluated representative samples of a
product and determined that they met
UL’s requirements. These requirements
are based primarily on UL’s published
Standards for Safety.
Part 3
UL Status & Fire Resistance Standards,
Regulatory & Testing Organizations
