A charger that has design defects, may lead to malfunction and in many cases even damage to the equipment. Meanwhile, when choosing these devices, we are still mainly guided by the price criterion, which is not a very reasonable approach. The auction sites operating in Poland have been flooded with dubious quality chargers and power adapters for years.
He decided to take a look at the case the office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), which together with the Trade Inspection and the National Tax Administration inspected nearly 72,000 products. During the inspection, customs officers checked whether the chargers and power supplies imported from outside the EU meet the requirements of the European market in terms of design and form.
The aim of the joint project of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, the Trade Inspection and the National Tax Administration was to prevent chargers and power adapters posing a risk to consumers from trading in Poland.
– explains the president of UOKiK, Tomasz Chróstny.
UOKiK has examined tens of thousands of chargers. It’s not good.
As part of the project, the Trade Inspection carried out a total of inspections 61 models of imported chargers and power adapters (nearly 72,000). Some of the products went to the laboratory – 13 models (10.6 thousand pieces). Based on the research, it turned out that 5 samples (3,000 pieces) – or 38.5 percent. – does not meet certain design requirements and poses a real risk to users.
The safety of electrical equipment was checked in the laboratory, i.e. insulation strength, heating up, contact voltage and whether live parts are easily accessible.
Moreover, formal doubts were raised with regard to almost every proven product. The inspectors issued a total of 60 negative opinions concerning a total of 70,554 pieces of equipment. Only one model of the charger was 100 percent. compliant with both technical and formal requirements.
A large part of the products are manufactured outside the European Economic Area, where producers do not always properly assess the safety and quality of manufactured goods. Therefore, entrepreneurs-importers should exercise greater diligence and check safety, as well as compliance with formal requirements, even before introducing electrical equipment to the market in the European Union.
– says Tomasz Chróstny.
A poor charger can damage your smartphone’s battery and even start a fire
If we want to extend the battery life of our smartphone, we should use original (or EU replacement standards) chargers. Devices from auction portals that cost a few zlotys may not provide adequate conditions for charging – for example, cause large voltage spikes
It is also of great importance for people that plug the phone into charging overnight. Every now and then it is loud about fires caused by charging smartphones with unauthorized chargers.
In addition, you must also remember that the smartphone, after fully charging the battery, cuts off the power supply itself, so you do not have to be afraid of overcharging the battery. However, it is recommended to limit the connection of the phone to electricity at night, because charging to one hundred percent is not the best for a cell in a smartphone.
Source: Gazeta
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