Intelligent devices that control things such as lighting, heating or the camera will increase housing security and comfort. But consumers can also save time and energy in their own home or in the living room with it. With its developed smart home test platform, the VDE Institute can evaluate, test and certify all smart home technologies currently used on the market. With this program, connected Smart Home products from different manufacturers are simultaneously tested for interoperability, information security, privacy and functional security. In addition to technical software tests, the products and systems can also be tested and certified for compliance with product-specific security and EMC requirements.

We are your partner for testing and certification of lighting products. Our range of services includes lamps and luminaires, from components to complete lighting systems. With our certificates and marks, manufacturers document the reliable quality of their products to their customers and thus successfully set themselves apart from the competition. We support you, for example, in documenting the sustainability of your products. To this end, we take a look at energy efficiency, the energy label and the holistic balancing of your products with a focus on the carbon footprint. Furthermore, we offer testing and certification services in many other areas of lighting, including for example HCL, smart lighting, performance, photometry, spectrometry, light flicker and stroboscopic effects.

The environmental simulation includes many different test methods for analyzing the interaction between a product and its environment. Generally speaking, environmental simulation tests are performed as part of the product safety inspection on components, devices and machines. The appropriate standards decide the characteristics that the product must have. The tests can also be conducted along with development. Special tests for determining certain product characteristics are also possible. In our test laboratory, we can perform any tests that are required to obtain the IP or IK protection class. Water exposure can range from a light rain shower to complete submersion. In a pressure chamber at the VDE Institute, a submersion depth of up to 50 meters can be simulated with the resulting increased pressure of up to 5 bar. Dust ingress is tested in a special dust chamber. Naturally, touch protection is also part of the test suite.

In addition to electrical safety, the energy efficiency of devices and systems in building and supply technologies plays a crucial role. Alternative heating and climate systems should help reduce the amount of CO2, among other things. By doing so, they not only make a crucial contribution to the climate and environmental protection, but also offer the consumer attractive benefits in heat cost savings. The VDE Institute guides manufacturers and distribution companies with their testing and certification services as early as during the development process – from the heating system to the roller shutter drive. Beyond legal safety requirements and testing of the product’s characteristics, we evaluate the products within the framework of European regulations on type approval, optimized energy efficiency and functionality. Even chemical analyses and effects due to noise emission can be included in the evaluations.

The VDE Institute is one of the few conformity assessment bodies that is recognized by the BMWi for the “Measuring devices and additional equipment in the electromobility application field” measuring device category. We support manufacturers in placing charging stations and wallboxes on the market in order to use them in the billing systems of charge point operators (CPOs) or downstream electromobility providers (EMPs) in compliance with calibration law. As a technical service appointed by the Federal Motor Vehicle Transport Authority (KBA), the VDE Institute on the one hand checks if electrical vehicles and also light electrical vehicles (LEV) and PEDELECs are safe, particularly with regard to their electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). The entire electronics and components of conventional vehicles are also tested by the VDE Institute.