Safety ObjectivesEU

EU LVD 2014/35/EU Essential Safety Requirements (Annex I)

Turn Annex I into a testable hazard and evidence map.

Focus: hazards -> design controls -> verification tests -> technical file evidence.

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Sorena AI

Published

Feb 21, 2026

Updated

Feb 21, 2026

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Publication metadata

Sorena AI

Published Feb 21, 2026

Updated Feb 21, 2026

Overview

Annex I is the heart of LVD compliance. The 2018 LVD Guide describes the directive as a total harmonised safety regime, meaning it covers all safety aspects of in scope electrical equipment, not only pure electrical hazards. That is why your hazard map must address electric shock, temperature, arcs, radiation, fire, mechanical injury, and risks created by external influences.

Section 1

1) Build the Annex I hazard map first

Annex I is easier to apply when you turn it into a mapping table. Start from the product, its use conditions, and foreseeable misuse, then connect each relevant safety objective to the design controls and evidence that support it.

Operational output: one mapping table per product family with objective, hazard, control, verification method, and evidence location.

Capture the marked essential characteristics needed for safe use and safe application.
Document safe assembly and connection assumptions for the product and any accessories.
Tie each hazard to a standard clause, calculation, inspection, or test report.

Section 2

2) Protection against hazards arising from the electrical equipment

Annex I point 2 focuses on hazards that arise from the equipment itself. That includes direct and indirect contact risks, dangerous temperatures, arcs, radiation, and non electrical dangers caused by the equipment.

These are the issues most likely to show up in product testing and incident investigation.

Show how the design prevents direct and indirect contact injuries.
Show how temperatures, arcs, or radiation are kept below dangerous levels.
Show how non electrical dangers such as fire, sharp edges, or moving part injuries are controlled where revealed by experience.
Show that insulation remains suitable under foreseeable conditions.

Section 3

3) External influences matter as much as internal design

Annex I point 3 requires protection against hazards caused by external influences on the electrical equipment. This is where many technical files become too abstract.

Translate the expected installation, environmental, and overload conditions into explicit assumptions and tests.

Define expected mechanical stress, ambient conditions, ventilation, humidity, and ingress assumptions.
Document overload, surge, abnormal operation, and foreseeable misuse scenarios where relevant.
Align instructions and warnings with the external influence assumptions used in the assessment.

Section 4

4) Standards are useful only if they cover the right hazards

Harmonised standards can provide presumption of conformity only for the Annex I objectives they actually cover and only to the extent they are applied.

That means the hazard map should lead the standards choice, not the other way around.

List which Annex I objectives each harmonised standard is used for.
If a standard is used only in part, state what gaps remain and how you close them.
If you use no harmonised standard for a hazard, document the alternative technical solution and supporting evidence.

Section 5

5) Instructions and markings are part of the safety solution

Annex I starts with safe use conditions and marked essential characteristics. That means labels, instructions, warnings, and installation information are compliance controls, not marketing extras.

Poor instructions often convert a technically sound design into a non compliant market product.

Mark the essential characteristics needed for safe use on the product or accompanying documents where appropriate.
Write warnings and limitations directly from the hazard analysis and residual risk decisions.
Ensure translated instructions remain clear, understandable, and intelligible in each target market.

Section 6

6) What good evidence looks like

Market surveillance questions are evidence questions. You need to show the reasoning, the control, the test method, and the result.

If a reviewer cannot trace that chain quickly, the file is not ready.

Hazard log tied to standards clauses, design decisions, and test IDs.
Test reports with the exact configuration, limits, and acceptance criteria used.
Drawings, schematics, and component data that explain why the design is safe.
Instructions and labels that reflect the same assumptions used in the risk analysis.

Recommended next step

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