What does the 3rd party certified mean for a product? Often you will see UL or cUL Listed, ETL Listed, CSA approved, and many others.  These are all marks  of organizations that stand for a higher level of quality.  There are many marks, and depending on the origins, while illegal, can still be mis-represented.  Any manufacturer's mark for these folks can be researched further through the marking company's site typically.  The important fact is that the product bearing the mark has been vetted, whether that specific unit or that product design and manufacturing process.  In order to carry a mark on a part, the manufacturer's process is vetted by the organization, along with the product or part as well.  There are key points of data related to the products, whether a category, a rating such as temperature or similar.  As you may expect, this is typically an expensive process, so prices for parts will scale with the mark. We carry quite a few parts that have a UL listing or similar, but for the bulk, many will not.  This does not mean the product is inferior, but simply means that they haven't gone through the additional vetting.  Many cases, our products haven't changed in 10 years for good reason.  We have a good record of performance and reliability being the key.

Unlike an individual part, a control panel is typically listed using a standard developed by UL in the 90s called 508a.  This certification involves ongoing training on strict adherence to procedures and guidelines that are set forth by UL. We receive ongoing updates to standards, as well as have UL representatives making surprise inspections.  It is important to note that while you will see control panels on the market advertised as UL listed or CSA listed, it is important to look further.  For example, we are a shop listed by UL and, adhering to UL guidelines, and are inspected by UL, therefore we mark our panels and advertise as UL/cUL listed.  There are many 3rd party outfits that offer 508a certification but they are in fact not UL, they may be following the guidelines but adherence is not enforced by UL.  We strive to provide high quality, high end, hardware with strict adherence to UL under their supervision.

Absolutely not.  Unless you are a UL listed shop your self, it is nearly impossible to give UL approval to any do it yourself project.  We have had customers request this in the past, and as such we would like to address it.  As we mention above, our shop follows strict guidelines and are inspected regularly to adhere to UL procedures. It is also, not possible, under our UL procedures, to allow even your electrician to wire the panel.  Many companies do offer field certification which can serve this need, but it is an additional cost to you.