RoHS-Impacted Product Categories
The RoHS Directive applies to products in Categories 1 thru 11 (as per Schedule 1 of the WEEE Directive). RoHS also applies to all wire, cables, and associated connectors, both internal and external.
The following product categories are impacted under the RoHS Directive:
- Category 1: Large household appliances - refrigerators, washers, stoves, air conditioners
- Category 2: Small household appliances - vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, coffee makers, irons
- Category 3: Computing & communications equipment - computers, printers, copiers, phones, satellite TV, cell tower equipment, antennas
- Category 4: Consumer electronics - TVs, DVD players, stereos, video cameras
- Category 5: Lighting - lamps, lighting fixtures, light bulbs (some fluorescents are exempt)
- Category 6: Power tools - drills, saws, nail guns, sprayers, lathes, trimmers, blowers
- Category 7: Toys, leisure and sports equipment - videogames, treadmills, talking dolls, Fitbits
- Category 8: Medical devices and equipment - includes in-vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVDs) (also impacted by GMP regulations - FDA 21 CFR 820)
- Category 9: Monitoring and control equipment - thermostats, smoke detectors, fire alarms, including industrial applications
- Category 10: Automatic dispensers - vending machines, ATM machines
- Category 11: Catch-all - all other electronic and electrical equipment not covered under the other categories. Included are 2-wheeled electric vehicles; electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) such as e-cigarettes, cannabis vaporizers and vape pens; electrical cables that are less than 250V working voltage.
RoHS-Exempted Product Categories
The following product categories are currently exempted from RoHS compliance. Of note is that these exemptions are largely application or industry dependent:
- Military - equipment used for defense or national security
- Space - equipment sent into space such as satellites, telescopes, spacecraft
- Transportation - vehicles used for transport (except 2-wheeled vehicles such as electric motorcycles, electric dirt bikes, and electric bicycles)
- R&D - equipment used for professional research and development
- Non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) - agricultural, railway, waterway, construction machinery
- Large-scale fixed installations (LSFI) - electrical distribution, HVAC, robotic equipment and lines
- Large-scale stationary industrial tools (LSSIT) - CNC, milling, metal-forming, testing machines; cranes
- Fixed-location photovoltaic panel (PV) installations
- Active Implantable Medical Devices (AIMDs) - pacemakers, implanted defibrillators, insulin pumps
- Sub-equipment for out-of-scope equipment
- Batteries - just the cells, not external wiring
- Compact flourescent light bulbs/lamps
- Spare parts for equipment in the market before RoHS took effect - applies to all except for Category 11 products