When sourcing power supplies for medical devices, industrial controllers or any electrical product headed to global markets, two environmental directives will shape your component selection: RoHS and WEEE. For OEMs and product managers, these standards represent more than regulatory hurdles. They are essential requirements for market access, customer procurement compliance and responsible manufacturing.
This guide breaks down what RoHS and WEEE mean for power electronics, how they impact your sourcing decisions and how Conexa Tech Solutions supports your compliance needs through our end-to-end engineering and sourcing services.
What Are RoHS and WEEE?
RoHS and WEEE are European Union directives governing the environmental impact of electrical equipment. Though distinct, they work together throughout a product’s lifecycle.
RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) limits ten specific hazardous materials in electrical products. Enacted in 2003 and updated via Directive 2011/65/EU, RoHS drove the electronics industry’s transition to lead-free solder and safer component materials.
WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) addresses end-of-life product management. Under Directive 2012/19/EU, manufacturers must finance collection and recycling systems, design for recyclability, and meet recovery targets.
The connection is straightforward: RoHS controls what goes into products during manufacturing, while WEEE manages what happens when products are discarded. By eliminating hazardous substances upfront, RoHS makes WEEE recycling safer and more effective.
The Ten RoHS Restricted Substances
RoHS restricts these ten substances with specific concentration limits:
Heavy Metals:
- Lead (Pb) – max 0.1%
- Mercury (Hg) – max 0.1%
- Cadmium (Cd) – max 0.01%
- Hexavalent chromium (Cr VI) – max 0.1%
Flame Retardants:
- Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) – max 0.1%
- Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) – max 0.1%
Plasticisers (Phthalates):
- DEHP, BBP, DBP, DIBP – each max 0.1%
These limits apply to homogeneous materials within components. For power supply manufacturers, this means every part, from solder to enclosures, must meet these thresholds.
How RoHS Impacts Power Supply Design and Manufacturing
Meeting RoHS requirements fundamentally changed power electronics manufacturing. Here is how the directive impacts power supply design:
Lead-Free Soldering
The transition from lead-based to lead-free solder (typically tin-silver-copper or SAC alloys) required significant process changes. Lead-free solder melts at higher temperatures (around 260°C versus 220°C for leaded), demanding equipment upgrades, tighter process controls and enhanced quality inspection to ensure reliable solder joints.
Component Selection
Every component in a RoHS-compliant power supply must meet the restrictions. This includes capacitors with lead-free terminations, transformers with compliant wire insulation, connectors with alternative plating materials and PCBs with lead-free surface finishes like ENIG (Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold) or OSP (Organic Solderability Preservative).
PCB Design Considerations
RoHS compliance extends to the PCB itself. The board substrate, soldermask and any coatings must be free from restricted substances. This influences material selection and can affect thermal performance, requiring design adjustments to manage heat dissipation effectively.
Documentation and Traceability
Compliance requires comprehensive documentation. Suppliers must provide material declarations, test reports from accredited laboratories confirming substance levels and full bills of materials with compliance status for every component. This documentation trail is essential for regulatory submissions and customer audits.
WEEE Requirements for Power Supply Manufacturers
WEEE places specific obligations on anyone placing electrical equipment on the EU market:
Registration: Manufacturers must register with national authorities in each EU member state where they sell products. This includes providing company details and estimated product quantities.
Financing Take-Back Systems: Most companies join collective compliance schemes that handle collection and recycling logistics. These schemes pool resources across manufacturers to meet national recovery targets.
Product Marking: All applicable products must display the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol, indicating proper disposal requirements.
Design for Recyclability: WEEE encourages design choices that facilitate end-of-life processing: minimising mixed materials, enabling component separation, avoiding permanent adhesives where possible and marking plastic types for sorting.
Reporting: Annual reporting details the weight of equipment placed on the market and collected for recycling, demonstrating compliance with collection targets.
Why RoHS and WEEE Compliance Matters for OEMs
Beyond legal requirements, these directives impact your business in practical ways:
Market Access
RoHS and WEEE compliance is mandatory for selling in the EU. Non-compliance results in products being blocked at customs, market withdrawal, financial penalties and reputational damage. Many countries beyond the EU have adopted similar regulations, including China RoHS, UK RoHS post-Brexit and various regional standards globally.
Customer Requirements
Even if your products do not sell directly into regulated markets, your customers likely require RoHS compliance. Major OEMs mandate RoHS-compliant components throughout their supply chains. Procurement policies often require suppliers to provide material declarations and certificates of compliance before purchase orders are issued.
Competitive Advantage
Demonstrating environmental compliance differentiates your products. It enables participation in government tenders and corporate procurement programs that mandate environmental standards, supports customer sustainability reporting requirements, and aligns with stakeholder expectations for responsible manufacturing.
Global RoHS Regulations
While RoHS originated in the EU, many regions have adopted similar legislation:
- China RoHS (GB 26572-2025) – recently updated with new implementation guidance
- UK RoHS – maintains alignment with EU RoHS post-Brexit
- South Korea RoHS – Act for Resource Circulation of EEE
- India RoHS – E-Waste Management Rules
- California RoHS – covers display devices
This global adoption means one RoHS-compliant design can serve multiple markets, reducing complexity and cost.
How Conexa Tech Solutions Supports Your Compliance Needs
At Conexa Tech Solutions, environmental compliance is built into our sourcing and engineering services. As your power electronics partner, we help OEMs navigate RoHS and WEEE requirements through:
Fully Compliant Product Portfolio
All Conexa Tech power supplies meet or exceed RoHS requirements. Our extensive range includes AC/DC power supplies from 5W to 6000W, DC/DC converters for board mount and enclosed applications, medical-grade power supplies with IEC 60601-1 certification, IP67 waterproof power supplies using compliant sealing materials, ruggedised power conversion for harsh environments, PD chargers and GaN-based adapters with the latest efficiency standards.
Every product comes with complete RoHS documentation, including material declarations, test reports from accredited laboratories and certificates of compliance. We maintain full traceability from component suppliers through manufacturing to finished products.
WEEE Compliance Support
Conexa Tech is fully compliant with WEEE requirements. We maintain active registrations in applicable markets, participate in certified collective compliance schemes for proper product recycling and ensure all products carry the required WEEE marking where applicable.
When sourcing power solutions through Conexa, you benefit from our existing WEEE infrastructure and documentation, simplifying your own compliance obligations.
Custom Engineering with Compliance Built In
For applications requiring custom power solutions, our engineering team designs compliance from the start. We work with you to define requirements, select RoHS-compliant components from qualified suppliers, design PCBs that are fully compliant, implement lead-free assembly processes and deliver complete compliance documentation packages.
Our ISO 9001:2015 quality management system ensures consistent compliance across custom designs and standard products alike.
Supply Chain Assurance
As your sourcing partner, we manage the complexity of compliance verification. We maintain rigorous supplier qualification processes, require and verify RoHS declarations from all component suppliers, conduct regular audits of supplier compliance capabilities and provide full material traceability for regulatory requirements.
This supply chain diligence means you can specify Conexa power supplies with confidence that compliance documentation will support your regulatory submissions.
Technical Consultation
Our team guides on selecting the right power solution for your application while meeting compliance requirements, understanding exemptions that may apply to medical or industrial equipment, managing the transition when specifications change, or exemptions expire and integrating environmental compliance with safety standards like IEC 60601-1 for medical applications.
Conexa Tech’s Proactive Compliance Management
At Conexa Tech Solutions, we stay ahead of evolving environmental regulations so you don’t have to. We proactively manage compliance across our entire product line, ensuring you always have access to certified, compliant power solutions. Our approach includes active obsolescence management with migration paths for long-lifecycle products, maintaining compliance documentation ready for immediate delivery, designing for the most stringent global standards to ensure worldwide market access and providing advance notification of any regulatory changes affecting your specifications.
Partner with Conexa Tech Solutions for Compliant Power Electronics
Navigating RoHS and WEEE compliance does not have to be complex. At Conexa Tech Solutions, we combine decades of power electronics expertise with rigorous environmental compliance to deliver solutions that meet your technical and regulatory requirements.
Whether you need standard power modules with complete compliance documentation, custom-designed power supplies for specialised applications, technical guidance on exemptions and regulatory requirements, or supply chain assurance with full material traceability, our team is ready to support your project.
Contact Conexa Tech Solutions today to discuss your power supply requirements. Let us handle the compliance complexity while you focus on bringing innovative products to market.
