A skylight cleaning robot sold in the EU in 2026 needs CE marking under the Machinery Regulation, and an IP rating of at least IP54 for indoor atrium use or IP65 for outdoor roofs. Ask for the EC Declaration of Conformity and the IP test report together, not separately.
Safety paperwork is where cheap imports fall apart. A robot that cleans well but ships with a vague conformity sheet is a liability on any commercial site, and insurers are increasingly asking for the file.
What does CE marking really require?
For a cleaning robot the core standard is EN ISO 12100 for risk assessment, with EN 60204-1 covering the electrical side and EN ISO 13849-1 for the control safety functions. A tethered machine that operates at height should also reference EN 795 for the anchor, though that applies to the anchor hardware as much as the robot.
What you want in hand: an EC Declaration of Conformity naming the model, a risk assessment summary, and a test report with dates. A one-page marketing sheet with a CE logo printed on it proves nothing.
Which IP rating do you need in 2026?
IP54 resists dust and splashes, which suits indoor atrium and mall roofs. IP65 resists water jets and handles rain and outdoor exposure. Anything cleaning with water on an open roof should be IP65, full stop.
| Environment | Minimum IP | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Indoor atrium, dry | IP54 | Dust and splash only |
| Indoor atrium, wet | IP65 | Water jet from onboard spray |
| Outdoor roof | IP65 | Rain and wash-down |
| Coastal or industrial | IP66+ | Salt spray, fine dust |
What are the real failure risks?
The dangerous moments are not the glass itself but the transitions: launch, edge return, and tether snag. A cup that holds at 2500 Pa on the deck can lose seal the second the robot hangs over the drip edge. That is why edge-protection sensors matter more than top speed.
Tether wear is the quiet one. A braided line rubbing a parapet corner for 200 cycles will fray, and no datasheet warns you. Inspect the full tether length monthly, not just the visible run.
Fall-arrest is separate from suction. Suction fails by design risk; fall-arrest is the backup that catches the machine if it does. Any 25 m-plus deployment should route the tether through a certified anchor point rated to at least twice the robot weight.
What training does the law expect?
For any machine at height, the operator should be trained on the specific model, the anchor system, and emergency recovery. Insurers increasingly want a training record with names and dates. Keep it simple and keep it signed; an unsigned PDF is worth little after an incident.
Refresher training matters when staff turn over, which in facilities work is often. Budget a short refresher each time a new operator takes the console, even if it is only a half day.
What happens if the robot falls?
It should not, if the fall-arrest line is anchored and inspected. The backup system is there for the failure nobody predicts: a cup tear at the worst moment, a tether that catches on a fitting. The anchor point, not the robot, is what keeps the machine out of the atrium.
Test the anchor load before the first cycle and once a quarter after. A rated anchor that has never been loaded is a claim waiting for an incident.
How do you keep a compliance file current?
Review it once a year. Certification marks get revised, standards get updated, and the anchor inspection record needs fresh entries. A file that was complete at handover and untouched for two years looks thin when an auditor opens it.
Keep the file digital and simple: one folder with the declaration, the IP report, the risk assessment, the maintenance schedule, and the latest inspection dates. That single folder answers almost every safety question a client or insurer will ask.
Which standards keep changing in 2026?
Machine-safety standards get refreshed on multi-year cycles, and the 2026 revisions lean harder on risk assessment and on documented control functions. That means a machine certified two years ago may still be fine but the file behind it will need updating at the next review.
For buyers, the practical point is simple: keep the paperwork live and do not treat certification as a one-time event. A current file costs almost nothing to maintain and prevents a nasty surprise at the next audit or insurance renewal.
What documents should a buyer demand?
Ask for four things: EC Declaration of Conformity, IP test report, risk assessment, and a maintenance schedule with torque and wear limits. If a supplier cannot produce all four in 2026, treat the price as fiction.
Contact Skylight Cleaning Robot for the compliance file on the Lingkong K3, Lingyun Y3 or Lingfeng S1 before you put one on a live roof.
Key Takeaways
- CE under the Machinery Regulation needs a real Declaration of Conformity.
- IP54 for dry indoor atria, IP65 for any wet or outdoor roof.
- Edge transitions and tether wear cause more incidents than flat glass.
- Fall-arrest is a separate system from suction and must be anchored.
- Demand four documents: conformity, IP report, risk assessment, maintenance schedule.
What about electrical safety on a wet roof?
Water and mains power is the combination that gets scrutinised. Any tethered machine should run through an RCD, with the control box rated to the IP level of the environment and positioned off the wet zone. Ask where the control box sits in the intended layout, not just what rating it carries.
Battery units sidestep most of this, which is one reason they are popular for indoor atria. The trade-off is runtime, and buyers who need both runtime and safety end up with a hybrid: mains charging below, battery operation on glass.