The end of EN 60950-1 will require power supply manufacturers to take action and catch up. Although EN 62368-1 is cited in the Official Gazette of the Union as the successor of EN 60950-1, the applicable standard of the EN 61010 series has significant advantages in the safety assessment of power supplies in the industrial sector. .
Regulations in the European Union
The Official Journal of the European Union will no longer allow any compliance with Directive 2014/35/EU (low voltage directive) based on EN 60950-1 after December 20, 2020 and has indicated EN 62368-1 as a replacement standard. This means that in the countries of the European Union and in other countries that follow the CE system, the EU Declarations of Conformity according to EN 60950-1 will no longer be valid from this date. The low voltage directive regulates the nominal voltage with which electrical equipment works located between 75 and 1500Vdc or 50 and 1000Vca. Within this relationship we find power supplies and equipment that are supplied directly through the "power outlet".
Why is there a need for a new standard?
Rapid change in products, especially in the consumer sector, has effects on market regulations and approvals. The different norms and standards for household equipment, toys, measurement equipment, laboratory equipment, information technology, communication between equipment, medical devices, etc... are no longer valid since the introduction of smartphones. It is in the common interest to consolidate the requirements as much as possible in order to reduce the diversity of rules and standards. Unfortunately, these processes are very time consuming and often come with a number of 'side effects'. The development of the new EN 62368-1 is undoubtedly a pioneering and innovative step in this direction. The standard combines the fields of information technology equipment (EN 60950-1) and audio/video equipment (EN 60065) and also presents a new risk-based approach to security. However, this standard is not intended for industrial applications.
Acceptance of the official successor to EN 62368-1 outside the European Union
For EN 62368-1, as with EN 60950-1, an internationally harmonized IEC version is available, which is associated with an IECEECB-Scheme for transnational recognition of test reports. IEC 62368-1 is now fully accepted in the US and Canada, as well as in Europe. Other countries, especially Asia, are still in the evaluation stage and have not yet incorporated IEC 62368-1 into national standards (they stick to the old IEC 60950-1). In the coming years, companies that want to market their products globally will not be able to avoid continuing to provide valid certificates and test reports in accordance with IEC 60950-1.
EN 61010 – An alternative for power supplies in the industrial environment
In the industrial environment, the IEC or EN 60950-1 have also been applied to power supplies in the absence of alternatives, even though this standard does not really take into account the requirements and installation conditions of industrial environments. Power supplies for the industrial sector are usually DIN rail mounted devices that are installed inside cabinets or machinery. Furthermore, higher requirements are required for qualified personnel installing and operating these devices than in traditional EN 62368-1 applications. For this reason, in 2011 the process of searching for alternatives to IEC 60950-1 had begun. The IEC 61010-1 standard was found to be a suitable replacement for IEC 60950-1 for the safety of power supplies. IEC 61010-1 was supplemented by part -2- 201. IEC 61010-1 (general safety requirements for electrical equipment for measurement, control and laboratory use) in connection with IEC 61010-2-201 (particular requirements for the equipment control) form a new basis for evaluating power supplies for the industrial sector in terms of safety. The IEC 61010-1 and IEC 61010-2-201 standards have now been harmonized with EN standards as well as ANSI/UL standards. These EN standards are listed in the Official Journal of the European Union and can be used as the basis for the EU Declaration of Conformity. In addition, EN 61010-2-201 also covers devices such as DC-UPS and other types of complementary devices for power supplies that are explicitly excluded from the scope of the new EN 62368-1.
The more significant a standard becomes, the more often it is cited in other standards.
Several successes have been achieved with IEC 61010-2-201 in recent years. In the fourth edition of IEC 61131-2 of August 2017 (standard for programmable controllers), the product safety requirements were removed and instead pointed to IEC 61010-2-201 facilitating the approval of programmable controllers as they exist. a safety approval for the power supply according to IEC 61010-2-201 now available. Another reference can be found in the UL information guide for Industrial Control Equipment as described in the next chapter. Other product standards for industrial equipment will also refer to IEC 61010-1 and IEC 61010-2-201 for safety evaluation in future editions.
Market launch in the United States and Canada
The efforts in the US to adopt international standards instead of national ones is a very positive move and has recently been achieved for industrial control equipment. The information listed in the UL guide for the “NMTR” category for industrial control equipment has changed as of February 2016. The basic standards used to investigate sources for use as control equipment are ANSI/UL 61010-1 along with ANSI /UL 61010-2-201 and is no longer the old UL 508 meaning that this standard will no longer cover all industrial application areas in the United States. Assuming that the national modifications of ANSI/UL 61010-1 are taken into account in an approval process according to IEC 61010-1 and IEC 61010-2-201 it will be possible to apply for a UL Mark using CBScheme test reports. ANSI/UL 61010-2-201 was adopted even without such national variations from the IEC version. Therefore, the ANSI/UL 61010-1 and ANSI/UL 61010-2-201 standards replace the now somewhat unpopular and outdated UL 508 for Industrial Power Supplies. As American and Canadian standards in the field of industrial applications have always been harmonized, it is not surprising that CAN/CSA-C22.2 No. 61010-1 and CAN/CSA-C22.2 No. 61010-2 -201 replace the old CAN/CSA-C22.2 No. 107 and Canadian No. 142.
Required adaptations for devices according to EN 61010 compared to EN 60950-1
In cases where the devices were previously evaluated according to the latest edition of EN 60950-1 and its amendments, there are usually no significant problems with the safety evaluation according to EN 61010-2-201. Only the primary installation manuals and product brands with the required warning notices should be adapted and supplemented.
Summary
We should note that the blanket statement that EN 62368-1 is the successor to EN 60950-1 is misleading and suggests that the successor standard simply applies. However, by understanding everything as a whole and therefore choosing the right standard it is possible to achieve regulatory compliance faster and cheaper. For industrial type power supplies the best scenario currently is compliance with EN/IEC/UL 61010 together with IEC 60950-1. Another important point is that the application of IEC 60950-1 is still required as it is still the main measure for many regions outside of Europe and North America.
