IEC 60947-1:2007

IEC 60947-1 ®
Edition 5.1 2011-03
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
colour
inside
Low-voltage switchgear and controlgear –
Part 1: General rules
Appareillage à basse tension –
Partie 1: Règles générales
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IEC 60947-1 ®
Edition 5.1 2011-03
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
colour
inside
Low-voltage switchgear and controlgear –
Part 1: General rules
Appareillage à basse tension –
Partie 1: Règles générales
INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
COMMISSION
ELECTROTECHNIQUE
PRICE CODE
INTERNATIONALE
CODE PRIX CU
ICS 29.130.20 ISBN 978-2-88912-340-7

– 2 – 60947-1 © IEC:2007+A1:2010

CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 7

General . 9
1.1 Scope and object. 9

1.2 Normative references . 10

2 Definitions . 14

2.1 General terms . 18

2.2 Switching devices . 21
2.3 Parts of switching devices . 24
2.4 Operation of switching devices . 29
2.5 Characteristic quantities . 33
2.6 Tests . 42
2.7 Ports . 42
3 Classification . 43
4 Characteristics . 44
4.1 General . 45
4.2 Type of equipment . 45
4.3 Rated and limiting values for the main circuit . 45
4.4 Utilization category . 51
4.5 Control circuits . 51
4.6 Auxiliary circuits . 52
4.7 Relays and releases . 53
4.8 Co-ordination with short-circuit protective devices (SCPD) . 53
4.9 Switching overvoltages . 53
5 Product information . 53
5.1 Nature of information . 53
5.2 Marking . 54
5.3 Instructions for installation, operation and maintenance . 55
6 Normal service, mounting and transport conditions . 56
6.1 Normal service conditions . 56
6.2 Conditions during transport and storage . 58
6.3 Mounting . 58

7 Constructional and performance requirements . 58
7.1 Constructioynal requirements . 58
7.2 Performance requirements . 66
7.3 Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) . 74
8 Tests . 75
8.1 Kinds of test . 75
8.2 Compliance with constructional requirements . 77
8.3 Performance . 83
8.4 Tests for EMC . 104

60947-1 © IEC:2007+A1:2010 − 3 −

Annex A (informative) Examples of utilization categories for low-voltage switchgear

and controlgear . 145

Annex B (informative) Suitability of the equipment when conditions for operation in

service differ from the normal conditions . 148

Annex C (normative) Degrees of protection of enclosed equipment . 149

Annex D (informative) Examples of terminals clamping units and relationship

between clamping unit and connecting device . 156

Annex E (informative) Description of a method for adjusting the load circuit . 171

Annex F (informative) Determination of short-circuit power-factor or time-constant . 173

Annex G (informative) Measurement of creepage distances and clearances . 175
Annex H (informative) Correlation between the nominal voltage of the supply system
and the rated impulse withstand voltage of equipment . 181
Annex J (informative) Items subject to agreement between manufacturer and user . 183
Annex K Vacant . 184
Annex L (normative) Terminal marking and distinctive number . 185
Annex M (normative) Flammability test . 196
Annex N (normative) Requirements and tests for equipment with protective separation . 203
Annex O (informative) Environmental aspects . 208
Annex P (informative) Terminal lugs for low voltage switchgear and controlgear
connected to copper conductors . 217
Annex Q (normative) Special tests – Damp heat, salt mist, vibration and shock . 218
Annex R (informative) Application of the metal foil for dielectric testing on accessible
parts during operation or adjustment . 224
Annex S (normative) Digital inputs and outputs . 230
Annex T (normative) Extended functions within electronic overload relays . 244
Annex U (informative) Examples of control circuit configurations . 249

Bibliography . 252

Table 1 – Standard cross-sections of round copper conductors and approximate
relationship between mm and AWG/kcmil sizes (see 7.1.8.2) . 107
Table 2 – Temperature-rise limits of terminals (see 7.2.2.1 and 8.3.3.3.4) . 108
Table 3 – Temperature-rise limits of accessible parts (see 7.2.2.2 and 8.3.3.3.4) . 108
Table 4 – Tightening torques for the verification of the mechanical strength of screw-

type terminals (see 8.3.2.1, 8.2.6 and 8.2.6.2) . 109
Table 5 – Test values for flexion and pull-out tests for round copper conductors (see
8.2.4.4.1) . 110
Table 6 – Test values for pull-out test for flat copper conductors (see 8.2.4.4.2) . 111
Table 7 – Maximum conductor cross-sections and corresponding gauges (see
8.2.4.5.1) . 111
Table 7a – Relationship between conductor cross-section and diameter . 112
Table 8 – Tolerances on test quantities (see 8.3.4.3, item a)) . 113
Table 9 – Test copper conductors for test cur
...

IEC 60947-1 ®
Edition 5.2 2014-09
CONSOLIDATED
VERSION
VERSION
CONSOLIDÉE
colour
inside
Low-voltage switchgear and controlgear –
Part 1: General rules
Appareillage à basse tension –
Partie 1: Règles générales
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form

or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from
either IEC or IEC's member National Committee in the country of the requester. If you have any questions about IEC
copyright or have an enquiry about obtaining additional rights to this publication, please contact the address below or

your local IEC member National Committee for further information.

Droits de reproduction réservés. Sauf indication contraire, aucune partie de cette publication ne peut être reproduite
ni utilisée sous quelque forme que ce soit et par aucun procédé, électronique ou mécanique, y compris la photocopie

et les microfilms, sans l'accord écrit de l'IEC ou du Comité national de l'IEC du pays du demandeur. Si vous avez des

questions sur le copyright de l'IEC ou si vous désirez obtenir des droits supplémentaires sur cette publication, utilisez
les coordonnées ci-après ou contactez le Comité national de l'IEC de votre pays de résidence.

IEC Central Office Tel.: +41 22 919 02 11
3, rue de Varembé Fax: +41 22 919 03 00
CH-1211 Geneva 20 info@iec.ch
Switzerland www.iec.ch
About the IEC
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the leading global organization that prepares and publishes
International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies.

About IEC publications
The technical content of IEC publications is kept under constant review by the IEC. Please make sure that you have the
latest edition, a corrigenda or an amendment might have been published.

IEC Catalogue - webstore.iec.ch/catalogue Electropedia - www.electropedia.org
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bibliographical information on IEC International Standards, electrical terms containing more than 30 000 terms and
Technical Specifications, Technical Reports and other definitions in English and French, with equivalent terms in 14
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iPad. Electrotechnical Vocabulary (IEV) online.

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The advanced search enables to find IEC publications by a More than 55 000 electrotechnical terminology entries in
variety of criteria (reference number, text, technical English and French extracted from the Terms and Definitions
committee,…). It also gives information on projects, replaced clause of IEC publications issued since 2002. Some entries
and withdrawn publications. have been collected from earlier publications of IEC TC 37,

77, 86 and CISPR.
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La Commission Electrotechnique Internationale (IEC) est la première organisation mondiale qui élabore et publie des
Normes internationales pour tout ce qui a trait à l'électricité, à l'électronique et aux technologies apparentées.

A propos des publications IEC
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IEC 60947-1 ®
Edition 5.2 2014-09
CONSOLIDATED
VERSION
VERSION
CONSOLIDÉE
colour
inside
Low-voltage switchgear and controlgear –

Part 1: General rules
Appareillage à basse tension –

Partie 1: Règles générales
INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
COMMISSION
ELECTROTECHNIQUE
INTERNATIONALE
ICS 29.130.20 ISBN 978-2-8322-1823-5

IEC 60947-1 ®
Edition 5.2 2014-09
REDLINE VERSION
VERSION REDLINE
colour
inside
Low-voltage switchgear and controlgear –
Part 1: General rules
Appareillage à basse tension –
Partie 1: Règles générales
– 2 – IEC 60947-1:2007
+AMD1:2010+AMD2:2014 CSV © IEC 2014

CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 7

1 General . 9

1.1 Scope and object . 9

1.2 Normative references . 10

2 Definitions . 14

2.1 General terms. 19

2.2 Switching devices . 22
2.3 Parts of switching devices . 25
2.4 Operation of switching devices . 30
2.5 Characteristic quantities . 34
2.6 Tests . 43
2.7 Ports . 43
3 Classification . 44
4 Characteristics . 45
4.1 General . 45
4.2 Type of equipment . 46
4.3 Rated and limiting values for the main circuit . 46
4.4 Utilization category . 52
4.5 Control circuits . 52
4.6 Auxiliary circuits . 53
4.7 Relays and releases . 53
4.8 Co-ordination with short-circuit protective devices (SCPD) . 53
4.9 Switching overvoltages . 53
5 Product information. 54
5.1 Nature of information . 54
5.2 Marking . 55
5.3 Instructions for installation, operation and maintenance . 56
6 Normal service, mounting and transport conditions . 56
6.1 Normal service conditions . 56
6.2 Conditions during transport and storage . 58
6.3 Mounting . 58

7 Constructional and performance requirements . 58
7.1 Constructional requirements . 58
7.2 Performance requirements . 67
7.3 Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) . 74
8 Tests . 76
8.1 Kinds of test . 76
8.2 Compliance with constructional requirements . 77
8.3 Performance . 84
8.4 Tests for EMC . 104

+AMD1:2010+AMD2:2014 CSV © IEC 2014

Annex A (informative) Examples Harmonization of utilization categories for low-voltage

switchgear and controlgear. 145

Annex B (informative) Suitability of the equipment when conditions for operation in

service differ from the normal conditions . 150

Annex C (normative) Degrees of protection of enclosed equipment . 151

Annex D (informative) Examples of terminals clamping units and relationship between

clamping unit and connecting device . 158

Annex E (informative) Description of a method for adjusting the load circuit . 168

Annex F (informative) Determination of short-circuit power-factor or time-constant . 170

Annex G (informative) Measurement of creepage distances and clearances . 172
Annex H (informative) Correlation between the nominal voltage of the supply system
and the rated impulse withstand voltage of equipment . 178
Annex J (informative) Items subject to agreement between manufacturer and user . 180
Annex K Vacant (normative) Procedure to determine reliability data for
electromechanical devices used in functional safety applications . 181
Annex L (normative) Terminal marking and distinctive number . 191
Annex M (normative) Flammability test . 202
Annex N (normative) Requirements and tests for equipment with protective separation . 207
Annex O (informative) Environmentally-conscious aspects design . 212
Annex P (informative) Terminal lugs for low voltage switchgear and controlgear
connected to copper conductors . 229
Annex Q (normative) Special tests – Damp heat, salt mist, vibration and shock . 230
Annex R (informative normative) Application of the metal foil for dielectric testing on
accessible parts during operation or adjustment . 236
Annex S (normative) Digital inputs and outputs . 242
Annex T (normati
...