I read in !emc-pstc that [email protected] wrote (in <84.222da8c6.298 [email protected]>) about 'EN 61000-3-2 applicability and let-outs', on Thu, 24 Jan 2002: > Dear John > I understand the following statements to be true. > Please make corrections / comments where necessary. > > 1) EN 61000-3-2 only applies to equipment consuming up to 16A/phase, and > there are no mandatory harmonic limits in the EU (yet) for higher-powered > equipment, other than what the power supplier might impose.
Yes. Furthermore , it applies only to equipment intended to be connected to the *public* LV supply. > > So EN 61000-3-2 is optional for equipment consuming >16A/phase. No. It *does not apply*. There are no limits stated for over 16A. > > 2) EN 61000-3-2 currently has a let-out for "professional equipment" that > consumes more than 1kW, so its application is optional for that category > of > equipment too. I don't know what you mean by 'optional'. Since there are *no limits* for professional equipment above 1 kW, there is nothing to 'apply'. > > This could exclude many of the larger products sold solely for commercial > and/or industrial use from EN 61000-3-2. Yes, up to 16A/phase. These products are relatively few in number and have diverse 'harmonic signatures' (complex spectra). Their impact on the network is small. > > (Maybe the combined air-conditioner / personal computer may not be such a > bad idea if it gets consumption up above 1kW!). Yes, we have heard a lot about joke products like that in the WG. The joke is wearing a bit thin now. > > 3) The 'public low voltage supply' is a 4156/230V supply with more than > one > consumer connected. Large plants or office building often take their power > at MV (11kV or more) and transform their own LV supply with their own > distribution transformer - creating a 'private' low voltage supply > dedicated > for their own use. > > EN 61000-3-2 is optional for any equipment sold solely for use on such > dedicated low voltage supplies. It *does not apply*. > > Privately-generated LV supplies ditto. It *does not apply*. I think your references to 'optional' may create (even more!) confusion, which we definitely do not need. > > 4) My copy of EN 61000-3-2 has a paragraph at the end of its Scope section > that says: > "Special equipment, which is not widely used and is designed in such a way > that it is unable to comply with the requirements (limits), may be subject > to installation restrictions. The supply authorities shall be notified as > authorization may be required before connection." This gobbledegook was deleted by the Millennium Amendment (MA, aka A14 to EN61000-3-2). No-one could define 'special' and 'not widely used', when challenged to do so, so out it came! > > So custom-made or low-volume manufactured equipment (even if under > 16A/phase) does not have to comply with EN 61000-3-2, as long as their > users > check with their power suppliers that they are OK to be connected. Yes, this is explained *properly* in clause 4 of the MA. > > Maybe they could agree to deal with any harmonic issues at site-level, by > installing an active harmonic cancellation unit. Yes, if necessary, but it may not be necessary. > > I realise that none of the above give much comfort to manufacturers of > domestic or consumer products, but maybe a computer manufacturer could > offer > a version without PFC only for use in installations that have a dedicated > LV > supply. They don't want to do that, but some test equipment manufacturers do. > -- Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only. http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk After swimming across the Hellespont, I felt like a Hero. PLEASE do NOT copy news posts to me by E-MAIL! ------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. Visit our web site at: http://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/emcs/pstc/ To cancel your subscription, send mail to: [email protected] with the single line: unsubscribe emc-pstc For help, send mail to the list administrators: Michael Garretson: [email protected] Dave Heald [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: [email protected] Jim Bacher: [email protected] All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: No longer online until our new server is brought online and the old messages are imported into the new server.
