Electromagnetic compatibility standards: What you need to know
With ever more sources of electromagnetic radiation being produced, equipment must be designed to operate in noisy electromagnetic environments.
It's also important that equipment needs to be designed to have a level of immunity to electromagnetic emissions from other adjacent equipment.
This is the essence of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC).
Inadequate EMC can result in errors and incorrect operation of electronic devices; an increase in hazardous situations and consequently a higher health and safety risk.
Standards can help organizations and manufacturers ensure that their products will operate safely and effectively in the real world.
What is Electromagnetic Compatibility?
A problem peculiar to all electronic technologies is electromagnetic (EM) interference.
Electrical and electronic equipment may emit EM disturbances that can interfere with other equipment and devices and may result in incorrect or non-operation of even hazardous behavior of the equipment. Electronic technologies can also suffer from degraded functionality (including complete failure) when exposed to EM disturbances, with the same consequences.
The discipline of controlling emissions of, and immunity to, EM disturbances is known as electromagnetic compatibility (EMC).
Electronic technology is frequently used in safety-related applications. Inadequate EMC can result in errors and incorrect operation of electronic devices; an increase in hazardous situations and consequently a higher health and safety risk.
The evaluation of EMC susceptibility and emission of signals requires specialist equipment and skills; however, it is vital that this aspect is considered during the design stage along with electrical safety and performance as correcting design errors at a late stage may be very costly.
To read more about safety within the electronic industry, click here.
What is the EMC Directive?
The EMC Directive (Directive 2014/30/EU) came into force on 20 April 2016 and replaced the previous EMC Directive (Directive 2004/108/EC). The EMC Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/281) have since been replaced by the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/1091) which came into force on 8 December 2016.
The Regulations regulate the electromagnetic compatibility of equipment. They aim to ensure the functioning of the internal market by requiring equipment to comply with an adequate level of electromagnetic compatibility.
The directive applies to most electrical and electronic equipment (whether apparatus or fixed installations) when placed on the market and/or taken into service.
To comply with the requirements of the EMC Directive, all electrical and electronic equipment marketed in the UK (including imports) must be certified.
How Can Your Organization Comply with the EMC Regulations?
In most cases, conformance can be claimed by meeting an appropriate harmonized European standard, which gives a 'presumption of conformity to the directive.
The regulations were implemented for the following reasons:
To remove barriers to trade within the European Economic Area (EU countries and Norway, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland).
To ensure that the electromagnetic disturbance generated by the apparatus does not exceed a level allowing radio and telecommunications equipment and other apparatus to operate as intended.
To ensure that apparatus has an adequate level of intrinsic immunity to electromagnetic disturbance to enable it to operate as intended.
To comply with the regulations, all electrical and electronic apparatus marketed in the UK (including imports), that satisfy the requirements of the EMC Directive must be certified.
Most Popular Electromagnetic Compatibility Standards
Within the industry, some of the most popular EMC standards are:
BS EN IEC 61000-3-2:2019
A public low-voltage mains distribution network exists if more than one independent consumer can draw power from it. It’s important to protect such networks from harmonic currents as these can cause overheating of electrical distribution system wiring, transformer overheating, and shortened transformer service life.
Therefore, standardBS EN IEC 61000-3-2:2019 covers a large variety of electrical and electronic equipment having an input current up to and including 16A per phase and intended for use by both the general public and professionals. The standard specifies limits for harmonic components of the input current which can be produced by equipment tested under specified conditions. The tests according to this document are type tests.
BS EN IEC 61000-6-4:2019
The generic electrotechnical standard,BS EN IEC 61000-6-4:2019, is about adequately protecting radio reception in industrial areas. It will also help users comply with the latest emission requirements for their equipment.
It specifies the electromagnetic compatibility emission requirements for electrical and electronic equipment designed for industrial environments at both indoor and outdoor locations.
Users will comply with the latest emission requirements for their equipment and thus protect radio services adequately.
BS EN 61000-3-3:2013
The international electrotechnical standard, BS EN 61000-3-3:2013, gives guidance on the acceptable levels of voltage variation and voltage flicker caused by rapid power supply voltage fluctuations. This results in light luminance fluctuation. By limiting the voltage variations, flicker can be limited.
The standard also offers manufacturers an effective way to demonstrate conformity with the EMC and Radio Equipment Directives, which is necessary for the certification of their products.
BS EN IEC 55014-2:2021
As manufacturers of household appliances and electric tools know, BS EN IEC 55014-2:2021 is used to ensure that their products don’t cause interference to radio reception. This is possible because the standard specifies requirements that apply to the emission of radio-frequency disturbances in the frequency range 9 kHz to 400 GHz. It covers limits of disturbances, test equipment and methods of measurement, operating conditions, interpretation of CISPR limits, and measurement uncertainty.
The standard also applies to a very wide range of electric appliances, tools, and similar apparatus, whether powered by AC or DC (including a battery).
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