National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of EN 61008‑1:2012+A12:2017. It is derived from IEC 61008‑1:2010, incorporating amendment 1:2012, amendment 2:2013, corrigendum January 2014 and corrigendum May 2016. It supersedes BS EN 61008‑1:2012+A11:2015, which is withdrawn.

The CENELEC common modifications have been implemented at the appropriate places in the text. The start and finish of each common modification is indicated in the text by tags .

The start and finish of text introduced or altered by amendment is indicated in the text by tags. Tags indicating changes to IEC text carry the number of the IEC amendment. For example, text altered by IEC amendment 1 is indicated by .

Where a common modification to an IEC amendment has been introduced, the tags carry the number of the amendment. For example, the common modifications introduced by CENELEC to IEC amendment 1 are indicated by .

The start and finish of text introduced or altered by amendment is indicated in the text by tags. Tags indicating changes to CENELEC text carry the number of the CENELEC amendment. For example, text altered by CENELEC amendment A11 is indicated by .

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted by Technical Committee PEL/23, Electrical accessories, to Subcommittee PEL/23/1, Circuit breakers and similar equipment for household use.

A list of organizations represented on this subcommittee can be obtained on request to its secretary.

This publication does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 August 2013.

Foreword to amendment A1

This document (EN 61008‑1:2012/A1:2014) consists of the text of IEC 61008‑1:2010/A1:2012 prepared by SC 23E "Circuit-breakers and similar equipment for household use" of IEC/TC 23 "Electrical accessories", together with the common modifications prepared by CLC/TC 23E "Circuit breakers and similar devices for household and similar applications".

The following dates are fixed:

Clauses, subclauses, notes, tables, figures and annexes which are additional to those in IEC 61008‑1:2010/A1:2012 are prefixed “Z".

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. CENELEC [and/or CEN] shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

This standard covers the Principle Elements of the Safety Objectives for Electrical Equipment Designed for Use within Certain Voltage Limits (LVD - 2006/95/EC).

This document has been prepared under a mandate given to CENELEC by the European Commission and the European Free Trade Association, and supports essential requirements of EU Directive(s).

Foreword to amendment A2

This document (EN 61008‑1:2012/A2:2014) consists of the text of IEC 61008‑1:2010/A2:2013 prepared by SC 23E "Circuit-breakers and similar equipment for household use" of IEC/TC 23 "Electrical accessories", together with the common modifications prepared by CLC/TC 23E "Circuit breakers and similar devices for household and similar applications".

The following dates are fixed:

Clauses, subclauses, notes, tables, figures and annexes which are additional to those in IEC 61008‑1:2010/A2:2013 are prefixed “Z".

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. CENELEC [and/or CEN] shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

This standard covers the Principle Elements of the Safety Objectives for Electrical Equipment Designed for Use within Certain Voltage Limits (LVD - 2006/95/EC).

This document has been prepared under a mandate given to CENELEC by the European Commission and the European Free Trade Association, and supports essential requirements of EU Directive(s).

Foreword to amendment A11

This document (EN 61008‑1:2012/A11:2015) has been prepared by CLC/TC 23E "Circuit breakers and similar devices for household and similar applications".

The following dates are fixed:

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. CENELEC [and/or CEN] shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

This document has been prepared under a mandate given to CENELEC by the European Commission and the European Free Trade Association, and supports essential requirements of EU Directive(s).

For the relationship with EU Directive 2004/108/EC, see informative Annex ZZ, mentioned in EN 61008‑1:2012.

This standard covers the Principle Elements of the Safety Objectives for Electrical Equipment Designed for Use within Certain Voltage Limits (LVD - 2006/95/EC).

Foreword to amendment A12

This document (EN 61008‑1:2012/A12:2017) has been prepared by CLC/TC 23E "Circuit breakers and similar devices for household and similar applications".

The following dates are fixed:

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. CENELEC [and/or CEN] shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

This document has been prepared under a mandate given to CENELEC by the European Commission and the European Free Trade Association, and supports essential requirements of EU Directive(s).

For the relationship with EU Directive 2004/108/EC, see informative Annex ZZ, mentioned in EN 61008‑1:2012.

FOREWORD

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To this end and in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications, Technical Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC Publication(s)"). Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested in the subject dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-governmental organizations liaising with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by agreement between the two organizations.
The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all interested IEC National Committees.
IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any misinterpretation by any end user.
In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence between any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in the latter.
IEC itself does not provide any attestation of conformity. Independent certification bodies provide conformity assessment services and, in some areas, access to IEC marks of conformity. IEC is not responsible for any services carried out by independent certification bodies.
All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC Publications.
Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

International Standard IEC 61008‑1 has been prepared by subcommittee 23E: Circuit-breakers and similar equipment for household use, of IEC technical committee 23: Electrical accessories.

This third editions cancels and replaces the second edition published in 1996, amendment 1 (2002) and amendment 2 (2006). This edition constitutes a technical revision.

This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous edition:

complete revision of EMC sequences, including the new test T.2.6 already approved in IEC 61543;
clarification of RCDs current/time characteristics reported in Tables 1 and 2;
revision of test procedure for I_Δn between 5 A and 200 A;
testing procedure regarding the 6mA d.c. current superimposed to the fault current;
improvement highlighting RCDs with multiple sensitivity;
tests for the use of RCCBs in IT systems.

The text of this standard is based on the following documents:

Full information on the voting for the approval of this standard can be found in the report on voting indicated in the above table.

This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.

A list of all parts of the IEC 61008 series, published under the general title, Residual current operated circuit-breakers without integral overcurrent protection for household and similar uses (RCCBs), can be found on the IEC website.

The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until the stability date indicated on the IEC web site under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data related to the specific publication. At this date, the publication will be

reconfirmed,
withdrawn,
replaced by a revised edition, or
amended.

INTRODUCTION

This part includes definitions, requirements and tests, covering all types of RCCBs. For the applicability to a specific type this part applies in conjunction with the relevant part, as follows:

Part 2-1: Applicability of the general rules to RCCBs functionally independent of line voltage.

Part 2-2: Applicability of the general rules to RCCBs functionally dependent on line voltage.

This European Standard was approved by CENELEC on 2012-06-18. CENELEC members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration.

Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CENELEC member.

This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation under the responsibility of a CENELEC member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CENELEC members are the national electrotechnical committees of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

European foreword

This document (EN 61008‑1:2012) consists of the text of IEC 61008‑1:2010 prepared by IEC/TC 23E "Circuit-breakers and similar equipment for household use", together with the common modifications prepared by CLC/TC 23E "Circuit breakers and similar devices for household and similar applications".

The following dates are fixed:

This document supersedes EN 61008‑1:2004 + A11:2007 + A12:2009 + A13:2012 + AC:2012 + IS1:2007.

EN 61008‑1:2012 includes the following significant technical changes with respect to EN 61008‑1:2004:

complete revision of EMC sequences, including the new test T.2.6 already approved in EN 61543;
clarification of RCDs current/time characteristics reported in Tables 1 and 2;
revision of test procedure for I_Δn between 5 A and 200 A;
testing procedure regarding the 6mA d.c. current superimposed to the fault current;
improvement highlighting RCDs with multiple sensitivity;
tests for the use of RCCBs in IT systems.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. CENELEC [and/or CEN] shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

This document has been prepared under a mandate given to CENELEC by the European Commission and the European Free Trade Association, and supports essential requirements of EU Directive(s).

For the relationship with EU Directive(s) see informative Annex ZZ, which is an integral part of this document.

Clauses, subclauses, notes, tables, figures and annexes which are additional to those in IEC 61008‑1:2010 are prefixed “Z".

Endorsement notice

The text of the International Standard IEC 61008‑1:2010 was approved by CENELEC as a European Standard with agreed common modifications.

Endorsement notice

The text of the International Standard IEC 61008‑1:2010/A1:2012 was approved by CENELEC as a European Standard with agreed common modifications.

Endorsement notice

The text of the International Standard IEC 61008‑1:2010/A2:2013 was approved by CENELEC as a European Standard with agreed common modifications.

1 Scope

This International Standard applies to residual current operated circuit-breakers functionally independent of, or functionally dependent on, line voltage, for household and similar uses, not incorporating overcurrent protection (hereafter referred to as RCCBs), for rated voltages not exceeding 440 V a.c. text deleted and rated currents not exceeding 125 A, for fixed installations, intended principally for protection against shock hazard.

These devices are intended to protect persons against indirect contact, the exposed conductive parts of the installation being connected to an appropriate earth electrode. They may be used to provide protection against fire hazards due to a persistent earth fault current, without the operation of the overcurrent protective device.

RCCBs having a rated residual operating current not exceeding 30 mA are also used as a means for additional protection in case of failure of the protective means against electric shock.

This standard applies to devices performing simultaneously the functions of detection of the residual current, of comparison of the value of this current with the residual operating value and of opening of the protected circuit when the residual current exceeds this value.

NOTE 1 The requirements for RCCBs are in line with the general requirements of IEC 60755. RCCBs are essentially intended to be operated by uninstructed persons and designed not to require maintenance. They may be submitted for certification purposes.

NOTE 2 Installation and application rules of RCCBs are given in the IEC 60364 series.

They are intended for use in an environment with pollution degree 2 and overvoltage category III..

They are suitable for isolation.

RCCBs complying with this standard text deleted are suitable for use in IT systems.

Special precautions (e.g. lightning arresters) may be necessary when excessive overvoltages are likely to occur on the supply side (for example in the case of supply through overhead lines) (see IEC 60364‑4‑44).

RCCBs of the general type are resistant to unwanted tripping including the case where surge voltages (as a result of switching transients or induced by lightning) cause loading currents in the installation without occurrence of flashover.

RCCBs of type S are considered to be sufficient proof against unwanted tripping even if the surge voltage causes a flashover and a follow-on current occurs.

NOTE 3 Surge arresters installed downstream of the general type of RCCBs and connected in common mode may cause unwanted tripping.

NOTE 4 For RCCBs having a degree of protection higher than IP20 special constructions may be required.

Particular requirements are necessary for

–	residual current operated circuit-breakers with integral overcurrent protection (see IEC 61009‑1);
–	RCCBs integrated in one unit with a socket-outlet or designed exclusively for being associated locally with a socket-outlet in the same mounting box.
–	RCCBs intended to be used at frequencies other than 50 Hz.

For RCCBs incorporated in, or intended only for association with socket-outlets, the requirements of this standard may be used, as far as applicable, in conjunction Text deleted or the national requirements for socket outlets of the country where the product is placed on the market.

NOTE 5 RCCBs incorporated in, or intended only for association with socket-outlets, can either meet IEC 62640 or this standard.

text deleted

The requirements of this standard apply for normal environmental conditions (see 7.1). Additional requirements may be necessary for RCCBs used in locations having severe environmental conditions.

RCCBs including batteries are not covered by this standard.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

3.1 Definitions relating to currents flowing from live parts to earth

3.2 Definitions relating to the energization of a residual current circuit-breaker

3.3 Definitions relating to the operation and functions of residual current circuit-breakers

3.4 Definitions relating to values and ranges of energizing quantities

3.5 Definitions relating to values and ranges of influencing quantities

3.6 Definitions relating to terminals

3.7 Definitions relating to conditions of operation

3.8 Definitions relating to tests

3.9 Definitions relating to insulation coordination

4 Classification

4.1 According to the method of operation

4.2 Void

4.3 According to the number of poles text deleted

4.4 Void

4.5 According to resistance to unwanted tripping due to voltage surges

4.6 According to behaviour in presence of d.c. components

4.7 According to time-delay (in presence of a residual current)

4.8 According to the protection against external influences

4.9 According to the method of mounting

4.10 According to the method of connection

4.11 According to the type of terminals:

4.Z1 According to the range of ambient air temperature

5 Characteristics of RCCBs

5.1 Summary of characteristics

5.2 Rated quantities and other characteristics

5.3 Standard and preferred values

5.4 Coordination with short-circuit protective devices (SCPDs)

6 Marking and other product information

6.Z1 Standard marking

6.Z2 Additional marking

7 Standard conditions for operation in service and for installation

7.1 Standard conditions

7.2 Conditions of installation

7.3 Pollution degree

8 Requirements for construction and operation

8.1 Mechanical design

8.2 Protection against electric shock

8.3 Dielectric properties and isolating capability

8.4 Temperature-rise

8.5 Operating characteristic

8.6 Mechanical and electrical endurance

8.7 Performance at short-circuit currents

8.8 Resistance to mechanical shock and impact

8.9 Resistance to heat

8.10 Resistance to abnormal heat and to fire

8.11 Test device

8.12 Requirements for RCCBs functionally dependent on line voltage

8.13 Behaviour of RCCBs in case of overcurrents in the main circuit

8.14 Behaviour of RCCBs in the case of current surges caused by impulse voltages

8.15 Behaviour of RCCBs in case of earth fault currents comprising a d.c. component

8.16 Reliability

8.17 Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)

8.Z1 Behaviour of RCCBs at low ambient air temperatures

9 Tests

9.1 General

9.2 Test conditions

9.3 Test of indelibility of marking

9.4 Test of reliability of screws, current-carrying parts and connections

9.5 Tests of reliability of screw-type terminals for external copper conductors

9.6 Verification of protection against electric shock

9.7 Test of dielectric properties and isolating capability

9.8 Test of temperature-rise

9.9 Verification of the operating characteristics

9.10 Verification of mechanical and electrical endurance

9.11 Verification of the behaviour of the RCCB under short-circuit conditions

9.12 Verification of resistance to mechanical shock and impact

9.13 Test of resistance to heat

9.14 Test of resistance to abnormal heat and to fire

9.15 Verification of the trip-free mechanism

9.16 Verification of the operation of the test device at the limits of rated voltage

9.17 Verification of the behaviour of RCCBs functionally dependent on line voltage, classified under 4.1.2.1, in case of failure of the line voltage

9.18 Verification of limiting values of the non-operating current under overcurrent conditions

9.19 Verification of behaviour of RCCBs in case of current surges caused by impulse voltages

9.20 Verification of resistance of the insulation against an impulse voltage

9.22 Verification of reliability

9.23 Verification of ageing text deleted

9.24 Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)

9.25 Test of resistance to rusting

9.Z1 Verification of the correct operation at low ambient air temperatures for RCCBs for use at temperatures between -25 °C and +40 °C

Bibliography

BS EN 61008-1:2012+A12:2017

Residual current operated circuit-breakers without integral overcurrent protection for household and similar uses (RCCBs) - General rules

Current, Under Review

Published:

30 Apr 2017