Certification Standards

Expo’s products are certified to international standards for the installation and use of electrical equipment in
hazardous areas.

Worldwide: The IEC defines the most-widely adopted hazardous area standards. These standards:
Classify hazards;
Areas (Zones) in which hazards may be present;
Protection used to prevent explosions in these areas (IEC 60079 series).

Many countries are replacing national standards and certification schemes, with IECEx conformance and
require IECEx certification:
Europe: Expo’s products are certified to EN IEC standards under the ATEX scheme. We have full 3rd
party approval under the relevant Directives and our Manufacturers Declaration of Conformity to
European Standards (CE marking).
Brazil: Expo’s products have INMETRO certification to IEC standards.
Australia & Singapore: IECEx certification is already mandatory.

North America: the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) is the primary agency for the protection of
installations from fire and explosion.
NFPA70 is the National Electrical Code (NEC). It describes permissible electrical installations for
residential, commercial and industrial uses.
Article 500, within the NEC. This categorizes hazardous locations & materials as Divisions and
Classes.
Article 505 is a later addition. This classifies hazardous locations into Zones & Groups, following IEC
guidelines.
NFPA496 is the Standard for Purged and Pressurized Enclosures for Electrical Equipment.

Expo Technologies products are certified (listed) through approvals by cULus and FM to NFPA496.

Hazardous Areas
Hazardous areas or locations are where the potential for fire or explosion exists because of gases, dust, or
easily ignitable fibers or filings in the atmosphere. Hazardous areas are defined as
Zones under worldwide IEC standards;
Divisions under North American NEC standards.

North America: The level of safety equipment installed in each location, depends on:
Classes: the flammable materials in the atmosphere;
Divisions: the probability of the presence of flammable materials;
Groups: the flammable nature of the material.

In 1998 Canada introduced the “Zone” system for new hazardous area plants.

Worldwide: The classification of hazardous areas (locations) follows the IEC format:
Zones; define the probability of the presence of flammable materials;
Protection Types: denote the level of safety for the device;
Groups: classify the exact flammable nature of the material. NB. IEC groups are not the same as the
USA’s NEC Groups.
T-Ratings
For both IEC and NEC, T-ratings indicate the apparatus’ maximum surface temperature under normal
operation and specified fault conditions. The equipment’s T-rating must be lower than the hazardous
material’s ignition temperature in that location.

The surface temperature is based on 40°C (104°F) ambient. The

IEC has T1 (450°C) through T6 (85°C);
NEC uses the same principles, but has more subdivisions – e.g. T3A, T3B, T3C.

Explosion Protection Techniques

The following describes explosion protection techniques to enable the use of electrical equipment in
hazardous areas.
National or international standards and codes of practice govern each technique and define the
equipment’s design and application.
National certifying (or approvals) authorities ensure design compliance.
National inspectorates (or insurance companies) vet and usually inspect each installation.

Flameproof [Ex d] IEC/European Harmonized Standard 60079-1

An enclosure contains the equipment. This enclosure will:
Withstand an internal explosion of flammable gas or vapour that may enter it;
Without suffering damage;
Without communicating the internal flammation to the external explosive atmosphere through any joints
or structural openings.

The enclosure is designed for a particular gas grouping (I, IIA, IIB or IIC). Equipment using this protection
method is:
Marked Ex d;
Suitable for Zone 1 and Zone 2 hazardous areas.

Usually Ex d equipment is large and robust, which limits its application to components.

Intrinsic Safety – Ex ia / Ex ib / Ex ic IEC/European Harmonized Standard 60079-11

This protection technique restricts the electrical energy within the equipment and interconnecting wiring. The
energy is so restricted that it cannot cause ignition by sparking or heating.

Equipment in the hazardous area and the connected apparatus in the safe area must be certified as
intrinsically safe. Also the whole system including interconnecting wiring must be assessed as “safe”.
Certified independent bodies generally evaluate equipment. The user is responsible for system assessment.

The sub-types a/b/c define the equipment’s suitability for Zone 0, Zone 1 or Zone 2. The difference is
performance under fault conditions:
Ex ia systems are safe even with 2 faults;
Ex ib systems are safe with 1 fault;
Ex ic systems are safe in normal operation (no fault).

Intrinsic safety is limited to low power circuits. It is mainly used for instrumentation and exposed
measurement devices.
Pressurization [Ex p] IEC/European Harmonized Standard 60079-2
This protection method uses the pressure of a protective gas to prevent explosive gases or dust entering a
space that might contain an ignition source. If that space contains equipment that emits gas, it prevents an
explosive atmosphere by using a continuous flow of protective gas to dilute the atmosphere.

Equipment using this protection method is:

Marked Ex p;
Suitable for Zone 1 and Zone 2 hazardous areas.

Increased safety [Ex e] IEC/European Harmonized Standard 60079-7

This protection method applies additional measures to electrical apparatus, which reduce the possibility of
excessive temperatures or arcs and sparks.

Equipment using this protection method is:

Marked Ex e;
Suitable for Zone 1 and Zone 2 hazardous areas.

Oil immersion [Ex o] IEC/European Harmonized Standard 60079-6

This protection method immerses electrical apparatus in oil, so an explosive atmosphere above the oil, or
outside the enclosure, won’t ignite.

Equipment using this protection method is:

Marked Ex o;
Suitable for Zone 1 and Zone 2 hazardous areas.

Powder filling (sand filling) [Ex q] IEC/European Harmonized Standard 60079-5

This protection method fills the enclosure surrounding the electrical apparatus, with granular material, e.g.
sand. Hence an arc won’t ignite the explosive atmosphere.

Equipment using this protection method is:

Marked Ex q;
Suitable for Zone 1 and Zone 2 hazardous areas.

Encapsulation [Ex m] IEC/European Harmonized Standard 60079-18

The protection method encapsulates parts, that could create sparks or hot surfaces, with a compound. The
compound provides a barrier between the electrical apparatus and the explosive atmosphere.

Equipment using this protection method is:

Marked Ex ma, and is suitable for Zone 0;
Marked Ex mb and is suitable for Zone 1.

Type N normally non-sparking and/or non-incendive circuits [Ex n] IEC/European Harmonized Standard
60079-15
This protection means in normal operation, electrical apparatus won’t ignite a surrounding explosive
atmosphere. In addition, a fault is unlikely to cause ignition.

There are four types of Ex n, appropriate for Zone 2 areas:

Ex nA: Non-Sparking apparatus;
Ex nC: Non-incendive, sealed, encapsulated apparatus;
 Ex nL for Energy Limited apparatus;
Ex nR for Restrictive Breathing apparatus.

North America
In North America, hazardous areas classified into Classes, Divisions and Groups. The classifications define
the required safety level for equipment installed in these locations.

Classes define the flammable materials in the atmosphere:

Flammable gases or vapors are present in the air in quantities

Class I
sufficient to produce explosive or ignitable mixtures.
Class II Combustible or conductive dusts are present.
Ignitable fibers or filings are present, but not likely to be in
Class III suspension in sufficient quantities to produce ignitable mixtures.
(Group classifications are not applied to this class.)

Divisions define the probability of the presence of flammable materials:

Division 1 The substance referred to by class is present during normal conditions.

The substance referred to by class is present only in abnormal

Division 2
conditions, such as a container failure or system breakdown.

Groups classify the flammable the material:

Group A Acetylene

Group B Hydrogen (or gases of equivalent hazard)

Group C Ethylene (or gases of equivalent hazard)

Group D Gasoline (or gases of equivalent hazard)

Group E Metal Dust

Group F Coal Dust

Group G Grain Dust

Apparatus Temperature classification (T class)

Maximum surface temperature Temperature class

450°C (842 F) T1
300°C (572 F) T2
280°C (536 F) T2A
260°C (500 F) T2B
230°C (446 F) T2C
215°C (419 F) T2D
200°C (392 F) T3
180°C (356 F) T3A
165°C (329 F) T3B
160°C (320 F) T3C
135°C (275 F) T4
120°C (248 F) T4A
100°C (212 F) T5
85°C (185 F) T6

North America Hazardous Location Information

NEC Groups – Gas & Dust, Nature of Hazardous Substances

Three Types of Purge (X-Y-Z)
CSA, cUL & cFM – Certification, Purge/Pressurization – MiniPurge

Europe / IEC
In Europe and IEC countries, hazardous areas are classified by Zones, Protection Types, Groups and
Temperature Classes.
Industrial plants are zoned according to the likelihood of a potentially explosive atmosphere being present

Zone 0 (gases) Flammable material present continuously or for long periods (typically
Zone 20 (dusts) 1000 hours or more per year)

Zone 1 (gases) Flammable material present in normal operation (typically between 10

Zone 21 (dusts) and 1000 hours per year)

Zone 2 (gases) Flammable material present in abnormal conditions only (typically less
Zone 22 (dusts) than 10 hours per year)

Explosion Groups

IEC 60079-0
Typical gas hazard
EUROPEAN EN 60079-0
Acetylene, Hydrogen IIC
Ethylene IIB
Propane IIA

Apparatus temperature classification (T class)

Maximum surface temperature IEC/EUROPEAN Temperature class

450°C T1
300°C T2
200°C T3
135°C T4
100°C T5
85°C T6

Protection Methods & Standards for Group II Electrical Apparatus for gas atmospheres

Permitted Typical
Protection Code ATEX EN / Zone Applications
Method Ex CAT IEC
0 1 2 /Comments

Basic electrical &

General
60079-0 mechanical
Requirements
requirements
Transformers,
Oil Immersion o 2 60079-6 Yes Yes
starting resistors
Switchgear and
control cabinets,
Pressurized p 2 60079-2 Yes Yes
analyzers,
large motors
Transformers,
Powder filled q 2 60079-5 Yes Yes capacitors, heating
conductor terminals
Switchgear and
controlgear,
indicating equipment,
Flameproof d 2 60079-1 Yes Yes
transformers, light
fittings, motors,
heating equipment
Increased Terminal &
e 2 60079-7 Yes Yes
safety connection boxes
Intrinsic safety Safe with 2 faults.
ia 1 60079-11 Yes Yes Yes
ia Level measurement
Safe with 1 fault.
Instrumentation and
Intrinsic safety
ib 2 60079-11 Yes Yes communication
ib
technology, sensors,
actuators
Encapsulated m 2 60079- Yes Yes Solenoid valves. low
18 power
switchgear, power
supplies
Type of protection
Type of
60079- includes
protection n 3 Yes
15 several methods of
‘n’
ignition protection