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Standards Organizations
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What is a Standards Organization?
  • Standards organizations create rating measurements for the performance of many different products.
  • There are many Standards organizations throughout the world, however those most commonly recognized are North American and European organizations.
  • Electrical enclosures are rated by organizations like NEMA, CSA, UL and IEC which identify an enclosure’s ability to provide protection from dust, dripping water, hose directed water and more.
While these Standards are all intended to guide the user to make the right choice of product, there are some important differences between them.
 
Standards Organizations
 

NEMA - National Electrical Manufacturers' Association
1300 North 17th Street Rosslyn, VA 22209

  • NEMA Standards Publication No. 250
  • Enclosures for Electrical Equipment (1000 Volts Maximum)
  • NEMA Standards Publication No. ICS6
  • Enclosures for Industrial Controls and Systems
www.nema.org

UL - Underwriters’ Laboratories Inc.
333 Pfingsten Road, Northbrook, IL 60062

  • UL 50 Cabinets and Boxes
  • UL 508 Industrial Control Equipment
  • UL 870 Wireways, Auxiliary Gutter, and Associated Fittings
www.ul.com

CSA - Canadian Standards Association International
178 Rexdale Boulevard, Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada M9W 1R3

  • CSA Standard C22.2, No 0 General Requirements - Canadian Electrical Code, Part II
  • CSA Standard C22.2, No 0.4 Bonding and Grounding of Electrical Equipment (Protective Equipment)
  • CSA Standard C22.2, No. 14 Industrial Control Equipment for Use in Ordinary (Non-Hazardous) Locations
  • CSA Standard C22.2, No. 40 Cutout, Junction, and Pull Boxes
  • CSA Standard C22.2, No. 26 Construction and Test of Wireways, and Auxiliary Gutters, and Associated Fittings.
  • CSA Standard C22.2, No. 94-M91 Special Purpose Enclosures
www.csa.ca

JIC - Joint Industry Council
7901 Westpark Drive, McLean, VA 22101

  • EMP-1 Electrical Standards for Mass Production Equipment
  • EGP-1 Electrical Standards for General Purpose Machine Tools
 

EIA - Electronic Industries Association
2001 Eye Street, Northwest, Washington, DC 20006

  • EIA RS-310-D Cabinets, Racks, Panels, and Associated Equipment
www.iec.ch

IEC - International Electrotechnical Commission
3 Rue de Varemb, Geneva, Switzerland

  • IEC 529 Classification of Degrees of Protection Provided by Enclosures
www.iec.ch

CE Conformite Europeene
European Commission

 
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North American Standards

In North America, NEMA, UL and CSA are the most commonly recognized Standards organizations. They are almost identical in their rating and testing of enclosures.UL and CSA

  • Provide “certification labels” to be permanently attached inside the enclosures.
  • Require that enclosures be tested in an approved lab in order to prove their performance.
  • Inspect manufacturers to ensure they use approved materials and build to tested product designs.
NEMA, EEMAC and JIC
  • Do not provide “certification labels” for enclosures
  • Do not provide testing services or require enclosures to be tested.
  • Leave compliance and testing to the discretion of the manufacturer.
    JIC Ratings
  • JIC or Joint Industrial Commission ratings are Standards which (in brief) specify minimum allowable material thickness for various enclosure sizes.
 
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Hammond Enclosure Ratings In general, Hammond Enclosures are...
  • Listed by UL
  • Certified by CSA
  • Comply with NEMA
  • Comply with EEMAC
  • Comply with JIC
  • Comply with IEC
 

European Standards

IEC In Europe, IEC ratings are the most commonly recognized Standards for enclosures.

  • IEC ratings are similar to NEMA, but the pass or fail requirements are different. (see NEMA to IEC Cross Reference Chart on page 7).
  • IEC does not include ratings for enclosures in conditions of corrosion, rust or oil.
  • IEC does not provide testing, so testing and compliance is left up to the manufacturer. In Europe, TUV and VDE are two popular testing agencies that manufacturers use.
CE
  • CE is a European Union (EU) symbol, which indicates that the product complies with the EU directives or Standards for that product.
CE does not apply to empty enclosures because enclosures are components of a final assembly. Testing and compliance to EU directives is the responsibility of the final equipment manufacturer.
 

Dual Standards

UL and CSA have markings available that indicate approvals meet Standards of their “non-home” country.

  • The cUL mark indicates the product has been tested to meet Canadian Standards by the UL organization.
  • The cCSAus mark indicates the product has been tested to meet USA Standards by CSA.

NEMA Type Designation

  Type 1 Type 3/3R Type 4 Type 4X Type 12/13
Application
Hammond
Product Series
National
Electrical
Manufacturers
Association
(NEMA Standard 250)
Underwriters
Laboratories
Inc.
(UL50 and UL508)
Canadian
Standards
Association
(Standard C22.2, Nos. 14, 40 and 94)
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Protection Rating - Quick Selection Guide

Provides a Degree of Protection Against: Type 1 Type 3R Type 12 Type 13 Type 4 Type 4X
Contact with Enclosed Equipment
Falling Dirt
Falling & Lightly Splashing Water
Dust
Oil & Coolant
Sleet & Ice
Splashing Water &
Hose-Down
Corrosives
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Industry and the Products they use

The following is a list of those industries with the enclosures most commonly used by them.
Industry Examples of Products Used
Utilities, Municipalities (water/waste water)
Industrial Enclosures, Non Metallic NEMA 2 & 4X
Saw Mills, Pulp & Paper, Mining
Industrial Disconnect, Freestanding, Corrosion Resistant
Farm, Irrigation Systems
Corrosion Resistant, Non Metallic NEMA 4X
Transportation Industries
Industrial Enclosures, Aluminum NEMA 12 & 4
Marine, Naval, Canadian Forces
Industrial, Freestanding NEMA 4, Non Metallic & Stainless Steel
General Industries
Industrial Modular Operator Interface
Process Industries (oil, chemical, food processing)
Industrial Corrosion Resistant, 316 Stainless Steel
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