An Introduction to EN 61000-6-2: 1999

With technology advancing almost daily and electrical
and electronic products flooding the markets through-
out the world, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) testing must reflect the complex disturbances found in an electromagnetic environment. To attain this goal, new and revised standards regularly replace those standards that no longer are realistic.

Such is the case with EN 61000-6-2: 1999. On April 1, 1999, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) approved EN 61000-6-2: 1999 as a new version of the generic immunity standard for industrial environments.¹ Published Jan. 1, 2000, it supersedes EN 50082-2: 1995.² However, products that comply with EN 50082-2: 1995 may continue to be sold on the market until April 1, 2002.

To help you become acquainted with EN 61000-6-2: 1999, this article compares it to the existing generic immunity standards: EN 50082-1: 1997 and EN 50082-2: 1995.³ Table 1 (see below) outlines these three European Union (EU) generic EMC immunity standards, the test parameters and specifications, and the basic standards to which they refer.

Table 1. Generic Immunity Standards

EU EMC Generic
Immunity Standards Basic Standards EN 50082-2: 1995 EN 61000-6-2: 1999 EN 50082-1: 1997 Perfor-
mance Criteria EN 61000-4-2/
IEC 61000-4-2 ±4-kV contact discharge
±8-kV air discharge ±4-kV contact discharge
±8-kV air discharge ±4-kV contact discharge
±8-kV air discharge B EN 61000-4-3
with A1: 1998/
IEC 61000-4-3
with A1: 1998 80 to 1,000 MHz, 10 V/m

80% AM w/1-kHz sine wave
800 to 960 MHz (A1: 1998)
1.4 to 2.0 GHz (A1: 1998)

80 to 87 MHz, 10 V/m
87 to 108 MHz, 3 V/m
108 to 174 MHz, 10 V/m
174 to 230 MHz, 3 V/m
230 to 470 MHz, 10 V/m
470 to 790 MHz, 3 V/m
790 to 1,000 MHz, 10 V/m
80% AM w/1-kHz sine wave
800 to 960 MHz (A1: 1998)
1.4 to 2.0 GHz (A1: 1998) 80 to 1,000 MHz

80% AM w/1-kHz sine wave
800 to 960 MHz (A1: 1998)
1.4 to 2.0 GHz (A1: 1998)
3 V/m

A EN 61000-4-4/
IEC 61000-4-4 ±1-kV signal ports
±1-kV DC power ports
±2-kV AC power ports
±2-kV process control ports ±1-kV signal ports
±2-kV DC power ports
±2-kV AC power ports
(Process control ports treated as signal ports) ±0.5-kV signal ports
±0.5-kV DC power ports
±1.0-kV AC power ports
(Process control ports treated as signal ports) B EN 61000-4-5/
IEC 61000-4-5 N/A Signal: ±1-kV line-to-earth
DC Power: ±0.5-kV line-to-earth
DC Power: ±0.5-kV line-to-line
AC Power: ±2-kV line-to-earth
AC Power: ±1-kV line-to-line (Signal port testing not required)
DC Power: ±0.5-kV line-to-earth
DC Power: ±0.5-kV line-to-line
AC Power: ±2-kV line-to-earth
AC Power: ±1-kV line-to-line B EN 61000-4-6/
IEC 61000-4-6 0.15 to 80 MHz, 10 Vrms

80% AM w/1-kHz sine wave

0.15 to 47 MHz, 10 Vrms
47 to 68 MHz, 3 Vrms
68 to 80 MHz, 10 Vrms
80% AM w/1-kHz sine wave 0.15 to 80 MHz, 3 Vrms

80% AM w/1-kHz sine wave

A EN 61000-4-8/
IEC 61000-4-8 50 Hz, 30 A/m 50 Hz or 60 Hz, 30 A/m 50 Hz, 3 A/m A EN 61000-4-11/
IEC 61000-4-11 N/A 30% reduction; 10 ms
60% reduction; 100 ms 1,000 ms
>95% reduction; 5,000 ms 30% reduction; 10 ms
60% reduction; 100 ms
>95% reduction; 5,000 ms B
C
C

EN 61000-6-2: 1999 and EN 50082-2: 1995

Both EN 61000-6-2: 1999 and EN 50082-2: 1995 are generic immunity standards for industrial environments. The basic standards for EN 50082-2: 1995 are EN 61000-4-X (X = 2, 3, 4, 6, or 8). The basic standards for EN 61000-6-2: 1999 are IEC 61000-4-X with the addition of IEC 61000-4-5 and IEC 61000-4-11.

EN 61000-4-X standards are identical to IEC 61000-4-X with one exception for EN 61000-4-3. IEC 61000-4-3 is identical to IEC 1000-4-3, but EN 61000-4-3 is not. The difference between EN 61000-4-3 and IEC 1000-4-3 can be found in Reference 4. In comparison to EN 50082-2: 1995, EN 61000-6-2: 1999 adds surge and voltage dips and short interruptions requirements.

When looking at basic standards, electrostatic discharge immunity (ESD; EN or IEC 61000-4-2) has identical requirements in both EN 61000-6-2 and EN 50082-2. EN 61000-6-2 relaxes radiated radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (radiated RF; EN or IEC 61000-4-3) requirements in comparison to EN 50082-2.

As stated in EN 61000-6-2, the field strength of 3 V/m, relaxed from 10 V/m, is required for these International Telecommunication Union (ITU) broadcast frequency bands: 87 MHz to 108 MHz, 174 MHz to 230 MHz, and 470 MHz to 790 MHz. For electrical fast transient/burst immunity (EFT; EN or IEC 61000-4-4) requirements, EN 61000-6-2 contains a more severe test level on DC power ports than EN 50082-2.

In contrast, process control ports have no special requirements and are tested as signal ports. The relaxation stated for radiated RF also is found in testing conducted disturbances induced by radio-frequency fields (conducted RF; EN or IEC 61000-4-6). EN 61000-6-2 only requires 3 Vrms for the ITU broadcast frequency band of 47 MHz to 68 MHz. For power frequency magnetic fields (EN or IEC 61000-4-8), testing at either 50 Hz or 60 Hz or both depends on the power supply frequency.

EN 61000-6-2: 1999 and EN 50082-1: 1997

EN 61000-6-2: 1999 has the same required test items (environmental phenomena) as EN 50082-1: 1997, which is the generic immunity standard for residential, commercial, and light industrial devices. The test levels of EN 61000-6-2: 1999 are equal to or higher than the requirements found in EN 50082-1: 1997. Surges to signal ports were added to EN 61000-6-2: 1999.

Summary

It’s understandable that EMC testing may confuse you. As with any new standard, questions pertaining to EN 61000-6-2: 1999 are plentiful. For example, “If my product complies with EN 50082-2: 1995 requirements, do I need to have the product retested when EN 61000-6-2: 1999 becomes mandatory?” The answer is yes.

“If my product has been tested and meets the EN 61000-6-2: 1999 requirements, do I need to retest the product when market stratagem changes to a residential environment?” The answer is no. No additional testing is required because the test levels usually are lower for devices used in residential environments.

Acknowledgement

The authors thank Dr. Roland Gubisch of Intertek Testing Services NA for his support of this article.

References

EN 61000-6-2: 1999, Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC)—Part 6-2: Generic Standards—Immunity for Industrial Environments, CENELEC.
EN 50082-2: 1995, Electromagnetic Compatibility—Generic Immunity Standard, Part 2: Industrial Environment, CENELEC.
EN 50082-1: 1997, Electromagnetic Compatibility—Generic Immunity Standard, Part 1: Residential, Commercial, and Light Industry, CENELEC.
Lin, G. and Alvarado, M., “Reviewing EU EMC Generic Standards,” EE-Evaluation Engineering, July 2000, pp. S-50–S-57.

About the Authors

Grace Lin is a senior project engineer in Telco Stream, an Intertek Testing Services group that focuses on the telecommunications industry. She holds a B.S. in electronic engineering from National Taiwan Ocean University and an M.S. in electrical engineering from Syracuse University. Ms. Lin has worked in the EMC field since 1984 and been employed by ITS for more than seven years. e-mail: [email protected]
Michael J. Alvarado is a senior project engineer at ITS. He has been involved in compliance engineering since 1983 and worked in an R&D group and an engineering group testing for U.S. and foreign markets. Mr. Alvarado, an ITS employee for six years, is a graduate of Orange County Community College and holds an A.A.S. in electrical engineering. e-mail: [email protected]
Intertek Testing Services NA, 1950 Evergreen Blvd., Suite 100, Duluth, GA 30096, 678-775-2400.

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October 2000