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IEC 62368-1 Standard (2023 version): What You Need To Know

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Introduction to the IEC 62368-1 standard for electronic product safety

The IEC 62368-1:2023 standard is the most recent edition of the technical standard that outlines safety requirements for audio-video products, IT and communication equipment, and various office equipment with a rated voltage not exceeding 600V.

It aims to reduce the risks of fire, electrical shocks, and other hazards. As you can imagine, this encompasses a huge range of today’s electronic devices used by both businesses and consumers.

This standard is published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and is the main basis of electrical safety compliance in the USA and the EU. For example, virtually all Apple products are designed with this standard in mind and are tested against it.

 

What kinds of products are in its scope?

As mentioned, this product safety standard covers a lot of products, for example:

  • Amplifiers
  • Speakers
  • Headphones
  • TVs
  • Projectors
  • Computers
  • Routers
  • Gaming consoles
  • AC/DC power adapters
  • Digital signs
  • Networked printer/copiers

There are more that could be added to this list, but these give you an idea of how many products (and their manufacturers) the IEC 62368-1 standard affects.

There is no way to ignore it if you deal with one of those product categories… if your product does not comply with its requirements, it might be unsafe, and in many cases it will not comply with regulations (for example, in the EU, an alternative is to work with one of the notified bodies and get them to review & test the product in a different way — that’s an expensive approach, needless to say.)

 

A few principles behind this standard

  • Safer products for the consumers: Products designed along this standard’s requirements have a lower risk of electrical shock, fire, skin burns, and other safety hazards.
  • Mature set of requirements: The IEC 62368-1 standard is now in its 4th edition, and the requirements haven’t evolved much since the 2nd edition. A product designed to comply with the standard today can evolve and remain compliant without the need for expensive and time-consuming redesigns and retesting.
  • Only test once: IEC standards are globally recognized, therefore your products will be seen as compliant in many/most markets without needing to be retested specifically for individual ones. An exception here would be Japan.
  • Easier management of product testing: The standard’s testing protocols are standardized, which makes testing easier to manage. A UL lab in Shenzhen will follow the same methods as a TUV Sud lab in Ireland.

 

Key elements of the IEC 62368-1 safety standard

We’ve established that complying with the IEC 62368-1 standard is a must for products that fall under its scope. Now, should your design engineers start to read the standard? We’d suggest they first look at a series of videos that we’ve prepared:

IEC 62368-1:2023 Training (Part 1: Scope & Introduction)

This video introduces the IEC 62368-1:2023 technical standard and the way it supports electrical safety, mechanical safety, thermal safety, etc.

 

IEC 62368-1:2023 Training (Part 2: Basic Concepts)

The concepts for electrical product safety include who will use the product, the level of user skill, product safety impact levels, and safeguards that can be implemented for each user profile.

 

IEC 62368-1:2023 Training (Part 3: Preventing Electrically Caused Injuries)

This video explores the guidance that the IEC 62368-1:2023 technical standard provides about preventing electrically-caused injuries, such as electric shocks, when developing and launching new electrical products that fall under the standard’s scope, namely IT equipment, AV devices, telecom equipment, and so on. We’ll go through danger levels, safeguards, and product design with electrical safety in mind.

 

IEC 62368-1:2023 Training (Part 4: Preventing Thermal Burn Injuries)

This is an outline of how to prevent thermal burn injuries, AKA ‘burns’, for anyone bringing new electrical products that are in the standard’s scope to market. We cover the thermal burn injury protection model, why different materials cause different burns, categories of burns and likely effects, and safeguards that can be used and when to do so.

 

IEC 62368-1:2023 Training (Part 5: Electrically-Caused Fires Prevention)

Get information that will help you design products that have a reduced risk of electrical fires starting which could be a safety hazard for users. The video looks at why electrical fires start, models for protecting against electrically caused fires, power sources and the level of fire risk they pose, types of safeguards you can implement, and more.

 

IEC 62368-1:2023 Training (Part 6: Battery Safety)

The video explains the reason for battery safety, the causes of battery fires and other hazards, which batteries are more and less safe, safeguards that can be implemented to reduce risks, and more; especially for the types of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries commonly used in the products within its scope.

 

IEC 62368 12023 Training (Part 7: Plastic Enclosure Requirements)

The product’s enclosure should protect against fire and electrical shock, for example, as well as be functional and look correct. We’ll go through basic concepts, and explain what ‘enclosures’ are and how they’re necessary to protect against fire and other injuries. We also look at the special case of enclosures belonging to outdoor products.

 

Next steps…

If you have any questions about product compliance, get in touch and we will be happy to try and help you.

You may also like to read more blog posts about product compliance, too.