IEC 61326-1 specifies requirements for immunity and emissions regarding electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) for electrical equipment, operating from a supply or battery of less than 1 000 V AC or 1 500 V DC or from the circuit being measured. Equipment intended for professional, industrial-process, industrial-manufacturing and educational use is covered by this standard. It includes equipment and computing devices for:
— measurement and test,
— control,
—laboratory use,
— accessories intended for use with the above (such as sample handling equipment), intended to be used in industrial and non-industrial locations.
Computing devices and assemblies and similar equipment within the scope of information technology equipment (ITE) and complying with applicable ITE EMC standards can be used in systems within the scope of IEC 61326-1 without additional testing, if they are suitable for the intended electromagnetic environment.
The following equipment is covered by IEC 61326-1:
a) Electrical measurement and test equipment
This is equipment which, by electrical means, measures, indicates or records one or more electrical or non-electrical quantities, also non-measuring equipment such as signal generators, measurement standards, power supplies and transducers.
b) Electrical control equipment
This is equipment which controls one or more output quantities to specific values, with each value determined by manual settings, by local or remote programming, or by one or more input variables. This includes industrial process measurement and control (IPMC) equipment, which consists of devices such as:
– process controllers and regulators;
– programmable controllers;
– power supply units for equipment and systems (centralized or dedicated);
– analogue/digital indicators and recorders;
– process instrumentation;
– transducers, positioners, intelligent actuators, etc.
c) Electrical laboratory equipment, including In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) medical equipment
This is equipment used to prepare or analyse materials, or measure, indicate or monitor physical quantities. This equipment might also be used in areas other than laboratories.
d) Equipment a), b) or c) as above when being equipped with components having radio functionality, for example for wireless communication.
IEC 61326-1 considers three types of electromagnetic environments:
• BASIC ELECTROMAGNETIC ENVIRONMENT,
• INDUSTRIAL ELECTROMAGNETIC ENVIRONMENT,
• CONTROLLED ELECTROMAGNETIC ENVIRONMENT.
IEC 61326-1:2020 text has been approved in Europe as EN IEC 61326-1:2021 without any changes.
