prEN IEC 60079-13:2026

This part of IEC 60079 gives requirements for the design, construction, assessment, verification and marking of rooms used to protect internal equipment as:
a) located in a Zone 1 or Zone 2, or Zone 21 or Zone 22 (an area normally requiring an Equipment Protection Level (EPL) Gb, Gc, Db or Dc) without an internal source of gas or vapour release and protected by pressurization;
b) located in a Zone 1 or Zone 2, or Zone 21 or Zone 22 (an area normally requiring EPL Gb, Gc, Db or Dc), containing an internal source of gas or vapour release and protected by both pressurization and artificial ventilation;
c) located in a Zone 2 (an area normally requiring EPL Gc) with or without an internal source of gas or vapour release and protected by artificial ventilation; or
d) located in a non-hazardous area, containing an internal source of gas or vapour release and protected by artificial ventilation.
Equipment with a minimum EPL of Gc permitted in a room located in a Zone 1 (EPL Gb) or Dc permitted in a room located in a Zone 21 (EPL Db) is not addressed in this document as it is considered not practical in the context of rooms and the equipment that might be required.
NOTE 1 Internal releases of combustible dust are not considered as neither protection by ventilation nor protection by pressurization can prevent hazardous areas from such releases.
NOTE 2 See Annex C for examples of applications.
The term "room" used in this document includes single rooms, multiple rooms, a complete building, or a room contained within a building, and includes associated ventilation duct work. A room is intended to facilitate the entry of personnel. Regions of the "room" where the protection is provided by local ventilation, for example ventilation hoods, can also be considered in the evaluation of the "room".
Enclosures designed to permit personnel to completely enter can also be considered as a room, for example a large acoustic enclosure.
Limitations in the use of protection by ventilation are specified in 7.1.1.
This document is not intended to apply to temporary structures, for example, to enable hot work to be completed in an operating plant.
NOTE 3 Despite the above intent for permanent structures, elements of this document are commonly used as guidance for temporary structures.
This document also includes requirements for related safety devices and controls necessary to ensure that artificial ventilation, purging and pressurization is established and maintained.
A room assembled or constructed on site, can be either land-based or off-shore. The room is primarily intended for installation by an end-user but could be constructed and assessed at a manufacturer’s facility, where the final construction such as ducting can be performed on site.
This document does not specify the methods that might be required to ensure adequate air quality for personnel such as asphyxiation, toxicity and temperature hazards within the room.
Additional guidance on analyser houses, asphyxiation and toxicity hazards can be found in IEC 61285. National or other regulations and requirements might also exist for the safety of personnel.
The scope does not include:
a) Protection of rooms by using an inert gas or a flammable gas.
NOTE: It is recognized that such applications are special cases but are likely to be the subject of additional, stringent engineering standards, procedures and practices.
b) Pressurized enclosures for equipment that are not intended to facilitate the entry of personnel.
NOTE: Such enclosures are addressed in IEC 60079-2.
This document supplements and modifies the general requirements of IEC 60079-0, except as indicated in Table 1. Where a requirement of this document conflicts with a requirement of IEC 60079-0, the requirement of this document takes precedence.