Ex certification

[TMD]

This may not be the right group for this, but it seems to be the most active, and has addressed standards issues before.

Equipment certified for hazloc areas to the IEC 60079 series standards is limited to -20 C to +40 C ambient temperature according to the standards. Equipment for use at higher temperatures is possible, but it is not clear in the standard what the rules are for higher temperatures.

Anyone been down this certification road with advice to offer?

 

[AusPowEng]

TMD,

What is generally done with devices certified for ambients exceeding 40deg is that the Temperature Class of the device is re-rated and then assessed against the Zone classification.

That is, if you have an Exe motor certified to T4, then under higher ambient conditions treat the motor as a T3.

The parameter to watch is final operating temperature (ie. Tamb + Trise). The certification report from the testing authority may indicate there is margin avaiable between the final temperature and that of the Temp Classification, and the increase ambient does not encroach on that margin, then you can retain the original Temp Classificaiton.

It is worthwhile to mention that there is also a safety margin that must be maintained between the final temperature and the Temperature Classification.

Regards,

AusPowEng

 

[jbartos]

Suggestion: The simple electrical equipment such as cables is possible to re-rate; however, the more complex equipment is not so simple to re-rate. It is better to contact the equipment manufacturer for official re-rating to be on the safe side.