TYPES OF PROTECTION

In areas in which an explosive atmosphere is likely to occur only explosion-protected equipment should be used. Electrical equipment for potentially explosive atmospheres can be designed in various types of protection in accordance with the building regulations of the IEC 60079 series of standards. Types of protection for non-electrical equipment are defined in the ISO 80079 series of standards. The latter replaces the EN 13463 series of standards which is currently valid.

The type of protection which the manufacturer applies to equipment largely depends on the type and function of the equipment. Some types of protection are available in different protection levels. These correspond to the equipment categories in accordance to ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU and/or the equipment protection level (EPL) in accordance with IEC 60079-0. From a safety point of view, all standardised types of protection within a category and/or an equipment protection level should be considered equally.

The following tables provide an overview of the standardised types of protection and describe the basic principle and the normal applications. By integrating the types of protection for potentially explosive dust atmospheres in the IEC 60079 series of standards, the symbols for the types of protection are also simplified.

If necessary, combinations of different types of protection can also be applied in order to provide an optimum solution from the safety, functional and economical point of view. Modern explosion-protected equipment generally combine with multiple types of protection. By using different types of protection on one item of equipment, smaller and more cost-effective designs can be implemented on the one hand. On the other, it means that construction types are possible that make operation and maintenance easier for the user.