What is BS EN 60335-1:2012+A15:2021 about?
This is the latest amendment to the European standard on general requirements for the safety of household and similar electrical appliances. BS EN 60335-1:2012+A15:2021 reflects research on the changing behaviours and capabilities of children and what makes appliances attractive to them.
Who is BS EN 60335-1:2012+A15:2021 for?
- Manufacturers of white goods/household electrical equipment
- Suppliers of components for household electrical equipment
- Organizations selling household electrical equipment
- Regulatory bodies
- Inspectors (test house engineers)
- Trading Standards
- Consumer groups
What does BS EN 60335-1:2012+A15:2021 cover?
It specifies general requirements for the safety of electrical appliances for the household environment and commercial purposes, providing their rated voltage is not more than 250 V for single-phase and 480 V for other appliances.
It also covers battery-operated appliances and other d.c. supplied appliances and those intended for use by expert or trained users in shops, light industry and on farms; as well as appliances and machines that are declared to be for commercial use by lay persons.
BS EN 60335-1:2012+A15:2021 deals with the reasonably foreseeable hazards presented by appliances and machines that are encountered by all persons. Its general requirements include:
- Defining the classification and marking of electrical equipment
- Protection against live parts, heating and leakage currents
- Electric strength at operating temperatures
- Moisture resistance
- Resistance to heat and fire
- Stability and mechanical hazards
- Internal wiring
- Supply connections
Why should you use BS EN 60335-1:2012+A15:2021?
- It ensures that products developed using this standard have a high level of user-safety
- Its use helps facilitate trade, improve efficiency and increase trust in products
BS EN 60335-1:2012+A15:2021 contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goal 3 on ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages because it supports the manufacture of safer electrical appliances.
What’s new about BS EN 60335-1:2012+A15:2021?
This is an amendment to BS EN 60335-1:2012+A2:2019. The standard’s scope remains unchanged in that it still doesn’t cover the use of appliances by very young children, unsupervised young children, nor children playing with electrical household equipment.
However, the standard now takes into account research on the reasonably foreseeable use of appliances by children and on their interaction with appliances and, as a consequence, introduces more stringent conditions to be met by those appliances considered to be child-appealing. This amendment also makes a few editorial changes to the text.