This part of IEC 61000 defines the immunity test methods and range of preferred test levels for electrical and electronic equipment connected to low-voltage power supply networks for voltage dips, short interruptions, and voltage variations.

This standard applies to electrical and electronic equipment having a rated mains current exceeding 16 A per phase. (See Annex E for guidance on electrical and electronic equipment rated at more than 200 A per phase.) It covers equipment installed in residential areas as well as industrial machinery, specifically voltage dips and short interruptions for equipment connected to either 50 Hz or 60 Hz a.c. networks, including 1-phase and 3-phase mains.

NOTE 1 Equipment with a rated mains current of 16 A or less per phase is covered by publication IEC 61000-4-11.

NOTE 2 There is no upper limit on rated mains current in this publication. However, in some countries, the rated mains current may be limited to some upper value, for example 75 A or 250 A, because of mandatory safety standards.

It does not apply to electrical and electronic equipment for connection to 400 Hz a.c. networks. Tests for equipment connected to these networks will be covered by future IEC standards.

The object of this standard is to establish a common reference for evaluating the immunity of electrical and electronic equipment when subjected to voltage dips, short interruptions and voltage variations.

NOTE 1 Voltage fluctuations are covered by publication IEC 61000-4-14.

NOTE 2 For equipment under test with rated currents above 250 A, suitable test equipment may be difficult to obtain. In these cases, the applicability of this standard should be carefully evaluated by committees responsible for generic, product and product-family standards. Alternatively, this standard might be used as a framework for an agreement on performance criteria between the manufacturer and the purchaser.

The test method documented in this part of IEC 61000 describes a consistent method to assess the immunity of equipment or a system against a defined phenomenon. As described in IEC Guide 107, this is a basic EMC publication for use by product committees of the IEC. As also stated in Guide 107, the IEC product committees are responsible for determining whether this immunity test standard should be applied or not, and if applied, they are responsible for defining the appropriate test levels. Technical committee 77 and its subcommittees are prepared to co-operate with product committees in the evaluation of the value of particular immunity tests for their products.