General Requirements of IEC 60335-1 (6th Edition) Published

The evolution of IoT, home appliances, and the idea of the smart home has made the safety of home appliances more important than ever. Devices that were once relatively simple machines now include a variety of electronic circuits enabling graphic displays, wireless communication, software interfaces, and other features which all factor into the overall safety of the product.

On September 7th, 2020, the TC61 technical committee had published the 6th Edition of IEC 60335-1 to cover the technical requirements of newly emerging home appliances.

Significant Changes:

• Updated the text of this standard to align with the most recent editions of the dated normative references;
• Deleted some notes and converted many other notes, in whole or in part, to normative text;
• Changed some Annex designations from normative to informative;
• Clarified requirements for PELV circuits;
• Clarification of requirements on measurement of power input and rated current when they vary throughout the operating cycle; 
• Introduced and clarified mechanical strength requirements for appliances with integral pins for insertion into socket-outlets; 
• Revised requirements for battery-operated appliances; 
• Introduced requirements for metal-ion batteries including a new clause 12 charging of metal-ion batteries; 
• Introduced the application of test probe 18; 
• Introduced requirements for appliances incorporating appliance outlets and socket-outlets accessible to the user; 
• Revised and clarified requirements for appliances incorporating a functional earth; 
• Introduced moisture resistance test requirements for appliances that incorporate an automatic cord reel and that have a second numeral IP rating; 
• Clarified the appliance test criteria for the moisture resistance for appliances and parts of appliances with integral pins for insertion into socket-outlets; 
• Introduced limits on the output voltage of an accessible safety extra-low voltage outlet or connector or Universal Serial Bus (USB) under abnormal operation conditions; 
• Introduced requirements to cover optical radiation hazards; 
• Introduced external communication software management items into normative Annex; 
• Revised external communication requirements in table R.1 and table R.2; 
• Introduced in new normative Annex U cyber security requirements to avoid unauthorized access and the effects of transmission failures via remote communication through public networks.

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