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IECEx

IECEx is the international certification scheme for equipment, services, and personnel used in explosive atmospheres. The full name is the IEC System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment for Use in Explosive Atmospheres, and it is built on the IEC 60079 series of standards. It is the dominant route across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia, but it is not typically how equipment is qualified in the US or Canada, which lean on their own NEC and CEC area-classification rules and NRTL listings. However, IECEx certification is generally accepted North America.

The relationship between IECEx to ATEX can be confusing

  • IECEx is a voluntary international scheme with no legal force of its own, but one that many countries accept as evidence of compliance.
  • ATEX is EU law: to place explosion-protected equipment on the EU market you must comply with the ATEX directive.

The two share the same IEC 60079 technical base, so the actual testing is essentially identical. In practice a manufacturer usually earns the IECEx certificate first and then uses it as the foundation for its ATEX certificate. Think of ATEX as the law and IECEx as the international passport that gets you most of the way there.

Key Points

  • IECEx is an international certification scheme covering equipment, service facilities, and personnel for explosive atmospheres, built on the IEC 60079 series.
  • ATEX is mandatory EU law;
  • It aims for one internationally accepted certificate, published in a public online database, rather than country-by-country re-testing.
  • There is not an IECEx stamp on devices. But it would be mentioned on the certificate and in the database.
  • It is the common route outside North America; the US and Canada mainly use their own NEC/CEC classification and NRTL listings, though IECEx can still be used there.

Example

A pressure transmitter certified Ex db IIC T6 Ga under IECEx carries a Certificate of Conformity you can look up in the IECEx online system, confirming it suits the most easily ignited gas groups and an 85°C surface-temperature limit. That same certificate is then commonly used as the basis for the equivalent ATEX certificate for the EU market.

See Also: ATEX, hazardous areas, MESG, MIC ratio

Cited Sources

Deep dive: For a much more in-depth treatment, see Who Certifies Functional Safety Equipment, and Who Accepts It.

Part Of: certificates various category