North American Standards

In North America, NEMA, UL and CSA are the most commonly recognized Standards organizations.

They are almost identical in their rating and testing of enclosures.

UL and CSA

• Provide “certification labels” to be permanently attached inside the enclosures.
• Require that enclosures be tested in an approved lab in order to prove their performance.
• Inspect manufacturers to ensure they use approved materials and build to tested product designs.

NEMA, EEMAC and JIC

• Do not provide “certification labels” for enclosures
• Do not provide testing services or require enclosures to be tested.
• Leave compliance and testing to the discretion of the manufacturer.

JIC Ratings

• JIC or Joint Industrial Commission ratings are Standards which (in brief) specify minimum allowable material thickness for various enclosure sizes.

Hammond Enclosure Ratings

In general, Hammond Enclosures are...

• Listed by UL
• Certified by CSA
• Comply with NEMA
• Comply with EEMAC
• Comply with JIC
• Comply with IEC

European Standards

IEC

In Europe, IEC ratings are the most commonly recognized Standards for enclosures.

• IEC ratings are similar to NEMA, but the pass or fail requirements are different. (see NEMA to IEC Cross Reference Chart on page 7).
• IEC does not include ratings for enclosures in conditions of corrosion, rust or oil.
• IEC does not provide testing, so testing and compliance is left up to the manufacturer. In Europe, TUV and VDE are two popular testing agencies that manufacturers use.

CE

• CE is a European Union (EU) symbol, which indicates that the product complies with the EU directives or Standards for that product.

CE does not apply to empty enclosures because enclosures are components of a final assembly. Testing and compliance to EU directives is the responsibility of the final equipment manufacturer.

Dual Standards

UL and CSA have markings available that indicate approvals meet Standards of their “non-home” country.

• The cUL mark indicates the product has been tested to meet Canadian Standards by the UL organization.
• The cCSAus mark indicates the product has been tested to meet USA Standards by CSA.