Frequency Converters 77 2.9 Standards and Legislations As for all other products legislations and technical standards are worldwide available to ensure safe operation of FC’s. Legislation is issued by the legislative branch of national or local government and can of course be diff erent in the diff erent countries around the globe. However it is mandatory to comply with – it is law. It is a political document, typically free of specifi c technical details – these details can be found in standards.
Standards are written by experts in relevant standardisation bodies (such as the International Electrotechnical Commission IEC or the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation CENELEC) and refl ect the technical state of the art. Their role is to establish a technical common ground for cooperation between market players. Typically IEC standards are accepted in the majority of countries and local standards (EN, NEMA) will be harmonised to fi t them. Manufacturers have to demonstrate and document compliance with the local legislations by following the standards otherwise they are not allowed to sell their product in the local market.
On the product itself the compliance is indicated by symbols. a) b) Fig. 2.28 CE- Marking (a) and ul listing (b) Which standards have been applied and which legislative conformance has been stated is noted for example in Europe in the Declaration of Conformity. For a better understanding this book address several standards connected to FC’s and some relevant legislative measures.