EN 62368-1 — Audio/Video/IT Equipment Safety Standard (LVD)
IEC 62368-1 / EN 62368-1 (Audio/video, information and communication technology equipment — Part 1: Safety requirements) is the consolidated, hazard-based product safety standard that replaced both IEC 60950-1 (Information Technology Equipment safety) and IEC 60065 (Audio/Video equipment safety) as the harmonised standard cited in the Official Journal for CE marking under the Low Voltage Directive (LVD, 2014/35/EU) in the EU; its use is voluntary but gives presumption of conformity.
The transition had a fixed end: the European Commission’s OJEU notice set 20 December 2020 as the date on which EN 60950-1 and EN 60065 ceased to give presumption of conformity, leaving EN 62368-1 as the OJ-cited LVD standard for covered products from that date onward.
Key Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full title | IEC 62368-1:2023 (Ed. 4) / EN IEC 62368-1:2024+A11:2024 — Audio/video, information and communication technology equipment — Part 1: Safety requirements (edition cited in the OJ under the LVD: EN 62368-1:2014+AC:2015) |
| Replaces | IEC 60950-1 (IT equipment), IEC 60065 (AV equipment) |
| Predecessors’ presumption of conformity ended | 20 December 2020 (EN 60950-1 and EN 60065, under the LVD) |
| Standard type | Harmonised European Standard (hEN) — EN version |
| Applicable directive | Low Voltage Directive (LVD, 2014/35/EU) |
| Applicable to | Computing equipment, networking equipment, IoT devices, radio equipment with external power, displays, audio/video equipment, power supplies |
| Voltage scope | 50 VAC – 1000 VAC / 75 VDC – 1500 VDC (LVD scope) — but frequently applied to lower-voltage equipment by reference |
| Core approach | Hazard-based safety engineering (HBSE) — instead of prescriptive rules |
The Shift from Prescriptive to Hazard-Based Safety
The fundamental innovation of EN 62368-1 compared to its predecessors is its Hazard-Based Safety Engineering (HBSE) framework. Rather than specifying exactly what components and construction features a product must have (as IEC 60950-1 did), EN 62368-1:
- Classifies energy sources into energy source classes 1 to 3 (ES for electrical, PS for power/fire, MS for mechanical, TS for thermal, RS for radiation) based on the level and type of hazard (electric shock, fire, injury from moving parts, radiation, chemical, etc.)
- Classifies persons into three categories based on their ability to interact safely with the equipment (ordinary persons, instructed persons, skilled persons)
- Defines safeguards appropriate to protect each person class from each energy source class
This framework gives designers more flexibility to achieve safety through different means, as long as the hazard boundaries are maintained.
Energy Source Classification
Electric Shock Hazard
| Class | Voltage / Current | Safeguard Required |
|---|---|---|
| ES1 | ≤ 30 V RMS / 42.4 V peak AC / 60 V DC | No protection required from ordinary persons (safe to touch) |
| ES2 | Above ES1, up to 50 V RMS / 70.7 V peak AC / 120 V DC | Protection (insulation, barriers) required from ordinary persons |
| ES3 | Above ES2 (> 70.7 V peak AC / > 120 V DC) | Enhanced protection required — accessible only to skilled persons with appropriate training |
For most consumer electronics and IoT devices:
- Mains-connected products have ES3 energy at the mains input (240 VAC = ~339 V peak)
- After the power supply’s primary-secondary isolation, the secondary side is typically ES1 (USB 5 V, 12 V, 24 V rails)
- Battery-powered products with battery voltages ≤ 60 V DC are typically ES1 on the battery side
Fire Hazard Classification
| Class | Description |
|---|---|
| PS1 | ≤ 15 W — ignition unlikely |
| PS2 | ≤ 100 W — ignition possible but burning limited |
| PS3 | Above PS2 — burning unlikely to be contained within the equipment |
Fire hazard controls include: flammability ratings of PCBs (UL94 V-0 or V-1 requirements for internal PCBs), component temperature limits, overcurrent protection, and material selection near heat sources.
Key Test Areas
1. Electric Strength (Dielectric Withstand)
Insulation barriers between the mains (primary) and accessible secondary circuits must withstand a defined high-voltage test without breakdown. Typical test: 3 kVAC or 4.2 kVDC applied across primary-secondary isolation for 1 minute.
2. Creepage and Clearance Distances
Minimum physical distances between conductors at different potentials, measured through air (clearance) and along PCB or component surfaces (creepage). These distances depend on the working voltage, pollution degree, and overvoltage category of the circuit.
Hardware implication: PCB layout must maintain minimum creepage/clearance around mains components and across primary-secondary isolation barriers. This affects transformer footprint, mains connector placement, and Y-capacitor positioning.
3. Protective Earth Continuity
Mains-connected products with protective earth must have low-resistance continuity between the earth pin of the mains connector and all accessible conductive parts.
4. Touch Temperature (Burn Hazard)
Surfaces accessible to ordinary persons must not exceed temperature limits defined by EN 62368-1 Table 10 under maximum load conditions. Limits depend on material type (metal, glass, ceramic, polymer) and product category.
5. Battery Safety
For products with lithium batteries, EN 62368-1 includes specific requirements for:
- Battery management system (BMS) functionality
- Overcharge, over-discharge, and short-circuit protection
- Mechanical crushing and deformation resilience
- Thermal testing under fault conditions
Hardware implication: The BMS must provide hardware-level protection (not just firmware) for overcharge, over-discharge, and short circuit. A common non-conformity is relying on firmware-only protections that can fail if firmware crashes.
6. Stability and Mechanical Hazards
Products that could tip over, entrap users, or create mechanical hazard must pass stability and mechanical safety tests.
7. Acoustic Noise (Hearing Damage)
Audio output equipment must include mechanisms preventing sustained output at hazardous volume levels (applicable to headphones, earbuds, and amplifiers able to drive headphones).
EN 62368-1 and IoT / Radio Equipment
For IoT and radio equipment products, EN 62368-1 is typically applied in combination with:
| Standard | Coverage |
|---|---|
| EN 300 328 or EN 301 893 | Radio spectrum (RED Article 3(2)) |
| EN 301 489-1 + specific part | EMC — conducted/ radiated emissions and immunity |
| EN 62368-1 | Electrical and fire safety (LVD / RED Article 3(1)(a)) |
| EN 18031-1 | Cybersecurity (RED Article 3(3)(d), applicable under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30) |
| EN 62311 | RF exposure / SAR |
The CE Declaration of Conformity for a typical connected IoT device cites all four or five of these standards to cover all applicable essential requirements.
A11 Amendment: EU-Specific Provisions
The European version EN IEC 62368-1:2020+A11:2020 (like its successor EN IEC 62368-1:2024+A11:2024) includes the A11 amendment, which adds specific EU requirements not present in the international IEC version:
- Additional requirements from LVD (2014/35/EU) not covered by the base IEC standard
- More stringent requirements for certain product categories to align with EU safety expectations
- Specific requirements for plugs and connectors used in EU markets
For LVD purposes use the EN (European) version, not the base IEC 62368-1 alone — and note that the edition whose reference is published in the OJ under the LVD is still EN 62368-1:2014 (+AC:2015); the 2020 and 2024 editions do not carry presumption of conformity under the LVD.
Common Failure Modes
| Failure | Root Cause |
|---|---|
| Insufficient creepage/clearance | PCB layout does not maintain required distances across primary-secondary isolation |
| Touch temperature exceeded | Component or enclosure surface exceeds limit under maximum continuous load |
| Battery protection gap | Over-charge or over-discharge protection relies solely on firmware; hardware-level protection absent |
| Earth continuity failure | High resistance between earth pin and accessible metal parts due to poor bonding |
| Flammability non-compliance | PCB material or internal component housing lacks required UL94 V-0/V-1 rating |
Related Terms
- RED — Radio Equipment Directive; Article 3(1)(a) applies the LVD safety objectives to radio equipment with no voltage limit, and EN 62368-1 is commonly used to show this although its reference is published under the LVD, not the RED.
- CE Marking — EN 62368-1 is the usual, voluntary route to presumption of conformity for CE marking of AV/ICT products in LVD scope.
- EN 300 328 — 2.4 GHz radio standard; typically cited alongside EN 62368-1 for Wi-Fi/BT devices.
- EN 301 893 — 5 GHz Wi-Fi standard; also typically cited alongside EN 62368-1.
- Technical File — EN 62368-1 test reports form a critical part of the technical file for LVD/RED compliance.
EN 62368-1 compliance is a design constraint that must be considered from the earliest stages of hardware development — PCB layout, component selection, transformer specifications, and enclosure thermal design all affect conformity. Inovasense incorporates EN 62368-1 requirements into hardware design reviews and coordinates accredited laboratory testing to ensure LVD compliance is confirmed before CE marking is declared. See our EU compliance services.
Official References
- Directive 2014/35/EU (LVD) — EN 62368-1 harmonised standard reference — EUR-Lex
- IEC 62368-1:2023 (Edition 4.0) — IEC webstore — IEC (Audio/video, information and communication technology equipment safety)