Standards Development

Scope

This new standard is intended to specify requirements to be fullfilled when integrating radiocommunication devices within an equipment.

This document covers:

– The method of integrating radiocommunication device into an equipment;

– The verification method of the integration;

– Typical radiocommunication device integration use cases.

Purpose

In the context of fast evolution of radiocommunication technologies and slow evolution of LV switchgear and controlgear and their assemblies having a longer lifetime, the proposal consists of a method to simplify the update of the radiocommunication device with appropriate testing.

The aim of this new standard is really to limit the recertification and retesting when updating the radiocommunication device in an industrial equipment (e.g. circuit-breaker, sensor etc.).

The approach is to evaluate the capability of the equipment to host a wireless transmission

- Using the near field testing for determining the immunity spectrum profile (frequency range and maximum power) of the host equipment;

- For example, an evaluation across a defined frequency band (e.g. 80 MHz to 6GHz) could allow to include technologies such as Wifi, ZigBee, LoRa or Bluetooth. A simulated (antenna + RF generator) test is performed with the maximum selected power (e.g. Wifi profile). Then this allows to integrate the other technology in this frequency band with a power equal or lower than this Wifi profile.

The following benefits of such methodology are expected:

- Flexibility to fit to the customer need in terms of connectivity;

- On-site upgrade;

- Upgrade/change by the manufacturer of existing equipment series;

- Limit the re-test, approval, recertification effort (time and cost savings) but also the declaration of conformity;

- To get a better knowledge of the robustness of the equipment (EMC criterion A, reliability, cybersecurity);

- Finally to allow simple hardware/software modification of the equipment/sensor with the same radiocommunication device.