MANUAL MOTOR STARTER GUIDE
APRIL 19
8/80
1. Standards and approvals for manual motor starters
All ABB low voltage devices are developed and manufactured according to the rules set out in the IEC (International
Electrotechnical Commission). The IEC issues publications that act as a basis for the world market. The applicable
standard is the IEC 60947 series for Europe and UL 60947 for North America. All devices are built according to this
standard and in most countries, they are not subject to any other tests besides the manufacturer responsibility. In
some countries, the law requires additional certification.
1.1 European directives applicable for manual motor starters
There are essential European directives:
-
Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU
Concerns electrical equipment from 50 to 1000 V AC and from 75 to 1500 V DC.
-
RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU
Restriction of the use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electronic and Electrical Equipment
-
ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU
The European Parliament and of the Council on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating
to equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres
−
WEEE Directive 2012/19/EU
Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on waste electrical and electronic
equipment (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive)
1.2 CE Marking
When a product is verified according to its applicable EN standard, the product is presumed to fulfil all applicable
directives, e.g., the “Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU”, and it is allowed to apply the CE marking on the product.
EN 60947-4-1 is the harmonized standard for manual motor starters and it is identical to IEC 60947-4-1. The same
applies to the EN 60947-2, EN 60947-1 for the accessories the EN60947-5-1
In this case, the CE marking does not cover the “Machinery Directive, Directive 2006/42/EC” which requires a special
verification of the installation of the machine. The manual motor starter is an electrical device, with mainly electrical
risks. It is instead covered by the low voltage directive.
The CE marking is not a quality label, it is proof of conformity to the European Directives concerning the product.
1.3 Standards for North America
Specifications for the north America and Canadian markets are quite similar but differ a lot from IEC standards and
European specifications. In Chapter 7. Requirements for North America, this topic will be described in more detail.
USA
- UL Underwriters Laboratories Inc.
Canada
- CSA Canadian Standards Association
There are different types of UL certification, including UL listed and UL component recognition. UL listing means that
UL has tested representative samples of the product and determined that it meets UL’s requirements. UL’s compo-
nent recognition service, however, only covers the evaluation of components or materials intended for use in a
complete product or system. All ABB manual motor starters that have UL certification, are UL listed. Manual motor
starters can also be cULus listed, meaning that they are UL listed to US and Canadian safety standards. All the re-
quirements of both UL and CSA are covered by cULus, so the product is then suitable for use in the US and in Canada.