Safety of household and similar appliances - Part 1: General requirements

1 Scope
This International Standard deals with the safety of electrical appliances for household and similar purposes,
their RATED VOLTAGE being not more than 250 V for single-phase appliances and 480 V for other
appliances.

NOTE 1 BATTERY-OPERATED APPLIANCES and other d.c. supplied appliances are within the scope of this
standard. Dual supply appliances, either mains-supplied or battery-operated, are regarded as BATTERY-
OPERATED APPLIANCES when operated in the battery mode.

Appliances not intended for normal household use but which nevertheless may be a source of danger to
the public, such as appliances intended to be used by laymen in shops, in light industry and on farms, are
within the scope of this standard.

NOTE 2 Examples of such appliances are catering equipment, cleaning appliances for commercial use, and
appliances for hairdressers.
As far as is practicable, this standard deals with the common hazards presented by appliances that are
encountered by all persons in and around the home. However, in general, it does not take into account
– persons (including children) whose
• physical, sensory or mental capabilities; or
• lack of experience and knowledge
– children playing with the appliance.

NOTE 3 Attention is drawn to the fact that
– for appliances intended to be used in vehicles or on board ships or aircraft, additional requirements may be
necessary;
– in many countries, additional requirements are specified by the national health authorities, the national
authorities responsible for the protection of labour, the national water supply authorities and similar authorities.

NOTE 4 This standard does not apply to
– appliances intended exclusively for industrial purposes;
– appliances intended to be used in locations where special conditions prevail, such as the presence of a
corrosive or explosive atmosphere (dust, vapour or gas);
– audio, video and similar electronic apparatus (IEC 60065);
– appliances for medical purposes (IEC 60601); prevents them from using the appliance safely without
supervision or instruction;
– hand-held motor-operated electric tools (IEC 60745);
– personal computers and similar equipment (IEC 60950-1);
– transportable motor-operated electric tools (IEC 61029)