Ex e Increased Safety | Explosive Atmospheres & Explosion Proof Protection Concepts

ex e increased safety

Increased Safety Ex e is an explosion protection concept applied to the installation to ensure increased security against the possibility of excessive temperatures and sparks from hazardous area electrical equipment. Equipment that normally causes sparks is excluded from use within this method of explosion protection.

‘Ex e’ means that an enclosure is constructed and certified as Explosion Protected according to the Increased Safety standard.

The intention of the Ex e Increased Safety standard is to provide an impact resistant enclosure for electrical equipment and also to ensure that the contents will not produce a spark, temperature or current creepage that could ignite the external flammable atmosphere in a hazardous area zone, location or workspace.

TYPE OF PROTECTION TO ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT

Type of Explosion Protection	Increased safety Ex e – EN IEC 60079-7
Explosion Protection Principles	Protection principle ensures that an ignition source cannot arise
Flammable Material	Gas/vapour (G)
Category 1 EPL a – Very High Level of Explosion Protection	–
Category 2 EPL b – High Level of Explosion Protection	Ex eb Explosion Protection
Category 3 EPL c – Normal Level of Explosion Protection	Ex ec Explosion Protection

Increased safety Ex eb

EN IEC 60079-7

Additional measures provide a higher level of explosion protection. This ensures reliable prevention of unacceptably high temperatures and sparks or electrical arcs, both on the internal and on the external parts of electrical equipment whose normal operation does not involve unacceptably high temperature sparks or arching.

Important Design Parameters

Air and creepage gaps are made wider than is generally the case in industry. Special conditions apply to the IP protection degree to be adhered to
Minimum cross sections are stipulated for winding wire, the impregnation and reinforcement of coils and for thermal monitoring equipment
For uninsulated, live parts, special protective requirements apply
For windings, their design, mechanical strength and insulation, higher requirements apply and the windings must be protected from increased temperatures

Ex e Increased Safety Applications

Installation material such as junction boxes, connection cabinets for heating systems, batteries, transformers, ballasts and cage motors.

Non-sparking device

Ex ec EN IEC 60079-7

(Previously Ex nA According to EN IEC 60079-15)

The construction ensures reliable prevention of unacceptably high temperatures and sparks or electrical arcs, both on the internal and on the external parts of electrical equipment whose normal operation does not involve unacceptably high temperature sparks or arcing.

Important design parameters

For uninsulated, live parts, special protective requirements apply
Air and creepage gaps are specified
Special requirements must be fulfilled by certain types of equipment

Applications
Installation material such as junction boxes, connection cabinets, rotating electrical machines, special fuses, lamps, cells and batteries, transformers and low energy equipment.

Explosive Atmospheres &

Explosion Protection Concepts

💡 Thorne & Derrick, Specialist Suppliers & Stockists of Electrical and Process Instrumentation Equipment for installation in hazardous area location can assist with your project requirements. Know your Ex Concepts:

For further technical information see | Hazardous Area Zones | Explosive Atmospheres | T Class Ratings

ELECTRICAL & PROCESS INSTRUMENTATION EQUIPMENT

FOR EXPLOSIVE ATMOSPHERES

Ex e Increased Safety Equipment

Thorne & Derrick are Specialist Distributors of Hazardous Area & Explosion Proof Equipment with IECEx & ATEX Certifications to the onshore and offshore oil, gas, petrochemicals and process industries.