What Is UL 61010-1?

UL 61010-1 is the safety standard for electrical equipment for measurement, control and laboratory use in the United States. Its full title is “Safety Requirements for Electrical Equipment for Measurement, Control, and Laboratory Use – Part 1: General Requirements”. It is the North American adoption of IEC 61010-1, published jointly with CSA Group as CAN/CSA-C22.2 No. 61010-1, so one test programme can support certification for both the US and Canada.

The scope is wide: test and measurement instruments, laboratory equipment, and industrial process-control equipment, from a handheld meter to a controller in a cabinet, for supplies up to 1,000 V AC or 1,500 V DC. The third edition, first published in 2012 and since amended, is the one most current certificates cite. In Europe and the UK the same text appears as EN 61010-1, which manufacturers use to show conformity for CE and UKCA marking.

Like other product safety standards, UL 61010-1 is not a mark. A product is listed or certified to it by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory such as UL Solutions, CSA, Intertek or TÜV, and the cULus mark or its equivalent shows that it passed.

The standard sets out to protect the operator and the area around the equipment. Each hazard is tested in normal use and with a single fault applied, such as a failed component or a blocked vent.

Part 1 sets the general rules. The standard assumes normal conditions of indoor use, altitude up to 2,000 m, 5 to 40 °C and pollution degree 2, and a product rated for harsher conditions has to be assessed for them. Particular Part 2 standards then add or change requirements for specific kinds of equipment, and a product is certified to Part 1 together with any Part 2 that applies.

Measurement categories, which rate an instrument for the circuits it may be connected to, moved out of Part 1 into Part 2-030 with the third edition. EMC is not part of any of them: immunity and emissions for this kind of equipment are covered by IEC 61326-1 and, in the US, FCC rules.

UL 61010-2-201 is the part that matters most for industrial automation. It covers control equipment such as programmable controllers, operator panels, remote I/O and the PCs that run control software, and it has largely taken over from UL 508 and UL 61131-2 as the safety route for programmable controllers in North America. It adds requirements for equipment that is mounted in a cabinet, wired to field circuits and serviced by trained staff.

That is why a PLC, an HMI and an industrial PC sitting side by side in a cabinet can all carry the same listing. For a panel shop, matching listings make the UL 508A evaluation simpler, a point our guide for industrial control panel builders covers in detail.

Computers can be certified to either standard, and the choice follows how the manufacturer defines the product. A computer sold as IT equipment for offices, kiosks or signage is usually listed to UL 62368-1, the North American version of IEC 62368-1. A computer sold as industrial control equipment, for cabinets, machines and process plants, is more often listed to UL 61010-1 with UL 61010-2-201. Neither is better in general. What matters is that the listing fits the installation, and many control panel inspectors and machine builders expect UL 61010 for anything in the cabinet.

In our range, the manufacturer lists UL 61010-1 and UL 61010-2-201 for some of the DIN rail PCs and fanless embedded PCs we supply, and Antaira lists UL 61010-1 certification for many of the switches in our managed industrial switch range, some with Class I, Division 2 as well. Approvals vary by model, so check the datasheet for the exact part.

We supply industrial computers and switches with the safety listings stated by model, integrate and validate each system as standard, and include the manufacturers’ certificates so your panel builder or inspector can match the listing to the installation.