White Paper Hot Appliance Couplers Guaranteed operating safety and compatibility for "Hot" Appliance Couplers Electric grills, heating devices, powerful projectors, data servers or lighting systems: these are all appliances that generate a high degree of heat during operation. Such appliances place special demands on the power supply. Inherent risks such as overheating, short circuits, burns or electric shocks must be reliably prevented for safe operation. Hot appliance inlets according to the IEC 60320-1 component standard guarantee this safety, as well as the compatibility of products from one manufacturer to the next. damages to the equipment or surroundings. An additional advantage of IEC 60320-1 is the complete compatibility of products from a wide range of manufacturers. SCHURTER's 1681 IEC appliance inlet The IEC 60320-1 component standard is a worldwide specification for appliance inlets and connectors, covering various current ranges, protection classes as well as maximum pin temperatures and ambient temperature for the connectors. Until the introduction of this standard, appliance couplers were covered under the DIN 49491 standard and were commonly called "waffle iron plugs", since they were frequently used in electric irons and waffle irons. A porcelain insulator, with a steel tongue to establish the safety contact, was installed in the appliance. The coupler was surrounded by a Duroplast (Bakelite) housing and was typically fabricated using low quality cords with a fabric or rubber sheath. This type of hot appliance inlet design concealed serious safety risks: High temperature appliance inlets are used universally for the operation of appliances with high heat generation, for example, electric grills, table grills, raclette makers or electric heaters. Hot appliance inlets are also frequently used in other applications such as: IT equipment (e.g., high-powered computers, data servers), powerful projectors, lighting systems, medical devices, measurement instruments, power supplies or other industrial types of equipment. Criteria From the user's perspective, power supply safety is crucial. The IEC 60320 set of standards establish basic criteria for protection class, rated current, pin temperature, and provide specific measurements for the different coupler shapes. Based on the maximum permitted pin temperature, the IEC 60320-1 component standard distinguishes three main categories: - - - Appliance couplers for cold conditions maximum pin temperature 70°C ­Appliance couplers for warm conditions maximum pin temperature 120°C ­Appliance couplers for hot conditions maximum pin temperature 155°C These three temperature categories (cold, warm and hot appliances) are established only for the 10 A inlet styles. The remaining styles have only one or two temperature categories (see Table 1). Mating Appliance Coupler IEC60320-1 Appliance Inlets Gender Male Symbol Symbol Type Type Current [A] Temperature [°C] Temperature [°C] Protection classe With products manufactured according to the IEC 60320-1 standard, these risks can be eliminated, for the most part, with proper use: meaning users and appliances are properly protected, as is any related consequential Gendre Female -- Short circuits inside the socket, due to a lack of heat resistant insulation on the cord -- Charring, caused by overheating of the plug components -- Electric shocks, due to insufficiently recessed conductive contacts on the plug Table 1: Coupler categories (source: SCHURTER AG)

Hot Appliance Couplers PSE Multicolor Application Note White Paper Protection classes I and II are another criterion for distinction. Protection class I describes appliance couplers with a protective ground conductor. Protection class II (also called protective insulation II) is distinguished by increased or doubled insulation. In IEC 60320-1, nominal current values of 2.5 A, 6 A, 10 A and 16 A are referred to as rated current, thereby defining the current rating according to that which the manufacturer has conformed to for appliance coupler design. In the IEC 60320-1 standard, the different...