Safety & Compliance Forum

This part of IEC 61000 is concerned with the limitation of voltage fluctuations and flicker impressed on the public low-voltage system.

It specifies limits of voltage changes which may be produced by an equipment tested under specified conditions and gives guidance on methods of assessment.

This part of IEC 61000 is applicable to electrical and electronic equipment having an input current equal to or less than 16 A per phase, intended to be connected to public low-voltage distribution systems of between 220 V and 250 V line to neutral at 50 Hz, and not subject to conditional connection.

What is this standard about?

This international electrotechnical standard gives guidance on the acceptable levels of voltage variation and voltage flicker caused by rapid power supply voltage fluctuations. This results in light luminance fluctuation. By limiting the voltage variations, flicker can be limited.

The standard also offers manufacturers an effective way to demonstrate conformity with the EMC and Radio Equipment Directives, which is necessary for the CE marking of their products.

Who is this standard for?

• EMC test laboratories
• Information technology equipment manufacturers (design managers or regulatory/compliance engineers)
• Manufacturers of lighting and electrical appliances
• Electrical utilities

Why should you use this standard?

BS EN IEC 61000-3-3:2013 deals with limiting voltage fluctuations and flicker impressed on the public low-voltage system. It specifies the limits of voltage changes which may be produced by electrical and electronic equipment tested under specified conditions and gives guidance on methods of assessment.

This standard applies to equipment having an input current equal to or less than 16 A per phase, intended to be connected to public low-voltage distribution systems of between 220 V and 250 V line to neutral at 50 Hz, and not subject to conditional connection.

BS EN IEC 61000-3-3 has the status of a product family standard within the BS EN 61000 series.

NOTE 1: Compliance with this standard and its amendment provides presumption of conformity with the specified essential requirements of the EMC Directive and the Radio Equipment Directive (RED).

What’s changed since the last update?

This is a small amendment to the standard, not a revision. It mainly affects the test conditions in Annex A for lighting equipment, raising the exemption level for voltage fluctuation testing from 200W to 600W for LED lamp luminaires. At the same time some editorial clarifications have been made in other clauses.

NOTE 2: This 2019 version supersedes the 2013, un-amended version which will nevertheless not be withdrawn for three years, during which time both versions will be current.

It is applicable to electrical and electronic equipment having an input current equal to or less than 16 A per phase, intended to be connected to public low-voltage distribution systems of between 220 V and 250 V line to neutral at 50 Hz, and not subject to conditional connection. IEC 61000-3-3 has the status of a product family standard within the IEC 61000 series. This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition published in 2008. This edition constitutes a technical revision which takes account of the changes made in IEC 61000-4-15:2010.

Amendment 1 - Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) - Part 3-3: Limits - Limitation of voltage changes, voltage fluctuations and flicker in public low-voltage supply systems, for equipment with rated current ≤ 16 A per phase and not subject to conditional connection

This part of IEC6 1000 is concerned with the limitation of voltage fluctuations and flicker impressed on the public low-voltage system.

It specifies limits of voltage changes which may be produced by an equipment tested under specified conditions and gives guidance on methods of assessment.

This part of IEC6 1000 is applicable to electrical and electronic equipment having an input current equal to or less than 16 A per phase, intended to be connected to public low-voltage distribution systems of between 220 V and 250 V line to neutral at 50 Hz, and not subject to conditional connection.

Equipment which does not comply with the limits of this part of IEC6 1000 when tested with the reference impedance Zrefof 6.4, and which therefore cannot be declared compliant with this part, may be retested or evaluated to show conformity with IEC6 1000-3-11.

Part 3-11 is applicable to equipment with rated input current ≤75A per phase and subject to conditional connection.

The tests according to this part are type tests. Particular test conditions are given in Annex A and the test circuit is shown in Figure1.

NOTE 1 The limits in this standard relate to the voltage changes experienced by consumers connected at the interface between the public supply low-voltage network and the equipment user’s installation. Consequently, if the actualimpedance of the supply at the supply terminals of equipment connected within the equipment user’s installation exceeds the test impedance, itis possible that supply disturbance exceeding the limits could occur.

NOTE 2 The limits in this standard are based mainly on the subjective severity of flicker imposed on the light from 230 V 60 W coiled-coil filament lamps by fluctuations of the supply voltage. For systems with nominal voltage less than 220 V line to neutral and/or frequency of 60 Hz, the limits and reference circuit values are under consideration.

IEC 61000-3-3:2013+A1:2017+A2:2021 is concerned with the limitation of voltage fluctuations and flicker impressed on the public low-voltage system.

It specifies limits of voltage changes which may be produced by an equipment tested under specified conditions and gives guidance on methods of assessment.

This part of IEC 61000 is applicable to electrical and electronic equipment having an input current equal to or less than 16 A per phase, intended to be connected to public low-voltage distribution systems of between 220 V and 250 V line to neutral at 50 Hz, and not subject to conditional connection.

Equipment which does not comply with the limits of this part of IEC 61000 when tested with the reference impedance Zref of 6.4, and which therefore cannot be declared compliant with this part, may be retested or evaluated to show conformity with IEC 61000-3-11. Part 3-11 is applicable to equipment with rated input current ≤ 75 A per phase and subject to conditional connection.

The tests according to this part are type tests. Particular test conditions are given in Annex A and the test circuit is shown in Figure 1.

NOTE 1 The limits in this standard relate to the voltage changes experienced by consumers connected at the interface between the public supply low-voltage network and the equipment user’s installation. Consequently, if the actual impedance of the supply at the supply terminals of equipment connected within the equipment user’s installation exceeds the test impedance, it is possible that supply disturbance exceeding the limits could occur.

 NOTE 2 The limits in this standard are based mainly on the subjective severity of flicker imposed on the light from 230 V 60 W coiled-coil filament lamps by fluctuations of the supply voltage. For systems with nominal voltage less than 220 V line to neutral and/or frequency of 60 Hz, the limits and reference circuit values are under consideration. 

 This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition published in 2008. This edition constitutes a technical revision which takes account of the changes made in IEC 61000-4-15:2010. This consolidated version consists of the third edition (2013), its amendment 1 (2017) and its amendment 2 (2021). Therefore, no need to order amendments in addition to this publication.

This part of IEC 61000 is concerned with the limitation of voltage fluctuations and flicker impressed on the public low-voltage system.

It specifies limits of voltage changes which may be produced by an equipment tested under specified conditions and gives guidance on methods of assessment.

This part of IEC 61000 is applicable to electrical and electronic equipment having an input current equal to or less than 16 A per phase, intended to be connected to public low-voltage distribution systems of between 220 V and 250 V line to neutral at 50 Hz, and not subject to conditional connection.

Equipment which does not comply with the limits of this part of IEC 61000 when tested with the reference impedance Z Ref of 6.4, and which therefore cannot be declared compliant with this part, may be retested or evaluated to show conformity with IEC 61000-3-11. Part 3-11 is applicable to equipment with rated input current ≤75 A per phase and subject to conditional connection.

The tests according to this part are type tests. Particular test conditions are given in annex A and the test circuit is shown in Figure 1.

NOTE The limits in this part of IEC 61000 are based mainly on the subjective severity of flicker imposed on the light from 230 V/60 W coiled-coil filament lamps by fluctuations of the supply voltage. For systems with nominal voltage less than 220 V line to neutral and/or frequency of 60 Hz, the limits and reference circuit values are under consideration.