Equipment Protection Level

Equipment Protection Level

Equipment Protection Level (EPL) is defined by the international standard IEC/EN 60079. The assigned EPL of equipment indicates the risk level or ‘likelihood’ that the equipment can become a source of ignition.

The EPL depends on the explosive atmosphere type: gas (G), dust (D) or mines (M). There are three standard protection levels:

• Ga, Da, Ma – very high protection; the equipment remains safe in normal operation, even in rare fault situations (two faults at once)
• Gb, Db, Mb – high protection; the equipment remains safe in normal operation, also when faults occur (single fault)
• Gc, Dc – enhanced protection; the equipment remains safe in normal operation, and may have extra protection to minimize ignition risk in fault situations (fault may cause equipment to shut down)