Standards Being Replaced: UL-CSA-EN-IEC62368-1, the Standard for Audio/Video, Information and Communication Technology Equipment, is in the process of replacing these heavily used standards:

a) UL-CSA-EN-IEC60950-1: the Standard for Information Technology Equipment, including Business Equipment and Associated Equipment

b) UL-CSA-EN-IEC60065: the Standard for Audio, Video & Similar Electronic Apparatus

Transition Point: Products certified to 60950 or 60065 that will continue to be produced after December 20, 2020 should be prepared to transition to the new standard. New products currently under development should be designed to comply with the new standard. But what edition of the new standard should you use? The 2nd edition is the current standard. However, IEC62368-1 has published the 3rd edition. While it is always recommended to use the latest edition of any safety standard, the situation is complicated by the fact that while the 3rd edition of EN62368-1 will soon be published, UL/CSA62368-1 will not be published until late Q2 or early Q3-19.

The Problem: Ideally, you want to use the same edition of the standard for all certifications on a product – otherwise the risk of having to produce different versions of your product for different markets increases significantly. You also want to use the latest edition of the standard to minimize the chance of having to update to a new edition of the standard during the production life of the product – to avoid the risk of having to redesign the product to meet the new requirements. However, if you cannot wait for the UL, CSA, or EN versions of the 3rd edition, the decision gets complicated.

Recommended Solutions: Recommendations vary depending on the situation:

a) Existing Certifications: Wait for all of the 3rd editions to be published and then update all certifications to the 3rd edition of UL-CSA-EN-IEC62368-1 later this year. Note that there may be some consideration to allow products to remain certified to 60950 or 60065 until they become obsolete depending on the remaining production life, potential for major revision, and countries to market.

b) New Certifications – Now: If you cannot wait for the 3rd edition of UL/CSA62368-1, you should use the 2nd edition of UL-CSA-EN-IEC62368-1. It will be a few years before the 3rd edition is mandatory. To prepare, use 62368-1 certified components rather than 60950 or 60065 certified components in your new product designs.

c) New Certifications – Future: If your development time line is longer, focus on the 3rd edition, using the 3rd edition of IEC62368-1 while awaiting the other 3rd editions. Also be aware of the additional annexes in the UL/CSA version of the standard from the 2nd edition of UL/CSA62368-1 (Annexes DVA – DVK) while awaiting the UL/CSA 3rd edition.

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