IEC 60721-3-1:2018

Classification of environmental conditions - Part 3-1: Classification of groups of environmental parameters and their severities - Storage

IEC 60721-3-1:2018 classifies the groups of environmental parameters and their severities to which products together with their packaging, if any, are subjected when stored. The environmental conditions specified in this document are limited to those which can directly affect the products or their ultimate performance. Only environmental conditions as such are considered. No special description of the effects of these conditions on the products is given. Environmental conditions directly related to fire or explosions are not included. Conditions of stationary use, portable and non-stationary use, use in vehicles and ships, and conditions of transportation are given in other subparts of the IEC 60721-3 series. This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition, published in 1997, and constitutes a technical revision. This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous edition:
a. Clause 3: reworded and simplified.
b. Clause 4: reworded and simplified.
c. Clause 5: Annex C has been incorporated in Clause 5.
d. 5.2: all existing climate classes have been replaced by completely new classes. The new classes are divided into 3 groups. The reason for the new classes is the latest revision of IEC 60721-2-1 which incorporated new climate types.
e. 5.3: new classes for solar radiation and snow load.
f. 5.6: all existing classes for mechanically active substances have been replaced by completely new classes.
g. 5.7: all existing classes for mechanical conditions have been replaced by completely new classes.
h. Table 1: new climatic classes with new severities.
i. Table 2: new classes for solar radiation and snow load.
j. Table 5 new mechanically active substances classes.
k. Table 6: new mechanical conditions classes.
The content of the corrigendum 1 (2024-10) has been included in this copy.

Classification des conditions d'environnement - Partie 3-1: Classification des groupements des agents d’environnement et de leurs sévérités - Stockage

L’IEC 60721-3-1:2018 classifie les groupements d’agents d’environnement et leurs sévérités auxquels des produits, éventuellement emballés, sont soumis lorsqu’ils sont stockés. Les conditions d’environnement spécifiées dans le présent document se limitent à celles qui sont susceptibles d’influencer directement les produits ou leur comportement ultérieur. Seules de telles conditions sont prises en considération, aucune description particulière de leurs effets sur les produits n’étant donnée. Les conditions d’environnement directement liées aux risques d’incendie ou d’explosion ne sont pas incluses. Les conditions pour une utilisation à poste fixe ou en déplacement, à bord de véhicules ou de navires, et les conditions de transport sont données dans d’autres sous-parties de la série IEC 60721-3. Cette troisième édition annule et remplace la deuxième édition, parue en 1997. Elle constitue une révision technique. Cette édition inclut les modifications techniques majeures suivantes par rapport à l’édition précédente:
a. Article 3: reformulé et simplifié.
b. Article 4: reformulé et simplifié.
c. Article 5: l’Annexe C a été intégrée dans l’Article 5.
d. 5.2: toutes les catégories climatiques existantes ont été remplacées par des catégories complètement nouvelles. Les nouvelles catégories ont été divisées en 3 groupes. Ces catégories nouvelles ont été créées en raison de l’intégration de nouveaux types de climats dans la dernière révision de l’IEC 60721-2-1,
e. 5.3: nouvelles catégories pour le rayonnement solaire et la charge de neige.
f. 5.6: toutes les catégories existantes de substances mécaniquement actives ont été remplacées par des catégories complètement nouvelles.
g. 5.7: toutes les catégories de conditions mécaniques existantes ont été remplacées par des catégories complètement nouvelles.
h. Tableau 1: nouvelles catégories climatiques avec de nouvelles sévérités.
i. Tableau 2: nouvelles catégories pour le rayonnement solaire et la charge de neige.
j. Tableau 5: nouvelles catégories de substances mécaniquement actives.
k. Tableau 6: nouvelles catégories de conditions mécaniques.
Le contenu du corrigendum 1 (2024-10) a été pris en considération dans cet exemplaire.

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 22-Feb-2018
• ICS: 01 - GENERALITIES. TERMINOLOGY. STANDARDIZATION. DOCUMENTATION
• ICS: 19.040 - Environmental testing
• Technical Committee: TC 104 - Environmental conditions, classification and methods of test
• Drafting Committee: MT 19 - TC 104/MT 19
• Current Stage: PPUB - Publication issued
• Start Date: 23-Feb-2018
• Completion Date: 23-Feb-2018

Relations

• Corrected By: IEC 60721-3-1:2018/COR1:2024 - Corrigendum 1 - Classification of environmental conditions - Part 3-1: Classification of groups of environmental parameters and their severities - Storage
• Effective Date: 27-Sep-2024
• Revises: IEC 60721-3-1:1997 - Classification of environmental conditions - Part 3 Classification of groups of environmental parameters and their severities - Section 1: Storage
• Effective Date: 05-Sep-2023

Standards Content (Sample)

IEC 60721-3-1 ®
Edition 3.0 2018-02
REDLINE VERSION
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
colour
inside
Classification of environmental conditions –
Part 3-1: Classification of groups of environmental parameters and their
severities – Storage
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form
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IEC 60721-3-1 ®
Edition 3.0 2018-02
REDLINE VERSION
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
colour
inside
Classification of environmental conditions –

Part 3-1: Classification of groups of environmental parameters and their

severities – Storage
INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 19.040 ISBN 978-2-8322-5449-3

– 2 – IEC 60721-3-1:2018 RLV © IEC 2018
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
1 Scope and object . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms and definitions. 5
4 General . 7
5 Classification of groups of environmental parameters and their severities . 7
5.1 General . 8
5.2 Climatic conditions (K) . 8
5.3 Special climatic conditions (Z) . 12
5.4 Biological conditions (B) . 13
5.5 Chemically active substances (C) . 14
5.6 Mechanically active substances (S) . 15
5.7 Mechanical conditions (M) . 15
Sets of environmental condition class combinations .
Annex Summary of conditions covered by the classes .
Annex Summary of conditions covered by the sets of class combinations .
Annex Explanation of the environmental conditions in tropical areas as specified
in classes 1K10 and 1K11 .
Annex A (informative) Chemically active substances . 25
Bibliography . 26

Figure Model shock response spectra(first order maximax shock response spectra) .

Table 1 – Classification of climatic conditions . 10
Table 2 – Classification of special climatic conditions . 13
Table 3 – Classification of biological conditions . 14
Table 4 – Classification of chemically active substances . 15
Table 5 – Classification of mechanically active substances . 16
Table 6 − Classification of mechanical conditions . 17
Table 7 Sets of environmental class combinations .

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
CLASSIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS –

Part 3-1: Classification of groups of environmental
parameters and their severities – Storage

FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote
international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
this end and in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications,
Technical Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC
Publication(s)”). Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested
in the subject dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-
governmental organizations liaising with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely
with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by
agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
interested IEC National Committees.
3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC
Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any
misinterpretation by any end user.
4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence
between any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in
the latter.
5) IEC itself does not provide any attestation of conformity. Independent certification bodies provide conformity
assessment services and, in some areas, access to IEC marks of conformity. IEC is not responsible for any
services carried out by independent certification bodies.
6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
7) No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and
members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or
other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and
expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC
Publications.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This redline version of the official IEC Standard allows the user to identify the changes
made to the previous edition. A vertical bar appears in the margin wherever a change
has been made. Additions are in green text, deletions are in strikethrough red text.

– 4 – IEC 60721-3-1:2018 RLV © IEC 2018
International Standard IEC 60721-3-1 has been prepared by IEC technical committee 104:
Environmental conditions, classification, and methods of test.
This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition, published in 1997, and constitutes a
technical revision.
This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous
edition:
a) Clause 3: reworded and simplified.
b) Clause 4: reworded and simplified.
c) Clause 5: Annex C has been incorporated in Clause 5.
d) 5.2: all existing climate classes have been replaced by completely new classes. The new
classes are divided into 3 groups. The reason for the new classes is the latest revision of
IEC 60721-2-1 which incorporated new climate types.
e) 5.3: new classes for solar radiation and snow load.
f) 5.6: all existing classes for mechanically active substances have been replaced by
completely new classes.
g) 5.7: all existing classes for mechanical conditions have been replaced by completely new
classes.
h) Table 1: new climatic classes with new severities.
i) Table 2: new classes for solar radiation and snow load.
j) Table 5 new mechanically active substances classes.
k) Table 6: new mechanical conditions classes.
The text of this International Standard is based on the following documents:
FDIS Report on voting
104/772/FDIS 104/782/RVD
Full information on the voting for the approval of this International Standard can be found in the
report on voting indicated in the above table.
This document has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
A list of all parts in the IEC 60721 series, published under the general title Classification of
environmental conditions, can be found on the IEC website.
The committee has decided that the contents of this document will remain unchanged until the
stability date indicated on the IEC website under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data related to
the specific document. At this date, the document will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
IMPORTANT – The “colour inside” logo on the cover page of this publication indicates
that it contains colours which are considered to be useful for the correct understanding
of its contents. Users should therefore print this publication using a colour printer.

CLASSIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS –

Part 3-1: Classification of groups of environmental
parameters and their severities – Storage

1 Scope and object
This part of IEC 60721 classifies the groups of environmental parameters and their severities
to which products together with their packaging, if any, are subjected when stored.
The environmental conditions specified in this document are limited to those which may can
directly affect the products or their ultimate performance. Only environmental conditions as
such are considered. No special description of the effects of these conditions on the products
is given.
Transfer during storage is not included in the classification.
Environmental conditions directly related to fire or explosions and conditions related to ionizing
radiation are excluded are not included. Any other unforeseen incidents are also excluded.
The possibility of their occurrence should be taken into account in special cases. Offshore
locations are not included.
Conditions of stationary use, portable and non-stationary use, use in vehicles and ships, and
conditions of transportation are given in other subparts of the IEC 60721-3 series.
The object of this document is to classify environmental parameters and their severities to
which a product may can be exposed during storage. Transfer and handling during storage and
transport are addressed in IEC 60721-3-2.
A limited n
...

IEC 60721-3-1 ®
Edition 3.0 2018-02
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
Classification of environmental conditions –
Part 3-1: Classification of groups of environmental parameters and their
severities – Storage
Classification des conditions d’environnement –
Partie 3-1: Classification des groupements des agents d’environnement et de
leurs sévérités – Stockage
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from
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About the IEC
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the leading global organization that prepares and publishes
International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies.

About IEC publications
The technical content of IEC publications is kept under constant review by the IEC. Please make sure that you have the
latest edition, a corrigenda or an amendment might have been published.

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IEC 60721-3-1 ®
Edition 3.0 2018-02
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
Classification of environmental conditions –

Part 3-1: Classification of groups of environmental parameters and their

severities – Storage
Classification des conditions d’environnement –

Partie 3-1: Classification des groupements des agents d’environnement et de

leurs sévérités – Stockage
INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
COMMISSION
ELECTROTECHNIQUE
INTERNATIONALE
ICS 19.040 ISBN 978-2-8322-5375-5

– 2 – IEC 60721-3-1:2018 © IEC 2018
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
1 Scope and object . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms and definitions. 5
4 General . 6
5 Classification of groups of environmental parameters and their severities . 7
5.1 General . 7
5.2 Climatic conditions (K) . 7
5.3 Special climatic conditions (Z) . 10
5.4 Biological conditions (B) . 10
5.5 Chemically active substances (C) . 11
5.6 Mechanically active substances (S) . 12
5.7 Mechanical conditions (M) . 12
Annex A (informative) Chemically active substances . 13
Bibliography . 14

Table 1 – Classification of climatic conditions . 9
Table 2 – Classification of special climatic conditions . 10
Table 3 – Classification of biological conditions . 11
Table 4 – Classification of chemically active substances . 11
Table 5 – Classification of mechanically active substances . 12
Table 6 − Classification of mechanical conditions . 12

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
CLASSIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS –

Part 3-1: Classification of groups of environmental
parameters and their severities – Storage

FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote
international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
this end and in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications,
Technical Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC
Publication(s)”). Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested
in the subject dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-
governmental organizations liaising with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely
with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by
agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
interested IEC National Committees.
3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC
Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any
misinterpretation by any end user.
4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence
between any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in
the latter.
5) IEC itself does not provide any attestation of conformity. Independent certification bodies provide conformity
assessment services and, in some areas, access to IEC marks of conformity. IEC is not responsible for any
services carried out by independent certification bodies.
6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
7) No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and
members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or
other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and
expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC
Publications.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
International Standard IEC 60721-3-1 has been prepared by IEC technical committee 104:
Environmental conditions, classification, and methods of test.
This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition, published in 1997, and constitutes a
technical revision.
This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous
edition:
a) Clause 3: reworded and simplified.
b) Clause 4: reworded and simplified.
c) Clause 5: Annex C has been incorporated in Clause 5.

– 4 – IEC 60721-3-1:2018 © IEC 2018
d) 5.2: all existing climate classes have been replaced by completely new classes. The new
classes are divided into 3 groups. The reason for the new classes is the latest revision of
IEC 60721-2-1 which incorporated new climate types.
e) 5.3: new classes for solar radiation and snow load.
f) 5.6: all existing classes for mechanically active substances have been replaced by
completely new classes.
g) 5.7: all existing classes for mechanical conditions have been replaced by completely new
classes.
h) Table 1: new climatic classes with new severities.
i) Table 2: new classes for solar radiation and snow load.
j) Table 5 new mechanically active substances classes.
k) Table 6: new mechanical conditions classes.
The text of this International Standard is based on the following documents:
FDIS Report on voting
104/772/FDIS 104/782/RVD
Full information on the voting for the approval of this International Standard can be found in the
report on voting indicated in the above table.
This document has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
A list of all parts in the IEC 60721 series, published under the general title Classification of
environmental conditions, can be found on the IEC website.
The committee has decided that the conten
...