IEC 62873-3-1:2020

Residual current operated circuit-breakers for household and similar use - Part 3-1: Particular requirements for devices with screwless-type terminals for external copper conductors

IEC 62873-3-1:2020 applies to devices equipped with screwless-type terminals for current not exceeding 40 A, primarily suitable for connecting unprepared copper conductors of cross‑section up to 10 mm2. This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition published in 2016. This edition constitutes a technical revision. This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous edition:
- Modification of scope to cover screwless-type terminals up to 40 A;
- Modification of scope to address other devices in addition to RCDs;
- Modification of Table 1 to cover rated currents up to 40 A;
- Modification of 8.1 so that IEC 62873-3-1 can be referred to by other product standards in addition to those for RCDs;
- Modification of 9.1 so that IEC 62873-3-1 can be referred to by other product standards in addition to those for RCDs.

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 19-Nov-2020
• ICS: 29.120.50 - Fuses and other overcurrent protection devices
• Technical Committee: SC 23E - Circuit-breakers and similar equipment for household use
• Drafting Committee: WG 2 - TC 23/SC 23E/WG 2
• Current Stage: PPUB - Publication issued
• Start Date: 04-Dec-2020
• Completion Date: 20-Nov-2020

Relations

• Revises: IEC 62873-3-1:2016 - Residual current operated circuit-breakers for household and similar use - Part 3-1: Particular requirements for RCDs with screwless-type terminals for external copper conductors
• Effective Date: 05-Sep-2023

Standards Content (Sample)

IEC 62873-3-1 ®
Edition 2.0 2020-11
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
Residual current operated circuit-breakers for household and similar use –
Part 3-1: Particular requirements for devices with screwless-type terminals for
external copper conductors
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
either IEC or IEC's member National Committee in the country of the requester. If you have any questions about IEC
copyright or have an enquiry about obtaining additional rights to this publication, please contact the address below or
your local IEC member National Committee for further information.

IEC Central Office Tel.: [phone]
3, rue de Varembé [e-mail]
CH-1211 Geneva 20 www.iec.ch
Switzerland
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 corrigendum or an amendment might have been published.

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variety of criteria (reference number, text, technical containing more than 22 000 terminological entries in English
committee,…). It also gives information on projects, replaced and French, with equivalent terms in 16 additional languages.
and withdrawn publications. Also known as the International Electrotechnical Vocabulary

(IEV) online.
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need further assistance, please contact the Customer Service

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IEC 62873-3-1 ®
Edition 2.0 2020-11
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
Residual current operated circuit-breakers for household and similar use –

Part 3-1: Particular requirements for devices with screwless-type terminals for

external copper conductors
INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 29.120.50 ISBN 978-2-8322-9025-5

– 2 – IEC 62873-3-1:2020 © IEC 2020
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
INTRODUCTION . 5
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Terms and definitions . 6
4 Classification . 7
5 Characteristics of devices . 7
6 Marking and other product information . 7
7 Standard conditions for operation in service and for installation . 8
8 Requirements for construction and operation . 8
8.1 General . 8
8.2 Connection and disconnection of conductors . 8
8.3 Dimensions of conductors . 8
8.4 Connectable cross-sectional areas . 9
8.5 Insertion and withdrawal of conductors . 9
8.6 Design and construction of terminals . 9
8.7 Resistance to ageing . 10
9 Tests . 10
9.1 General . 10
9.2 Test of reliability of screwless-type terminals . 10
9.2.1 Reliability of screwless system . 10
9.2.2 Test of reliability of connection . 11
9.3 Tests of reliability of terminals for external conductors . 11
9.3.1 Mechanical strength. 11
9.3.2 Cycling test. 11
Bibliography . 15

Figure 1 – Connecting samples . 12
Figure 2 – Examples of screwless-type terminals . 14

Table 1 – Conductors and their theoretical diameters. 9
Table 2 – Cross-sections of copper conductors connectable to screwless-type
terminals . 9
Table 3 – Pull forces . 11
Table 4 – Test copper conductors corresponding to the rated currents . 12

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
RESIDUAL CURRENT OPERATED CIRCUIT-BREAKERS
FOR HOUSEHOLD AND SIMILAR USE –

Part 3-1: Particular requirements for devices with
screwless-type terminals for external copper conductors

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 62873-3-1 has been prepared by subcommittee 23E:
Circuit-breakers and similar equipment for household use, of IEC technical committee 23:
Electrical accessories.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition published in 2016. This edition
constitutes a technical revision.
This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous
edition:
a) Modification of scope to cover screwless-type terminals up to 40 A;
b) Modification of scope to address other devices in addition to RCDs;
c) Modification of Table 1 to cover rated currents up to 40 A;

– 4 – IEC 62873-3-1:2020 © IEC 2020
d) Modification of 8.1 so that IEC 62873-3-1 can be referred to by other product standards in
addition to those for RCDs;
e) Modification of 9.1 so that IEC 62873-3-1 can be referred to by other product standards in
addition to those for RCDs.
The text of this International Standard is based on the following documents:
FDIS Report on voting
23E/1190/FDIS 23E/1200/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 is intended to be referred to by a product standard of subcommittee
IEC SC23E (e.g. from the IEC 61008 series, IEC 61009 series, IEC 62606, and IEC 63052).
This document has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
A list of all parts of the IEC 62873 series, published under the general title Residual current
operated circuit-breakers for household and similar use, 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.
INTRODUCTION
This document is part of the series described in the outline document IEC 62873-1.

– 6 – IEC 62873-3-1:2020 © IEC 2020
RESIDUAL CURRENT OPERATED CIRCUIT-BREAKERS
FOR HOUSEHOLD AND SIMILAR USE –

Part 3-1: Particular requirements for devices with
screwless-type terminals for external copper conductors

1 Scope
This document applies to devices equipped with screwless-type terminals for current not
exceeding 40 A, primarily suitable for connecting unprepared copper conductors of
cross-section up to 10 mm .
This document cannot be used alone but is intended to be applied together with the applicable
product standard in which it is referred to.
NOTE 1 In CZ, DK, NL, PO and CH, the upper limit of current for use of screwless-type terminals is 16 A.
NOTE 2 In JP, the upper limit of current for use of screwless-type terminals is 30 A.
NOTE 3 The manufacturer can declare in its documentation specific conditions permitting the use of prepared
conductors.
In this document, screwless-type terminals are referred to as terminals, and copper
conductors are referred to as conductors.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their
content constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition
cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including
any amendments) applies.
IEC 62873-2, Residual current operated circuit-breakers for household and similar use –
Part 2: Residual current devices (RCDs) – Vocabulary
3 Terms and definitions
For the purpos
...

IEC 62873-3-1 ®
Edition 2.0 2020-11
REDLINE VERSION
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
colour
inside
Residual current operated circuit-breakers for household and similar use –
Part 3-1: Particular requirements for RCDs devices with screwless-type
terminals for external copper conductors

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
either IEC or IEC's member National Committee in the country of the requester. If you have any questions about IEC
copyright or have an enquiry about obtaining additional rights to this publication, please contact the address below or
your local IEC member National Committee for further information.

IEC Central Office Tel.: [phone]
3, rue de Varembé [e-mail]
CH-1211 Geneva 20 www.iec.ch
Switzerland
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 corrigendum or an amendment might have been published.

IEC publications search - webstore.iec.ch/advsearchform Electropedia - www.electropedia.org
The advanced search enables to find IEC publications by a The world's leading online dictionary on electrotechnology,
variety of criteria (reference number, text, technical containing more than 22 000 terminological entries in English
committee,…). It also gives information on projects, replaced and French, with equivalent terms in 16 additional languages.
and withdrawn publications. Also known as the International Electrotechnical Vocabulary

(IEV) online.
IEC Just Published - webstore.iec.ch/justpublished

Stay up to date on all new IEC publications. Just Published IEC Glossary - std.iec.ch/glossary
details all new publications released. Available online and 67 000 electrotechnical terminology entries in English and
once a month by email. French extracted from the Terms and Definitions clause of
IEC publications issued since 2002. Some entries have been
IEC Customer Service Centre - webstore.iec.ch/csc collected from earlier publications of IEC TC 37, 77, 86 and
If you wish to give us your feedback on this publication or CISPR.

need further assistance, please contact the Customer Service

Centre: [e-mail].
IEC 62873-3-1 ®
Edition 2.0 2020-11
REDLINE VERSION
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
colour
inside
Residual current operated circuit-breakers for household and similar use –

Part 3-1: Particular requirements for RCDs devices with screwless-type

terminals for external copper conductors

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 29.120.50 ISBN 978-2-8322-9114-6

– 2 – IEC 62873-3-1:2020 RLV © IEC 2020
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
INTRODUCTION . 2
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Terms and definitions . 7
4 Classification . 7
5 Characteristics of RCDs devices . 8
6 Marking and other product information . 8
7 Standard conditions for operation in service and for installation . 8
8 Requirements for construction and operation . 8
8.1 General . 8
8.2 Connection or and disconnection of conductors . 8
8.3 Dimensions of connectable conductors . 9
8.4 Connectable cross-sectional areas . 10
8.5 Insertion and withdrawal of conductors . 10
8.6 Design and construction of terminals . 10
8.7 Resistance to ageing . 11
9 Tests . 11
9.1 General . 11
9.2 Test of reliability of screwless-type terminals . 11
9.2.1 Reliability of screwless system . 11
9.2.2 Test of reliability of connection . 12
9.3 Tests of reliability of terminals for external conductors . 12
9.3.1 Mechanical strength. 12
9.3.2 Cycling test. 12
Bibliography . 16

Figure 1 – Connecting samples . 13
Figure 2 – Examples of screwless-type terminals . 15

Table 1 – Connectable conductors Conductors and their theoretical diameters . 9
Table 2 – Cross-sections of copper conductors connectable to screwless-type
terminals . 10
Table 3 – Pull forces . 12
Table 4 – Test copper conductors corresponding to the rated currents . 12

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
RESIDUAL CURRENT OPERATED CIRCUIT-BREAKERS
FOR HOUSEHOLD AND SIMILAR USE –

Part 3-1: Particular requirements for RCDs devices with
screwless-type terminals for external copper conductors

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 62873-3-1:2020 RLV © IEC 2020
International Standard IEC 62873-3-1 has been prepared by subcommittee 23E:
Circuit-breakers and similar equipment for household use, of IEC technical committee 23:
Electrical accessories.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition published in 2016. This edition
constitutes a technical revision.
This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous
edition:
a) Modification of scope to cover screwless-type terminals up to 40 A;
b) Modification of scope to address other devices in addition to RCDs;
c) Modification of Table 1 to cover rated currents up to 40 A;
d) Modification of 8.1 so that IEC 62873-3-1 can be referred to by other product standards in
addition to those for RCDs;
e) Modification of 9.1 so that IEC 62873-3-1 can be referred to by other product standards in
addition to those for RCDs.
The text of this International Standard is based on the following documents:
FDIS Report on voting
23E/1190/FDIS 23E/1200/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 is intended to be referred to by a product standard of subcommittee
IEC SC23E (e.g. from the IEC 61008 series, IEC 61009 series, IEC 62606, and IEC 63052).
This document has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
A list of all parts of the IEC 62873 series, published under the general title Residual current
operated circuit-breakers for household and similar use, 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 document using a
colour printer.
INTRODUCTION
This document is part of the series described in the outline document IEC 62873-1.

– 6 – IEC 62873-3-1:2020 RLV © IEC 2020
RESIDUAL CURRENT OPERATED CIRCUIT-BREAKERS
FOR HOUSEHOLD AND SIMILAR USE –

Part 3-1: Particular requirements for RCDs devices with
screwless-type terminals for external copper conductors

1 Scope
This part of IEC 62873 applies to RCDs equipped with screwless terminals, for current not
exceeding 20 A primarily suitable for connecting unprepared (see 3.5) copper conductors of
cross-section up to 4 mm .
This part of IEC 62873 cannot be used alone but it is intended to be applied together with an
RCD product standard (IEC 61008-1 or IEC 61009-1) if an RCD is equipped with screwless
terminals.
NOTE In AT, CZ, DK, NL, NO, PO, PT and CH, the upper limit of current for use of screwless terminals is 16 A.
This document applies to devices equipped with screwless-type terminals for current not
exceeding 40 A, primarily suitable for connecting unprepared copper conductors of
cross-section up to 10 mm
...