INTERNATIONAL IEC

STANDARD 60364-4-41
Fifth edition
2005-12

GROUP SAFETY PUBLICATION

Low-voltage electrical installations –

Part 4-41:
Protection for safety –
Protection against electric shock

This English-language version is derived from the original

bilingual publication by leaving out all French-language
pages. Missing page numbers correspond to the French-
language pages.

Reference number
IEC 60364-4-41:2005(E)
INTERNATIONAL IEC
STANDARD 60364-4-41
Fifth edition
2005-12

GROUP SAFETY PUBLICATION

Low-voltage electrical installations –

Part 4-41:
Protection for safety –
Protection against electric shock

© IEC 2005 Copyright - all rights reserved

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 the publisher.

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For price, see current catalogue
60364-4-41  IEC:2005 –3–

CONTENTS
FOREWORD...........................................................................................................................5

410 Introduction ......................................................................................................................9

410.1 Scope ................................................................................................................. 11
410.2 Normative references ......................................................................................... 11
410.3 General requirements ......................................................................................... 13
411 Protective measure: automatic disconnection of supply .................................................. 15
411.1 General .............................................................................................................. 15
411.2 Requirements for basic protection ...................................................................... 17
411.3 Requirements for fault protection ....................................................................... 17
411.4 TN systems ........................................................................................................ 21
411.5 TT systems ......................................................................................................... 23
411.6 IT systems .......................................................................................................... 25
411.7 Functional extra-low voltage (FELV) ................................................................... 29
412 Protective measure: double or reinforced insulation........................................................ 31
412.1 General .............................................................................................................. 31
412.2 Requirements for basic protection and fault protection (protection against
indirect contact) .................................................................................................. 33
413 Protective measure: electrical separation ....................................................................... 37
413.1 General .............................................................................................................. 37
413.2 Requirements for basic protection ..................................................................... 37
413.3 Requirements for fault protection ....................................................................... 37
414 Protective measure: extra-low-voltage provided by SELV and PELV ............................... 39
414.1 General .............................................................................................................. 39
414.2 Requirements for basic protection and fault protection ...................................... 39
414.3 Sources for SELV and PELV............................................................................... 41
414.4 Requirements for SELV and PELV circuits .......................................................... 41
415 Additional protection ....................................................................................................... 43
415.1 Additional protection: residual current protective devices (RCDs) ....................... 45
415.2 Additional protection: supplementary protective equipotential bonding ................ 45

Annex A (normative) Provisions for basic protection (protection against direct contact) ....... 47
Annex B (normative) Obstacles and placing out of reach ..................................................... 51
Annex C (normative) Protective measures for application only when the installation is
controlled or under the supervision of skilled or instructed persons ....................................... 55
Annex D (informative) Correspondence between IEC 60364-4-41(2001) and the present
standard.….. ......................................................................................................................... 61

Bibliography.......................................................................................................................... 65

Figure B.1 – Zone of arm's reach .......................................................................................... 53

Table 41.1 – Maximum disconnection times .......................................................................... 19

Table D.1 – Correspondence between IEC 60364-4-41:2001 and the present standard ........ 61
60364-4-41  IEC:2005 –5–

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION

____________

LOW-VOLTAGE ELECTRICAL INSTALLATIONS –

Part 4-41: Protection for safety –

Protection against electric shock

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
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5) IEC provides no marking procedure to indicate its approval and cannot be rendered responsible for any
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6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
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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 60364-4-41 has been prepared by IEC technical committee 64:
Electrical installations and protection against electric shock.

This fifth edition cancels and replaces the fourth edition, published in 2001, and constitutes a
technical revision.

The main changes with respect to the previous edition are listed below:

– adoption of IEC 61140 terminology;

– layout rationalized on basis of complete protective measures (i.e. appropriate practical
combinations of protective provision in normal service (direct contact protection) and
protective provision in case of a fault (indirect contact protection);
60364-4-41  IEC:2005 –7–

– requirements of 471 and 481, which were included in the fourth edition have been
rationalized
– disconnection requirements for TT systems clarified;
– IT systems considered more fully;
– requirements in certain cases for additional protection of socket-outlets by means of a
30 mA RCD, where the protective measure is automatic disconnection of supply.

The text of this standard is based on the following documents:

FDIS Report on voting

64/1489/FDIS 64/1500/RVD

Full information on the voting for the approval of this standard can be found in the report on
voting indicated in the above table.

This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.

It has the status of a group safety publication in accordance with IEC Guide 104.

The Part 4 series comprises the following parts under the general title Low-voltage electrical
installations:

Part 4-41: Protection for safety – Protection against electric shock

Part 4-42: Protection for safety – Protection against thermal effects
Part 4-43: Protection for safety – Protection against overcurrent
Part 4-44: Protection for safety – Protection against voltage disturbances and electromagnetic
disturbances

The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until
the maintenance result date indicated on the IEC web site under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in
the data related to the specific publication. At this date, the publication will be

• reconfirmed;
• withdrawn;
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
60364-4-41  IEC:2005 –9–

410 Introduction

This Part 4-41 of IEC 60364 deals with protection against electric shock as applied to
electrical installations. It is based on IEC 61140 which is a basic safety standard that applies
to the protection of persons and livestock. IEC 61140 is intended to give fundamental
principles and requirements that are common to electrical installations and equipment or are
necessary for their co-ordination.

The fundamental rule of protection against electric shock, according to IEC 61140, is that
hazardous-live-parts must not be accessible and accessible conductive parts must not be
hazardous live, neither under normal conditions nor under single fault conditions.

According to 4.2 of IEC 61140, protection under normal conditions is provided by basic
protective provisions and protection under single fault conditions is provided by fault
protective provisions. Alternatively, protection against electric shock is provided by an
enhanced protective provision, which provides protection under normal conditions and under
single fault conditions.

This standard has the status of a group safety publication (GSP) for protection against electric
shock.

In the fourth edition of IEC 60364 (2001):

– protection under normal conditions (now designated basic protection) was referred to as
protection against direct contact and
– protection under fault conditions (now designated fault protection) was referred to as
protection against indirect contact.
60364-4-41  IEC:2005 – 11 –

LOW-VOLTAGE ELECTRICAL INSTALLATIONS –

Part 4-41: Protection for safety –

Protection against electric shock

410.1 Scope

Part 4-41 of IEC 60364 specifies essential requirements regarding protection against electric
shock, including basic protection (protection against direct contact) and fault protection
(protection against indirect contact) of persons and livestock. It deals also with the application
and co-ordination of these requirements in relation to external influences.

Requirements are also given for the application of additional protection in certain cases.

410.2 Normative references

The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application 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 60364-5-52, Electrical installations of buildings – Part 5-52: Selection and erection of
electrical equipment – Wiring systems 1)

IEC 60364-5-54, Electrical installations of buildings – Part 5-54: Selection and erection of
electrical equipment – Earthing arrangements, protective conductors and protective bonding
conductors

IEC 60364-6, Low-voltage electrical installations – Part 6: Verification 2)

IEC 60439-1, Low-voltage switchgear and controlgear assemblies – Part 1: Type-tested and
partially type-tested assemblies

IEC 60449, Voltage bands for electrical installations of buildings

IEC 60614 (all parts), Conduits for electrical installations – Specification

IEC 61084 (all parts), Cable trunking and ducting systems for electrical installations

IEC 61140, Protection against electric shock – Common aspects for installation and equipment

IEC 61386 (all parts), Conduit systems for electrical installations

IEC 61558-2-6, Safety of power transformers, power supply units and similar – Part 2-6:
Particular requirements for safety isolating transformers for general use

IEC Guide 104, The preparation of safety publications and the use of basic safety publications
and group safety publications

———————
1) A new edition is currently under consideration.
2) To be published.