NEMA AND IEC STANDARDS: A PRACTICAL APPROACH

This paper considers the application of and provides comparisons between NEMA and IEC products and standards. Specifically, what each standard consists of, the history of both standards and where they typically apply will be reviewed. Design, application, and operational issues to consider will be addressed as well as different drivers for selecting a standard such as cost, lifecycle, equipment and personnel protection, and space requirements. Industry standard requirements and typical expectations based on location, U.S. or International will be addressed. Equipment such as motors, contactors, enclosures, controllers, and material such as raceway and wire will be addressed as well as installation methods. Case studies for each approach will be provided as well as an example of an approach that implements mixed standards in order to achieve the most economical overall system cost.