Definition of IEC power cords and the benefits of using IEC wiring
Most people interact with electrical appliances in their homes and offices that use IEC-type connections. Be it a desktop computer, laptop, printer, or an electric kettle, at least one of these devices will have an IEC-type interface. This allows manufacturers to produce the same product for numerous countries, as a result it only requires the country to comply with the correct IEC power cord set.
The acronym IEC is short for International Electrotechnical Commission. In addition, the IEC 60320 set of standards governs the IEC power cords described in this article. These standards have established specifications such as operating current and voltage, maximum temperature, and whether ground pins are required. Since some appliances are double insulated, several types of IEC do not have ground pins.
An IEC power cable is essentially a network cable that supplies electricity to electrical appliances with a maximum power of 250 volts, using specific couplers and connectors for interconnection, such as computers, servers, laptops, printers and power distribution units.
The IEC 60320-1 standards define apparatus couplers and connectors with a letter and a subsequent number for easy identification, such as the C5 Y C6 appliance couplers. Also, appliance couplers are known as a male gender appliance inlet or a female gender connector.
There are numerous IEC apparatus couplers specified in the 60320-1 standards suitable for the information and communication technology (ICT) industry as well as for hospital medical equipment. ICT power cords predominantly use IEC C5 / C6, C13 / C14, C15 / C16 Y C19 / C20 interfaces to interconnect your power supply. While the orange medical power cables interconnected with sensitive medical equipment are mainly used C13 / C14 couplers.
A desktop computer’s power supply is designed to interface with a set of power cords such as C13 / C14. If the ICT staff tries to connect with a different plug, they will not be able to do so. This ensures that the proper cables are interconnected to the correct computer hardware at all times.
In laptops and notebooks, you will find that the power cord sets are different because they use step-down transformers for low voltage, plus the physical size of laptops is smaller. C5 / C6 couplers are widely used for DC power supply connectivity to AC adapters. However, there has been controversy with IEC efforts to introduce a new common standard in 2013 for power adapters. Furthermore, relevant stakeholders have been reluctant to agree on a universal standard.
There are several key benefits to interconnecting electrotechnical devices with IEC power cables:
1. Specifications for energy rating are established for these products, for example current rating, maximum voltage, pin temperature, and ground requirements are known standards.
2. Couplers and connectors are manufactured to a universally recognized size for safe connection to electrotechnical devices. Since there are many inferior products on the market, it is ideal to use products manufactured to the highest standards.
3. Collaboration of best practices by manufacturers, testing laboratories, regulators, and industry often design and develop high-quality products.
4. The governing and regulatory bodies of industrialized countries generally ensure that these products are certified according to IEC International Standards when imported into their country.
5. You will find that these standardization items are much safer to use and prevent hazards.
As mentioned above, appliance coupler standards mitigate difficulties for manufacturers to sell the same product globally. Ultimately, this is advantageous for consumers operating electrotechnical devices with IEC power cables.