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Help mitigate risks by complying with the latest requirements for installing enclosures in Class I and Class II hazardous (classified) locations with NFPA 496.

Electrical equipment fires, explosions, and other dangers relating to the ignition of a flammable atmosphere pose a significant threat to life and property. Help identify and minimize potentially deadly hazards and better safeguard facilities by referencing and complying with NFPA 496, Standard for Purged and Pressurized Enclosures for Electrical Equipment.

This critical standard offers protection techniques applicable to Class I and Class II locations. You get comprehensive criteria for designing and operating purged and pressurized electrical equipment enclosures to minimize hazards in the presence of flammable materials.

This standard applies to purging and pressurizing for the following:

• Electrical equipment located in areas classified as hazardous by Article 500 or Article 505 of NFPA 70®, National Electrical Code® (NEC®), 2020 edition. Electrical equipment containing sources of flammable vapors or gases that are located in either classified or unclassified areas
• Control rooms or buildings located in areas classified as hazardous by Article 500 or Article 505 of NFPA 70
• Analyzer rooms containing sources of flammable vapors or gases that are located in areas classified as hazardous by Article 500 or Article 505 of NFPA 70

The revised NFPA 496 is updated for consistency with the most current knowledge and NEC, 2020 edition, requirements.

It is vital electrical designers, installers, and AHJs have the most accurate and complete information for helping to ensure safety at Class I and Class II hazardous locations. This edition of the standard is updated to include significant changes in the Annex sections including:

• Updates to Annex 4.3.1 to clarify components that complete the enclosure are subject to the same considerations as the enclosure itself
• Details on methods to prevent the enclosure from excessive protective gas pressure added in A.4.3.1.1
• Methods provided to prevent the discharge of ignition-capable particles to a Division 1 location in A.4.3.1.2
• Included Annexes for 4.3.1 and its subsections to correlate with ANSI/ISA-12.04.04-2012, Pressurized Enclosures
• Added requirements to 4.4.5 for alarms on pressurizing system bypasses and safety measures to prevent their accidental opening,
• Introduction of French translations of required markings throughout the document
• New guidance, including a possible test, to confirm that enclosures do not contain trapped flammable gases in A.5.2.3
• Revisions to A.5.2.6 to indicate that internal components in or through enclosure walls might not be adequately protected by purge/pressurization
• Addition of A.5.2.6.1 relating to internal components with a small internal volume that might not require protection

Help ensure you are up to speed on the methods for purging and pressurizing electrical equipment enclosures to prevent the ignition of a flammable atmosphere.

Be prepared to help protect people, equipment, and facilities by ordering your copy of NFPA 496, Standard for Purged and Pressurized Enclosures for Electrical Equipment, 2021 edition. (Print, 32 pp., 2021)