IEC 60906-1

IEC 60906-1 is an international standard designed ''"to provide a standard for a safe, compact and practical 16  A 250  V  AC system of plugs and socket-outlets that could be accepted by many countries as their national standard, even if not in the near future."'' The standard was originally published by the International Electrotechnical Commission in 1986; the current edition is ed2.0 published in 2009. Although it is almost identical to the Swiss SEV 1011 T12 plug for 10 A 250 V a.c. standardised in 1937, its dimensions are slightly different and its polarization is flipped (if the socket has the protective/earth conductor at the bottom, the phase is located left and neutral right). As of July 2014, only South Africa has introduced a standard (SANS 164-2) based closely on IEC 60906-1. Brazil used it as the basis for its NBR 14136 standard, but this is not compatible with IEC 60906-1. In 2017 the European Union (EU) published recommendations advising against the harmonisation of domestic plug and socket systems in the EU.

Features

IEC 60906-1 plugs and socket-outlets are rated 16 A, 250 V AC and are intended for use on distribution systems having nominal voltages between 200 V and 250 V AC. IEC 60906-1 defines both 3-pin connectors for Class I appliances and 2-pin versions for Class II appliances. (Additional oval-shaped 2-pin connectors for Class 0 appliances defined in the first edition of the standard were never implemented and no longer appear in the current second edition.)

The IEC 60906-1 plugs are smaller than any other European plug with 16 A rating, being only slightly larger than the 2.5 A Europlug or BS 1363 socket.

The socket has either a 10 mm deep recess or a 12 mm high rim, to exclude incompatible plugs. It ensures that the protective-earth pin establishes contact before the line and neutral pins. Sockets are required to have shutters for the line and neutral apertures.

As it uses the same 19 mm pin spacing as most existing European systems (Schuko, etc.), it would be possible to design sockets that can accept both the traditional plug as well as the IEC 60906-1 Class I and II plugs, thereby enabling a smooth transition to the new system. However, the IEC 60906-1 standard explicitly discourages the use of multi-standard sockets, claiming that such sockets are likely to create safety problems when used with plugs from other countries.

Dimensions

IEC 60906-1 plugs are similar in size and shape to the Europlug) but according to the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) electrotechnical standards development manager, the new plugs and sockets would have ''"a long, long phase-in period, more than 20 years".''

SANS 164-2 sockets.jpg, South African SANS 164–2, quadruple socket
SANS 164-1 & 164-2 sockets.jpg, South African SANS 164-1 (old) & SANS 164-2 (new) sockets in a single plate
Old, old and new za plug, and new za plug.png, Left: Old outlet and plug, Middle: Old and new (multi-standard socket), Right: Socket for new plugs only

Brazilian NBR 14136 standard

According to the National Institute of Metrology Standardization and Industrial Quality in Brazil, the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards ''"began discussing the creation of a standard for plugs and sockets ... in the 1980s, based on the draft international standard based on IEC 60906-01. It was concluded with wide participation of the manufacturers of plugs and sockets and of electrical and electronic equipment, in July of 1998, with the publication of the norm ABNT NBR 14136."''

There are a number of non-compliance issues with IEC 60906-1. Brazil uses both 127 V and 220 V mains supplies, but rather than using the IEC 60906-2 standard for the lower voltage it uses NBR 14136 for both. Whereas IEC 60906-1 specifies a single 16 A rating with 4.5 mm pins, NBR 14136 has both 10 A and 20 A ratings, the 10 A plug has a pin diameter of 4 mm, and the 20 A plug is 4.8 mm. NBR 14136 does not require shutters on the apertures, a further noncompliance with IEC 60906-1. The 10 A socket will accept only 10 A plugs, and Europlug