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Protecting

Hazardous Area Equipment Protection

Run the equipment you need inside the zone, legally

Most of the equipment a classified area needs was never certified for it, and every gap surfaces at audit or at incident. Weidmüller Klippon® Protect certified enclosures, control stations and purged systems let plant operate and be maintained inside the zone without a shutdown or a de-classification argument.

Applies to
Processing plants Tank farms Oil, gas & CSG sites Declared gas & dust zones
Weidmüller Klippon® Protect IECEx, ATEX and cULus certified Ex e, Ex i, Ex d, Ex p and Ex t
IECEx certified control panel installed in a classified area

How Equipment Gets Into the Zone

Certify it, pressurise it, or keep it out. There is no fourth option.

1

Use Equipment Certified for the Zone

Ex e, Ex i, Ex d, Ex n and Ex t rated enclosures, junction boxes, control stations and instruments, selected against the zone, gas group and temperature class on the classification drawing.

2

Purge What Cannot Be Certified

A purge and pressurisation system keeps the hazardous atmosphere out of the enclosure, allowing non-certified components inside a Zone 2 area, or Zone 2 certified components into Zone 1.

3

Certify the Assembly, Not Just the Parts

Populated enclosures and control stations are built and certified as complete assemblies to IECEx, ATEX and cULus, which is what the documentation at audit actually has to cover.

Certified enclosure and control panel assembly

What Sites Get Out of It

The outcomes that matter on site.

Compliance shield with tick

Certification Evidence Ready at Audit

Every panel, station and system carries its IECEx documentation, no scrambling when the auditor asks.

Clock representing uptime

Plant Keeps Running In-Zone

Purged enclosures and certified assemblies keep equipment operating and serviceable inside the zone instead of waiting on a shutdown.

Control panel gauge

Operators Control Plant Where They Stand

In-zone control stations remove the walk to the nearest safe area for routine starts and stops.

Trend line representing equipment kept in service

Existing Equipment Kept in Service

Re-classification does not have to mean replacement when pressurisation can protect what is already installed.

Zone & Ex Classification

Which Zone Is the Equipment Going Into

Classification decides the protection method, and the protection method decides what can be installed. Find your zone before specifying anything.

Zone
What the classification means
Equipment permitted
Zone 0 / 20
Gas / Dust
Explosive atmosphere present continuously or for long periods.
Intrinsically safe Ex ia only. Very limited equipment is certified for this zone.
Zone 1
Gas
Explosive gas atmosphere likely to occur in normal operation.
Ex d flameproof, Ex e, Ex p pressurised, Ex ia/ib, Ex m encapsulated.
Zone 2
Gas
Gas atmosphere unlikely, and short duration if it occurs.
Ex n non-sparking, plus anything certified for Zone 1.
Zone 21
Dust
Combustible dust cloud likely to occur in normal operation.
Ex t enclosures with IP6X dust-tight sealing and surface temperature control.
Zone 22
Dust
Dust cloud unlikely, and short duration if it occurs.
Ex tc rated equipment, IP5X or IP6X depending on the dust characteristics.

Ex Protection Methods We Supply

Ex d
Flameproof
Enclosure contains an internal ignition without propagating it to the atmosphere.
Ex e
Increased Safety
Construction prevents arcs, sparks and hot surfaces arising in the first place.
Ex i
Intrinsic Safety
Circuit energy limited below the level needed for ignition. Used for instrumentation.
Ex p
Purge & Pressurisation
Positive internal pressure keeps the hazardous atmosphere out of standard equipment.
Ex n
Non-Sparking
Zone 2 equipment designed so that ignition sources do not occur in normal operation.
Ex t
Dust Protection
Dust-tight enclosure with limited surface temperature for Zone 21 and 22 areas.

Zone, gas group and temperature class are confirmed per project before equipment is specified. Send us the hazardous area classification drawing and we will match certification to it.

Two Decisions That Come Up Every Time

When purge is the right answer, and when a certified panel build is unavoidable.

Purge & Pressurisation

When Ex p Is the Right Answer

Ex p keeps a positive internal pressure inside an enclosure so the hazardous atmosphere never reaches the equipment. It protects things that were never designed to be certified.

The equipment inside is standard and has no Ex certification of its own, PLCs, analysers, drives, IT hardware.
Non-certified components need to sit in a Zone 2 area, or Zone 2 certified components need to enter Zone 1.
A flameproof equivalent exists but is impractical: too large, too hot, or impossible to service in place.
Certified Enclosures

When You Need a Certified Assembly

An enclosure in a classified area is certified as a populated assembly, not as a collection of certified parts. That distinction is what audits turn on.

The enclosure is physically located inside the declared zone, whatever is mounted in it.
Certification must cover the enclosure, the gland plate, the components and the assembly together.
Protection method follows the zone: Ex d or Ex e for Zone 1, Ex n for Zone 2, Ex t for dust areas.
The Brand Behind This Application

Weidmüller Klippon® Protect, certified enclosures, junction boxes and control stations

Klippon® Protect covers the approvals a classified area demands, ATEX, IECEx and cULus, across stainless steel, coated steel, GRP polyester and aluminium enclosures, Ex e and Ex i junction boxes, and Klippon® Control Stations with up to four control and indication elements. Enclosures are populated and certified as complete assemblies, so what arrives on site is the thing that carries the certificate.

Klippon® Control Stations in standard sizes with up to four control and indication elements, starts, stops and resets where the operator stands.
Ex e and Ex i junction and terminal boxes for field wiring, instrumentation and power distribution from one enclosure design.
Hazardous area lighting circuits, heat trace and line monitoring switched and protected from one certified enclosure instead of separate boxes at each point.
Purged populated enclosures where the components inside have no Ex certification of their own.
Klippon® STB / TB stainless steel Klippon® POK GRP polyester Klippon® K aluminium Cable entries & gland plates Viewing windows & indication Pushbuttons & selectors
Weidmuller Klippon Protect certified enclosure and control station

Products and Brands Behind This Application

Weidmüller Klippon® Protect enclosures, control stations and purged systems, specified to your zone, with Expo Technologies purge and pressurisation and CMP certified cable glands and cleats where the installation needs them.

Weidmüller Klippon® Protect Expo Technologies CMP Products

Send Us Your Zone Classification

Zone, gas group, temperature class and what the equipment has to do. We will come back with the protection method, the certified options and the documentation that goes with them.

What to Send Us
Zone classification, gas group and temperature class
What the equipment or panel has to house or do
Environment and corrosion risk at the installation location
Whether existing equipment needs to stay in service (purge candidate)
Number of cable entries and preferred gland type