❄️ Test A: Cold — PN-EN 60068-2-1

Electronics and EMC PN-EN 60068-2-1:

Overview

WHAT THIS TEST CONCERNS — AND WHAT IT DOES NOT. The object of the cold test is limited to determining the ability of components, equipment and other products to be used, transported or stored at low temperature (PKN card, clause 1 of the text of the standard). The standard states explicitly that its tests do NOT make it possible to assess the resistance or operation of a product DURING CHANGES of temperature — IEC 60068-2-14 (test N, a separate entry in this database) serves this purpose. The procedures are intended for products that reach temperature stability during the test.

THREE VARIANTS — THE CHOICE DEPENDS ON WHETHER THE PRODUCT HEATS ITSELF (clause 1, introduction, 4.1 and Figure 1): • Ab — non-heat-dissipating products, with gradual change of temperature; HIGH air velocity in the chamber is recommended, because it shortens the stabilisation time; • Ad — heat-dissipating products, powered only after initial temperature stabilisation; LOW air velocity is recommended; • Ae — heat-dissipating products that must operate throughout the test, including the exposure periods; also low air velocity. The table in the introduction of the standard marks the letters "a" and "c" as withdrawn. Tests B (dry heat, a separate entry) have the same letters: b, d, e denote the same type of product in both series. WHEN A PRODUCT "DISSIPATES HEAT" (4.1): only when the hottest point of its surface, measured in free air (at low air velocity), is more than 5 K warmer than the surroundings after stabilisation. If the product specification requires a storage or transport test, or does not specify the load during the test, test Ab is applied.

LOW AND HIGH AIR VELOCITY — A NUMERICAL DEFINITION (3.1 and 3.2): the air velocity is "low" when the air circulation lowers the temperature of no point of the specimen by more than 5 K (if possible — not more than 0.5 m/s); "high" when it lowers it by more than 5 K. The standard gives a procedure for deciding this (4.2): the product switched on at an air velocity below 0.2 m/s without forced air movement, measurement of the temperature of representative points, then the same with the chamber running — a difference of more than 5 K (or the value from the specification) means a chamber with high air velocity, and this value is recorded in the report.

ONE NUMBER COMMON TO ALL VARIANTS (5.1): the rate of change of temperature in the chamber must not exceed 1 K per minute, averaged over a period of not more than 5 minutes. The air temperature is measured with sensors located away from the specimen so that the influence of the heat it dissipates is negligible, and shielded against radiation (4.5). The packaging is removed unless the specification requires it to be kept or it contains heating elements (4.6). The chambers are built and checked according to IEC 60068-3-5 and IEC 60068-3-7.

STATUS AND EDITIONS (state of the PKN cards and the IEC website on 25.09.2026). PN-EN 60068-2-1:2009 — Polish-language version, publication 10-03-2009, 16 pages, KT 65 Environmental Testing of Electrical Products; it implements EN 60068-2-1:2007 and IEC 60068-2-1:2007 [IDT]; it replaces PN-EN 60068-2-1:2007 in the English-language version (which in turn replaced PN-IEC 68-2-1:1996 with amendment Ap1:1999). The card has no "Withdrawn" header. AT THE PUBLISHER THE IMPLEMENTED EDITION HAS BEEN REPLACED: IEC 60068-2-1:2025, edition 7.0, publication 2025-09-23, stability date 2031 — "This seventh edition cancels and replaces the sixth edition published in 2007. This edition constitutes a technical revision." The list of changes on this page includes clarification of the procedure for deciding between high and low air velocity and of the requirements for measuring points, reinstatement of the nomogram for temperature correction at high air velocity (tests Ad and Ae) and a change of the temperature tolerances. The new edition is not yet in the PKN catalogue (search "60068-2-1", 25.09.2026). An accreditation scope with "PN-EN 60068-2-1:2009" therefore describes the content of the 2007 IEC edition.

HOW ACCREDITATION SCOPES CITE THE STANDARD. Measurement of 25.09.2026 on the database of PL accreditation scopes (1310 laboratories with entries): 28 entries at 25 laboratories — almost every laboratory has test A in one entry. Forms of notation: "PN-EN 60068-2-1:2009" (17), "IEC 60068-2-1:2007" (3), "PN-EN 60068-2-1" without a year (3), single "EN 60068-2-1:2007", "EN 60068-2-1:2009" (the year 2009 belongs to the PN edition; the EN standard it implements dates from 2007 according to the card) and "IEC 60068-2-1: 2007-03". Some entries put the standard next to specifications of vehicle manufacturers (VW 75174, VW 80332, LV 214, GS 95006-7-1, MBN 10384, SAE/USCAR-2), ISO 16750-4, the defence standard NO-06-A107 and MIL-STD 810F. The objects of testing are very varied: automotive electronics, electrotechnical products, equipment in explosive atmospheres, cells and batteries, rolling-stock equipment, military equipment, fire alarm systems. The methodologies distinguish "odporność" [resistance] (the product operates in the cold) and "wytrzymałość" [endurance] (survival without operation) — in the standard this corresponds to the choice of Ae/Ad or Ab. The lowest temperatures declared in the methodologies and parameters: from -40 °C to -70 °C (e.g. "do -40 °C", "do -50 °C", "-55 do +130 °C ±2 °C", "do - 60 °C", "do -65 °C", "(-70±2) °C" [do = down to]).

THE KEY OF THE "LABORATORIES" TAB — WITH A COLON: "PN-EN 60068-2-1:" — 18 laboratories and 21 entries, without any foreign entries. Without the colon the key would also catch parts 2-11 (salt mist), 2-14, 2-17 and 2-18 of this series: 19 foreign entries, including 4 laboratories with other parts only. With the colon 7 laboratories drop out (AB 041, AB 121, AB 128, AB 1280, AB 1776, AB 1899, AB 1974), which write the standard without a year or with the IEC or EN designation alone.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We had an extract of IEC 60068-2-1:2007 made available by the publisher: the foreword, the introduction, clauses 1–4 and subclauses 5.1–5.2.1. WE DO NOT HAVE clause 6 — the severities (temperatures and durations), tolerances, the course of conditioning, recovery — or clauses 7 and 8 (what the product specification and the report give). We do not give any test temperature or duration.

Method principle

The product is placed in the chamber at laboratory temperature, and the temperature is then lowered gradually — not faster than 1 K/min averaged over up to 5 min — to the specified low temperature, and the product is kept at it for the time required by the specification. A non-heat-dissipating product (Ab) is tested at high air velocity, a heat-dissipating one (Ad, Ae) at low air velocity, so that local hot spots form as in an installation. After exposure the product is checked in accordance with the specification.

Applications

• Automotive electronics — next to the specifications of vehicle manufacturers and ISO 16750-4
• Electrotechnical and electronic products, connectors, enclosures, automation and fire alarm systems
• Electrical equipment for explosive atmospheres, railway rolling-stock equipment
• Cells and batteries, gas volume conversion devices, pressure and temperature transmitters
• Military equipment — next to NO-06-A107 and MIL-STD 810F
• Assessment of suitability for storage and transport at low temperature (variant Ab)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-EN 60068-2-1:2009 (wersja polska; wprowadza EN 60068-2-1:2007 [IDT], IEC 60068-2-1:2007 [IDT])

Title (PL)

Badania środowiskowe — Część 2-1: Próby — Próba A: Zimno

Title (EN)

Environmental testing — Part 2-1: Tests — Test A: Cold

Step-by-step procedure

1. Choice of variant

   Ab for a non-heat-dissipating product (also every storage or transport test); Ad or Ae for a heat-dissipating product — Ae when it is to operate throughout the test.

2. Deciding the air velocity

   Product switched on at an air velocity < 0.2 m/s, measurement of the temperature of representative points after stabilisation, then measurement with the chamber running; a difference > 5 K means high air velocity — record the value in the report (4.2).

3. Placing the product

   The product is put into a chamber at laboratory temperature; the packaging is removed unless the specification provides otherwise (4.3, 4.6).

4. Lowering the temperature

   Gradually, not faster than 1 K/min averaged over up to 5 min (5.1).

5. Exposure, intermediate and final measurements

   WE DO NOT GIVE the temperature, duration, intermediate measurements or recovery — they are in clause 6 and in the product specification.

6. Report

   State the variant (Ab, Ad, Ae), the edition of the standard and the result of deciding the air velocity; the mere notation "próba A" [test A] does not say what was performed.

Required equipment and apparatus

Health and safety (OHS)

• Cold surfaces of the chamber and the product — protective gloves when removing specimens
• Products powered during the test (Ad, Ae) — rules for working on live equipment
• Frost and condensation on the product after removal from the chamber — risk of short circuit if switched on immediately

Frequently asked questions