⚡ Immunity of electrical and electronic equipment to voltage dips, short interruptions and voltage variations on the d.c. input power port — test levels, generator, test set-up and procedure, basic EMC publication, PN-EN 61000-4-29

Electronics and EMC PN-EN 61000-4-29

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full (our translation): "Methods are given for testing immunity to voltage dips, short interruptions and voltage variations occurring at the d.c. port supplying electrical and electronic equipment. Test levels, the test generator, the test set-up and the test procedure are described" (on the card without a full stop at the end). We have a sample extract of IEC 61000-4-29:2000 (first edition, 2000-08, bilingual) from the cover to Clause 1 inclusive (page 11): foreword, introduction, table of contents, scope. Scope (Clause 1): test methods for immunity to voltage dips, short interruptions and voltage variations at the d.c. input power port of electrical or electronic equipment; the standard applies to low-voltage d.c. power ports of equipment supplied by external d.c. networks; its object is a common and reproducible basis for testing; it defines the range of test levels, the test generator, the test set-up and the test procedure. The test applies to equipment and systems, and also to modules and subsystems when the rated power of the equipment under test exceeds the generator capacity specified in Clause 6. Ripple at the d.c. port is outside the scope — it is covered by IEC 61000-4-17. The standard does not specify the tests for particular apparatus: the choice of tests and severity level belongs to the product committees or to the users and manufacturers. It has the status of a basic EMC publication according to IEC Guide 107. Table of contents of the 2000 edition: test levels (Clause 5) with Tables 1a, 1b and 1c of preferred test levels and durations — separately for voltage dips, short interruptions and voltage variations; test generator (6: characteristics and verification); test set-up (7); procedure (8: laboratory reference conditions, execution); evaluation of results (9); test report (10); Annex A (informative) with examples of generators — with two power sources and internal switching or with a programmable power supply — and Annex B (normative) on inrush current measurement: the peak inrush current drive capability of the generator and the peak inrush current of the equipment under test.

EDITION 2.0 (2026). IEC page (read on 30 September 2026): IEC 61000-4-29:2000 — edition 1.0 of 2000-08-30, 37 pages, withdrawal date 2026-07-30; IEC 61000-4-29:2026 — edition 2.0 of 2026-07-30, 24 pages, stability date 2027, which "cancels and replaces the first edition published in 2000" and is a technical revision. Changes according to IEC: a) higher output voltage of the test generator, taking into account new d.c. network voltages; b) tolerances for the duration of the voltage changes; c) limitation of the current when applying short interruptions in low-impedance condition; d) clarifications of the requirements for the generator and their verification; e) clarifications of the loads used to verify the switching characteristics and the peak inrush current drive capability of the generator; f) clarifications of the evaluation of results and the test report; g) description of the d.c. environment (in the 2026 draft — an informative Annex C on the d.c. network). The same list of changes stands in the foreword of the draft prEN IEC 61000-4-29:2026 (document 77A/1276/CDV, parallel IEC and CENELEC voting from 13.02 to 10.04.2026), of which we have an extract up to the end of the foreword.

STATUS (state of the cards on 30 September 2026). The card of PN-EN 61000-4-29:2004 (Polish version) has no "Withdrawn" header — the standard is CURRENT: published 07-06-2004, 20 pages, price group K, Information and Communication Technologies Sector, KT 104 for Electromagnetic Compatibility, ICS 33.100.20, "Introduces: EN 61000-4-29:2000 [IDT], IEC 61000-4-29:2000 [IDT]", "Replaces: PN-EN 61000-4-29:2002 - English version". The PKN search for "PN-EN 61000-4-29" (30 September 2026) shows two items: this standard and PN-EN 61000-4-29:2002 (English version) with the label "Withdrawn and replaced by PN-EN 61000-4-29:2004"; the 2026 edition is not in the PKN catalogue. In other words: in Poland the text corresponding to IEC 61000-4-29:2000 applies, which IEC replaced with edition 2.0 on 30 July 2026.

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation-scope database, data loaded up to 17 September 2026, read on 30 September 2026). All notations of number 61000-4-29: 14 records at 10 laboratories; in the current PCA documents the number stands in 12 cells of reference documents — the copy splits two bilingual entries of AB 053 into four records. The notation "PN-EN 61000-4-29:2004" is used by 9 laboratories; AB 053 writes "EN 61000-4-29:2000". The "Laboratories" tab looks for notations that BEGIN with "PN-EN 61000-4-29" and will show 9 laboratories — it will not show AB 053; checked with the tab's query on the production server labcoda.pl on 30 September 2026: 9 (under "EN 61000-4-29" — 1). Current scopes on the PCA website (read on 30 September 2026, issues from 24.10.2024 to 08.09.2026): all entries are in the issues in force and none is suspended (AB 171 has another part of its scope suspended).

ITEMS AND RANGE. Electrical and electronic equipment — all laboratories, some with a list of groups (industrial, scientific and medical, information technology, household, lighting, telecommunications — AB 053, AB 666, AB 1765; equipment for military use and electrical and electronic equipment with a supply voltage of up to 400 V and a frequency from 0 Hz to 1000 Hz — AB 171; low-voltage electrical machinery and equipment, including traction equipment — AB 022); AB 261 — at the laboratory and at the installation site. Ranges in the entries: voltage up to 400 V DC (AB 053), up to 425 V DC (AB 310), up to 360 V at 26 A (AB 167), up to 16 A "single-phase and DC" (AB 666), test level from 0 % to 120 % UT (AB 261, AB 1765) or up to 120 % UT (AB 117), voltage dips and interruptions AC and DC up to 32 A (AB 171); AB 022 and AB 295 without a range.

ALONGSIDE THIS STANDARD. In the same cells of reference documents there are standards that call up this test: PN-EN 60255-26 clause 7.2.11 — measuring relays and protection equipment (AB 261), PN-EN IEC 55014-2 — household appliances and tools (AB 1765), PN-EN 60601-1-2 and PN-EN 55035 (AB 666); at AB 295 the same entry for armament and military equipment contains the defence standards NO-06-A104 and NO-06-A108, at AB 310 — PN-EN 50155 for electronic equipment of railway rolling stock, and at AB 171 the cell covers a long list of EMC and product standards. Voltage dips and short interruptions on a.c. supply are described in PN-EN IEC 61000-4-11 (a separate Knowledge Base entry) — AB 171 and AB 666 have it in the same cell as PN-EN 61000-4-29. AB 041 tests the effect of dips, short interruptions and voltage variations at the DC port on volume conversion devices for gas meters according to PN-EN 12405-1 clause A18, without this standard.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — d.c. versus a.c.: dips and interruptions on a.c. supply are tested according to PN-EN IEC 61000-4-11, and at the d.c. port according to this standard — a test to one does not replace the other. Second — level and duration: the standard gives preferred levels and durations (Tables 1a–1c), but the choice of the severity level belongs to the product standard; a result without the level, duration and performance criterion does not say what was checked. Third — generator: the test makes sense only if the generator delivers the inrush current required by the equipment under test (Annex B) — with too weak a source the equipment sees a different waveform than the one set. Fourth — edition: in PKN the 2000 text applies, while IEC has had edition 2.0 since 30 July 2026 with a higher generator voltage, tolerances for the duration of changes and current limitation for short interruptions; the range up to 400–425 V DC in the accreditation scopes concerns the laboratories' equipment, not requirements of the standard. Fifth — ripple at the d.c. port is a separate test (IEC 61000-4-17).

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. The extract of the 2000 edition ends with Clause 1, and that of the 2026 draft — with the foreword: we do not give the values from Tables 1a–1c (levels and durations), the requirements for the generator (rise and fall times, current, output impedance), its verification, the test set-up, the course of the procedure, the evaluation criteria or the content of Annex B. We also do not know the date when the 2026 edition will be introduced into European and Polish standards.

Method principle

The equipment under test is supplied from a d.c. source through a test generator which produces at the input power port voltage dips, short interruptions or slow voltage variations of a set level and duration, and it is observed whether the equipment keeps working according to the criterion given in the product standard. The standard specifies preferred levels and durations (Tables 1a–1c), a generator with verification of its inrush current drive capability, the test set-up and the procedure; the severity level is chosen by the product standard.

Applications

• Electrical and electronic equipment with a d.c. input power port — telecommunications, automation, protection relays, medical and IT equipment — in the scopes of 10 laboratories
• Equipment for military use (AB 171, AB 295) and railway rolling stock equipment (AB 310, together with PN-EN 50155)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-EN 61000-4-29:2004 (wersja polska; EN 61000-4-29:2000, IEC 61000-4-29:2000 IDT)

Title (PL)

Kompatybilność elektromagnetyczna (EMC) — Część 4-29: Metody badań i pomiarów — Badanie odporności na zapady napięcia, krótkie przerwy i zmiany napięcia występujące w przyłączu zasilającym prądu stałego

Title (EN)

Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) — Part 4-29: Testing and measurement techniques — Voltage dips, short interruptions and voltage variations on d.c. input power port immunity tests

Step-by-step procedure

1. Product standard and edition

   Severity level, durations and performance criterion from the product standard; PN-EN 61000-4-29:2004 current in PKN (state of the card on 30 September 2026), IEC has edition 2.0 of 2026.

2. Generator and set-up

   A verified generator with sufficient inrush current drive capability (Annex B); test set-up according to Clause 7 — details NOT GIVEN.

3. Test

   Voltage dips, short interruptions and voltage variations at the d.c. input power port under the laboratory reference conditions; values from Tables 1a–1c NOT GIVEN.

4. Evaluation and report

   The operation of the equipment during and after the test is evaluated according to the criterion of the product standard (Clause 9); test report according to Clause 10.

Required equipment and apparatus

Health and safety (OHS)

• Work with d.c. sources of up to several hundred volts and high inrush currents — electrical safety rules at the test station
• SUBSTANTIVE NOTE: a test of the d.c. port does not replace the test of dips on a.c. supply (PN-EN IEC 61000-4-11); in PKN the 2000 text applies, IEC has edition 2.0 of 2026

Frequently asked questions