What is an Ex e Increased Safety?
According to EN 60079-7, Ex e (increased safety) is a type of protection for equipment that are applied to explosive atmospheres by preventing high temperatures and eliminating the potential sparking components.
Components that pose sparks are required to exclude in the equipment with this type of protection.
Compared with Ex d (flameproof enclosure), which concerns the surface temperature of enclosures, Ex e focus on controlling the internal temperature of components in the equipment.
Terminals and junction boxes commonly adopt Ex e protection. The primary features as below:
- Eliminate sparking components by selecting proper materials, setting adequate spacing between components, and so on.
- Connections between components must be highly integrated.
- The enclosure should use better materials to stand up to impact.
- Components used in the equipment must be certified too.
- For IP protection degree, at least IP40 protection for fully insulated live parts; but in most cases, at least IP54 protection for live parts without insulation.
Equipment Protection Level of Ex e
| Protection | Category of EPL* | Zone of use |
| Ex eb | 2 | zone1, zone2 |
| Ex ec | 3 | zone2 |
Other Types of Protection
- Ex d Flameproof
- Ex i Intrinsic Safety
- Ex p Pressurised Apparatus
- Ex m Moulding
- Ex o Oil Immersion
- Ex q Powder Filling
- Ex n Protection “n”
- Ex t Protection by Enclosure
