The USA emission and immunity EMC specifications

Abstract

The need for designing electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) into commercial products has intensified, especially since international EMC regulations have proliferated in the past two years. Manufacturers must build a single product that meets all the relevant EMC requirements no matter where in the world the product is marketed. This means that a single set of harmonized standards is highly desirable. Commercial-application EMC standards in the USA have kept pace with this growing trend. This paper make comparisons, where they exist, between USA and IEC standards to show the growing trend towards harmonization. This paper also presents activity in the United States in developing commercial EMC standards, especially in the area of methods of measurement. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in fact has adopted the ANSI C63.4 method of measurement for emissions while allowing the use of either the FCC Part 15 or the IEC/CISPR Publication 22 limits. Some of the major activities on immunity methods of measurement are reviewed. Finally, an update is included of relevant FCC actions as they relate to standardization.