Confused about Class 2 & Class II Power Supplies?

10 February 2023
class_2_class_ii_power_supplies

If you are getting confused about Class 2 power supplies and Class II power supplies….Well don’t worry you are not alone.

The biggest problem is that people don’t realise that Class 2 and Class II are 2 entirely different things!

So what’s the difference?

Class 2 Power Supply

This is to do with electrical safety compliance in the USA and affects industrial power supplies.

Class 2 classification that appears in the National Electric Code (NEC).

When it comes to AC-DC power supplies it calls for the output to be limited to 100 Watts.

This is to prevent electrical cable overheating and causing an electrical fire.

Power supplies that conform to Class 2 are usually certified to UL1310. MEAN WELL do no offer a power supply that meets UL1310.

Class II Power Supply

Class II has more to do with power supplies that are likely to come into contact with a member of the public.

For example:

Class II power supplies don’t need an earth connection to protect against electric shock hazard. So they will typically supplied with a 2 pin Australian power plug, rather than a 3 pin one.

MEAN WELL CLASS II Power Supply
MEAN WELL CLASS II Power Supply

 

MEAN WELL does offer a number of Class II rated power supplies.

Both the MEAN WELL catalogue and the product data sheet will indicate if a power supply has Class II isolation and all will display the symbol on the power supply’s label:

If you have any questions concerning Class II power supplies please contact MEAN WELL Australia.