Applies to separable contacts used in the utilisation area
considered such as switching element for control circuits. Two
rated voltages are taken into consideration: above (and
including) 10 V (typically 24 V) where contacts are used for
switching loads with possible electrical erosion, such as
programmable controller inputs, and below 10 V (typically 5 V)
with neglible erosion, such as electronic circuits. It is a
proposed method of assessing the performances of low energy
contacts giving: useful definitions; general principles of test
methods which are to monitor and record the behaviour of contacts at
each operation; functional bases for the definition of a general
testing equipment; preferred test values; particular conditions for
testing contacts intended for specific applications (such as
switching of PC inputs); information to be given in the test
reports; interpretation and presentation of the test results.