Hazardous Areas

Wireless Buyers
Guide 2022
Contents

Introduction 2

A Note From Our CEO 3

Defining Hazardous Area Wireless 4

What is a Hazardous Area? 5

Hazardous Area Definitions 6

Standards Governing Deployment of Wireless Radio

Devices Into Hazardous Area 7

Who Governs the Standards? 8

Most Common Regional Standards 9

- ATEX
- IECEX
- NEC500 US

How is Compliance to These Standards Managed? 10

Typical Wireless Technology Used in Hazardous Areas 11

WiFi 12

Cellular Networks (3G, 4G, 5G and LTE) 12

BLE 13

UWB 13

Passive RFID 13

LoRaWAN 13

WiHART/ISA100.11a 13

Other Radio Technology 13

Ex Solutions for Deploying Wireless & What to Consider 14

Ex d – IEC 60079-1 15

Ex nR - IEC 60079-15 15

Ex i – IEC60079-11 16

Hazardous Area Certified Antennas 16

Example of Simple Apparatus Assessment 17

Environmental Challenges 18

Materials of Construction 18

IP Rating 19

Ambient Temperature 19

Solar Loading 20

Metallic Environments and the Effects of Multipath Interference 21

Design and Installation Considerations 23

WiFi Use Case: Enclosure Design and Configuration 25

Maintenance of Ex Equipment 29

Working With a Specialist Can Save Time and Hassle 30

Working With OEMs 31

Using a Pre-Certified Enclosure 31

Extronics – Hazardous Area Wireless Experts 32

Introduction

Deploying a successful wireless network in a

process industry environment is no easy task!

Not only do you need to design a solution that

will work within the parameters of your site or
area, but the solution must also consider the
nature of each area and what problems must
be overcome to satisfy your use case.

Installing wireless devices into a hazardous area

is one such scenario which presents a unique
set of challenges.

Many companies that operate in the process

industries are deploying increased wireless
infrastructure as part of a wider digitalisation
strategy aimed at improving efficiency,
increasing productivity and enhancing worker
safety. Markets and Markets 2020 Industrial
Internet of Things (IIoT) report states the
market was valued at USD 77.3 billion in 2020
and is forecast to grow to USD 110.6 billion by
2025, with demand from Oil & Gas and the
Energy sectors contributing approximately a
third towards that growth.

As companies push forward with their

digitalisation goals it is important to consider
what level of protection your chosen wireless
devices need when installed in a hazardous
area.

Gaining data from within a hazardous area is

critical to business operations but it is also the
most difficult to obtain.

This eBook is designed to provide a guide to

some of the key areas you must consider when
installing wireless technology into a hazardous
area.

2
A Note From
Our CEO

Firstly, thank you for downloading your copy of our new

Wireless Buyers Guide.

Extronics speacialises in developing and manufacturing ATEX, IECEx, and North American-certified
equipment for use in hazardous areas. We serve customers around the world in industries such as
oil and gas, chemical, pharmaceutical, and mining. Our knowledgeable team of experts have a huge
amount of experience in what is required to successfully deploy a range of wireless technologies.

That experience has been gained from working with some of the world’s largest companies, including
BP, Shell, Cisco, Aruba, Petronas and many more.

It is our aim to ensure that our customers are fully aware of their options, and we offer our expertise to
help them navigate what can sometimes be a tricky process.

We recognise that no two facilities are created equal, and that each customer has a particular set of
challenges that must be overcome.

It is for these reasons we have developed this Buyers Guide. We hope it serves as a useful resource for
anyone looking to further their knowledge about hazardous area wireless, answer any questions they
may have about deploying wireless devices into hazardous areas and support those already in the
process of installing wireless equipment as part of their digitalisation strategy.

We hope you enjoy reading it!

Thanks,

John Hartley

3
 Defining Hazardous
Area Wireless

There are various reasons for deploying wireless technology into a

hazardous area. In almost all cases, the goal is to achieve connectivity
and gain more visibility within the hazardous area in question.

As businesses operating in these environments strive to achieve their

digitalisaton goals, more and more wireless radio devices have entered
the market.

Some common use cases for wireless connectivity in hazardous or

industrial settings include:

‫ ׼‬Personnel or asset tracking

‫ ׼‬Automatic mustering in the event of an emergency
‫ ׼‬Security / access control
‫ ׼‬Condition monitoring
‫ ׼‬Remote maintenance using video collaboration
‫ ׼‬Inspection and maintenance management
‫ ׼‬VoiP or Push to Talk using mobile phones
‫ ׼‬Job scheduling
‫ ׼‬Incident reporting and management

With the development of Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of

Things (IIoT) revolution, the list of use cases continues to grow as all
businesses strive to gain a competitive advantage as well as improve
the safety across their sites.

This naturally leads to questions about the safety of wireless devices

installed in hazardous areas and certification required.

A common misconception among buyers is that standard wireless

devices can be easily certified retrospectively. This is rarely the case.
Taking an existing device and getting it approved to standards
required for hazardous areas is no easy process. It is neither low cost
nor quick to do.

4
What is a Hazardous Area?
Before covering the standards that govern Figure 1. illustrates the different zones for
the use of wireless devices in hazardous flammable gas and dust environments.
areas, it is important to first define the Depending on where in the world your
different types of hazardous areas. hazardous area is located will determine how
it is classified. Tables 1 and 2 below define
Industrial facilities may contain hazardous how each classification works. NEC500
areas where there are flammable gas, (Table 2) is predominantly used in the USA,
vapours or liquids, combustible dust, or even whereas ATEX and IECEx (Table 1) are widely
ignitable fibres present. Equipment installed used everywhere else around the world. The
in these areas is subject to additional legal next section talks in more detail about the
requirements to reduce the risk of explosion. regional and local bodies that govern the
standards.
These hazardous areas can be separated
into designated zones dependent on how
present the hazards are.

Figure 1: Different flammable gas and dust classification

5
Hazardous Area Definitions

Table 1:
ATEX, IECEx and NEC505 hazardous area zone definitions.

ATEX, IECEx and NEC505

Gas Zones Dust Zones Definitions
0 20 A place in which an explosive atmosphere is
continually present.

1 21 A place in which an explosive atmosphere is

likely to occur in normal operation occasionally.

2 22 A place where an explosive atmosphere is

not likely to occur in normal operation. If an
explosive atmosphere does occur it is only likely
to be for a short period of time.

Table 2:
US NEC500 hazardous area division and class definitions

US NEC500
Divisions Definitions
1 A place in which an explosive atmosphere is normally present.

2 A place in which an explosive atmosphere is likely to occur in normal

operation occasionally.

Class
Class I Gas

Class II Dust

Class III Fibres

6
Standards Governing the
Deployment of Wireless Radio
Devices Into Hazardous Areas

The main standards for hazardous area equipment globally are ATEX, IECEx and North American NEC
500/505. For ATEX and IECEx, covering most of the world, the IEC 60079 series of standards are typically
used for the approval of equipment installed in hazardous areas. Most national or regional domains
derive their own standards from the IECEx standards and issue a version, often identical, as their own
national or regional standard. The most frequently used electrical equipment protection standards are:

60079-0 General requirements

60079-1 Explosion proof enclosures

60079-7 Increased safety

60079 -11 Intrinsic safety

60079 -15 Non sparking, hermetic sealing and restricted breathing

60079-18 Encapsulation

7
 Who Governs the Standards?

The IEC’s standardisation work is organised In Europe the ATEX directives ensure that
across 150 Technical Committees (TC) and every ATEX certificate must be recognised by
Subcommittees (SC) with various areas of a notified body.
focus. They are tasked with controlling and
creating international standards. IEC standards are also already fully accepted
in national standards in some other countries
The IEC TC 31 (TC 31) is one such TC, which as well. This means one IECEx certificate is
controls the standards associated with currently sufficient for the international sale
equipment for explosive atmospheres. The of explosion-protected equipment in the
IEC TC 31 is tasked with establishing and regions of Australia, New Zealand, Singapore
updating the IEC standard series IEC 60079 and Israel. No further national certificate is
(electrical explosion protection) and IEC required. In Europe, only an additional ATEX
80079 (non-electrical explosion protection). label and the resulting ATEX certificate
is required. In the USA and other regions,
In addition to the ATEX directives, the IEC the IEC standards are applied with some
standards set out the rules all manufacturers differences.
of electrical equipment destined for use in
hazardous areas must follow.

The TC 31 exists to ensure a uniform set of

standards and technical requirements are
applicable worldwide in the field of explosion
protection. This is intended to reduce the
effort spent on certification so the same
products can be used globally.

8
Most Common
Regional Standards

ATEX
ATEX is used mostly within the European Union, but
many other countries in the Middle East or Asia Pacific
region will also accept them.

UKCA
UKCA is the new mark for product compliance for the UK
and also covers the Ex standards. From 2023 all products
placed on to the UK market must be approved to this
standard. In the meantime ATEX approved products are
permitted.

IECEx
IECEx is generally considered a more global standard,
but most countries will not accept this standard outright.
IECEx is predominantly used for the basis of obtaining
the local regional standards.

Although countries such as Australia and Singapore

accept these standards without requiring a national
version, this also includes all offshore installations in the
Gulf of Mexico.

NEC 500 North America

In the USA, all electrical equipment must be approved
and certified by a Nationally Recognised Testing
Laboratory (NRTL) accredited by Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA).

In Canada, all electrical equipment must be approved by

a certification body accredited by the Standards Council
of Canada (SCC).

As with ATEX and IECEx, the certification must be

displayed on the equipment and a certificate or
declaration of compliance alone is not sufficient proof of
compliance.

In the USA, The National Electrical Code or NEC,

specifically NEC500 or NEC505 stipulates the
requirements for the use and installation of electrical
equipment in hazardous areas. Workplace safety laws
regulate all equipment and ensures that it must be
approved / certified by a NRTL accredited by OSHA.

9
 How is Compliance to These
Standards Managed?
Certifying the equipment is not the only cost you must consider
for your business. There are also the ongoing costs associated
with quality assurance. All Ex-product manufacturers must get
their Quality Management Systems certified to fully comply. In
the case of NRTL approval the manufacturing facility must be
certified as well. ATEX requires an Ex manufacturer to complete
a Quality Assurance Notification or QAN as it is more commonly
known.

The CSA Group define the QAN as follows;

The Quality Assurance Notification is

therefore involved with the continued
monitoring of systems and processes in
relation to those Ex products. It involves
periodic audit of the manufacturing
process by a qualified auditor. For ATEX
certification, this is called a Quality
Assurance Notification (QAN)
Source: CSA Group website

For IECEx it is called a Quality Assessment Report (QAR) and

for North American Certification they have a requirement
for auditing the actual factory where the equipment is
manufactured.

In addition, a Certificate of Conformity (CoC) is required. The

IECEx CoC comprises of two elements. The first element is the
assessment of product samples against relevant standards. The
second element requires an assessment of the manufacturer’s
quality systems based on parts of ISO 9001:2008 and ISO/IEC
80079-34:2011.

It is also worth noting that certification aims to verify

a compliant design, it is not intended to be the initial
determination of compliance. Therefore, redesign or
re-engineering is almost always required for products that were
never originally intended for hazardous area use, further adding
to the time and cost before certification can be assessed.

The certification process can cost upward of $50,000 to

get approvals covering ATEX, IECEx and North American
certification and require significant changes to your existing
quality processes. As a business you are subject to a yearly audit
at an additional cost to maintain your certification. For North
American certified products, audits are required four times a
year at a much higher cost to the business.

10
Typical Wireless Technology
Used in Hazardous Areas

Often when we talk about wireless technology in the

process industries, it is said in the context of the Industrial
Internet of Things (IIoT) or industry 4.0. The IIoT market was
As the digital transformation of process industries has valued at USD 77.3
evolved, the number of wireless devices being added has
increased and forced companies to rethink their wireless billion in 2020 and
network strategy.
is forecast to
There are several wireless technologies used for a whole grow to USD 110.6
variety of use cases associated with hazardous and harsh
industrial environments typically seen throughout the billion by 2025, with
process industries.
demand from Oil &
The fact is, deploying wireless in an industrial setting is
not nearly as simple as deploying it in an office or factory
Gas and the Energy
environment. Heavy industrial environments pose unique sectors contributing
challenges and conditions, including dense metalic
infrastructure and hazardous environments such as approx. a third
potentially explosive atmospheres
towards that
Here we look at some of the most common wireless
technologies used and consider some of the pros and cons
growth.
of each.

Source: Market Research Report, 2020 - https://www.

marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/industrial-
internet-of-things-market-129733727.html

11
WiFi
Probably the most common and well known wireless technology
used globally. WiFi is a wireless network standard designed to allow
mobile devices to communicate with each other or servers to access
and exchange data using IP connectivity. WiFi operates in the ISM
bands at 2.4GHz and the 5GHz band. With this technology being so
mature there are a lot of hazardous area certified devices available
compared with some of the newer wireless standards.

Cellular Network’s (3G, 4G, 5G

and LTE)
Cellular networks are commonplace in everyday life providing wide
area network connectivity and voice communications for mobile
phones. More recently versions of the standards are available that
allow IoT applications with the advent of NBIoT and LTE-M protocols.
This then allows low cost, low power communications over long
distances for battery powered sensors.

Some sites are now opting for private LTE networks. There has
traditionally been two ways of providing this to customers by the
Mobile Network Operators (MNO) that own the radio spectrum. The
easiest option is to use the existing network infrastructure that is
normally used for the general public. They offer a segregated part
of the bandwidth on the closest cell tower to the site that is only
available to that particular customer. This is often not a practical
solution because the location of process plants is not usually in an
area where the cellular coverage is good across the site. Another
option is the MNO can install a dedicated cell tower/base station
just for that site. This usually costs a lot more and will require the
customer to commit to payment plans running into many years so
that the MNO can get the return on the capital investment of the
site-specific equipment.

It is worth noting that complete site coverage is difficult to achieve

with LTE networks inside the process areas due to the dense metallic
infrastructure. The way to overcome this challenge is to install Pico
Cells in hazardous area wireless enclosure systems in these locations
to allow full site wide coverage to be achieved.

A recent development with LTE and 5G networks is the advent of

private LTE/5G that can be deployed in much the same way as a WiFi
network is by the end user, without the need to go to an MNO. In
the USA this type of private LTE is called Citizens Band Radio Service
(CBRS) and is also being made possible in other parts of the world.
First conceived by the FCC in 2012 and launched in 2017, this new
possibility is being made available in many countries around the
world. Although gaining in popularity it is important to note that
the free to access spectrum is different in most countries which will
mean the number of mobile devices that are available will be limited
for some time and especially hazardous area approved devices.

LTE/5G is acknowledged to provide a higher degree of security and

deterministic latency compared to WiFi and has a much greater
coverage. Typically, coverage outdoors is 10 x and indoors 4 x that of
WiFi.

12
BLE
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is a short-range wireless technology, although
later iterations of the standard such as BLE 5 have a much longer-range
capability of over 1Km in certain use cases. BLE operates in the 2.4 GHz ISM
band and consumes very little power compared to traditional Bluetooth.
BLE is typically used to tether devices together, location tracking or IoT
connectivity.

UWB
Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) is a low energy radio technology for short-range,
high-bandwidth communications over a wide range of frequencies.

UWB is also capable of transmitting data at very high rates meaning it is

well suited for short range high bandwidth wireless data transfer. UWB has
more typically been used as a Real Time Location System (RTLS) solution
for personnel and asset tracking in industrial settings because of its
accuracy and low power consumption.

Passive RFID
RFID tags are generally passive devices which when energized by a
reader transmit their ID. They are typically used in asset tracking and
identification applications and are available in three different frequency
ranges: LF (125KHz), HF (13.5MHz) and UHF (900MHz)

LoRaWAN®
LoRaWAN® is a low power, wide area network protocol used for wireless
connectivity of devices to internet networks. It is designed as a low power,
low bandwidth technology especially for battery powered sensors. It
was originally available in the sub GHz bands but more recently a new
2.4GHz version is being launched which has less range but much higher
bandwidth. The new 2.4GHz band is in it’s infancy and is not part of
the LoRaWAN alliance. As such there are few products available at the
moment. Typical line of sight range for the sub GHz band is over 10Km,
which means only a few gateways are required to cover a large process
plant.

WiHART/ISA100.11a
WiHART and ISA100.11a are two different protocols typically used for
connection of battery powered sensors. Unlike LoRa it is much shorter
range but running on 802.15.4 radio technology provides a higher degree
of reliability as each device forms part of a self-healing MESH network. This
wireless technology is almost exclusively used in battery powered process
instrumentation devices.

Other Radio Technology

There are a lot of proprietary radio technologies on the market that use
both the unlicensed and licensed spectrums. These include DECT for
cordless phones, VHF/UHF walkie talkies, most commonly known as TETRA
in the digital version, as well as long distance high bandwidth wireless links
or short distance ultrahigh bandwidth wireless links that transmit in the
tens of GHz range.

13
Ex Solutions for
Deploying Wireless
and What to Consider

If you want to deploy wireless It is worth knowing a little

devices into hazardous areas, more about the different Ex
you have two options: protection options available
and which hazardous zones
1 they are suitable for as this will
help you make an informed
Buy a wireless device that decision when choosing your
has been fully certified by the wireless enclosure system
manufacturer to relevant Ex supplier.
standards
Firstly, when you are
considering Ex protection
2 concepts for your wireless
device there are several
Buy a pre-certified Ex wireless concepts available:
enclosure solution to house
your preferred hardware

o Protection by encapsulation
(containing an explosion)
The likelihood is that your
chosen wireless device
does not hold the required o Protection by keeping a
hazardous area certification. flammable gas or dust out
This is typically because it
is a specialised market and
new technology is not often o Quenching a flame
made available as a hazardous
area version when it is first
o Limiting energy (to avoid
introduced to the market.
spark or thermal ignition
Furthermore, technology
companies rarely develop a
hazardous area version of their o Installing the wireless device
devices because the market in a safe area and an Ex rated
size is too small for their antenna in the hazardous
business model. area
The most likely option for end
users is to use an Ex certified There are various protection
enclosure system. Without this types that cover all the above,
solution you will not be able to but the most common seen in
install the wireless technology industrial and process industry
in your hazardous areas on site. settings for wireless devices are
Ex d and Ex n.

14
Ex d – IEC 60079-1
Typical Zone: 1, 2, 21, 22 and Division 1

An Ex d enclosure is designed to A flame path is a gap within the

contain an explosion and stop any enclosure that, if an internal
flames, sparks and hot gases from explosion occurs, ensures that by
escaping into the surrounding the time the flame has reached the
atmosphere should an internal end of the flame path it has been
explosion occur. In addition, an starved of oxygen or cooled down
Ex d enclosure protects the fitted to such an extent that nothing, but
equipment against external air propagates from the explosion.
moisture, dirt, dust or water. The flame never escapes the
enclosure and so cannot ignite an
Electrical equipment, such as ambient gas.
a wireless radio device, has
the potential to operate with Some flameproof boxes have
potentially hot surfaces, which flame paths that operate surface
could cause an explosion if not to surface, like a flange touching a
housed correctly with the relevant joint, whereas others like a typical
Ex protection. IIC gas group enclosure have a lid
that screws into the body of the
Often referred to as ‘flameproof’ enclosure. In these enclosures, the
or “explosion-proof”, an Ex d flame path is in the thread, forcing
enclosure also includes what is the flame to move in and out of
known as a flame path. The flame the thread quenching the flame.
path design can vary depending
on the construction of the Ex d Ex d enclosures are usually heavy
enclosure system. and bulky due to the requirements
of the Ex standard.

Ex nR - IEC 60079-15
Typical Zone: 2, 22 and Division 2

An Ex nR or restricted breathing A Ex nR enclosure typically has the

enclosure removes the fuel following characteristics:
element of an explosion by
stopping any flammable gasses
entering inside the enclosure. In o Lightweight metallic or non-
doing so, potentially explosive metallic construction
gases never meet hot surfaces
or an ignition source potentially o Designed to prevent flammable
present inside the enclosure.
gases entering
Restrictive breathing enclosures
are only certified to Zone 2 o High ingress protection levels
hazardous areas, where the area
o Tightly sealed
is considered safe in normal
operation with flammable gases
only present in fault conditions.
15
 Ex i – IEC60079-11

The Ex i intrinsically safe protection concept is not available as an enclosure, it is designed into the
electrical equipment so that the finished certified device is safe in its own right. This is achieved by
limiting the amount of power fed into a circuit to avoid ignition by hot surfaces as well as limiting
the amount of energy storage which could lead to spark ignition. This concept is specifically used in
the context of Ex wireless enclosure systems as a method of protecting the RF output of the radio
equipment rather than the radio device itself.
Installing the radio equipment in a safe area and
the antenna in a hazardous area is the lowest
cost solution as it does not require the use of a
certified enclosure. If connecting the antenna
to an uncertified radio you must consider that
AC or DC could pass through the radio under a
fault condition. If this was fed into a standard
antenna this could lead to an unsafe condition.

Therefore, there are two distinct options for

this use case. Option one uses an intrinsically
safe RF isolator between the antenna and
the radio, see Figure 2, which limits any
hazardous fault current that could
pass into the hazardous area mounted
antenna. This method of protection
allows the use of standard antennas in
most types of hazardous area. Option
two is to use an Ex antenna where the
antenna is designed and certified to the
Ex standards. This would typically be Ex d or
in some cases Ex e (Increased Safety).
Figure 2: Typical safe area installation

Hazardous Area Certified Antennas

Whilst it is technically possible to use certified This use case can typically be found in batch
antennas, they are often expensive and available processing industries that produce chemicals,
in very few form factors, frequency ranges and paints and adhesives for example. It is more
antenna patterns. For this reason, intrinsically common to install the complete radio with the
safe RF protection and the use of standard antennas directly in the hazardous area. This is
passive antennas is now becoming the dominant generally because of the operational challenges,
and favoured solution due to the significant for example the distance between the hazardous
advantages they offer over specifically certified area and safe area. There is also a limit on how
antennas. long the RF cabling can be before excessive
losses are experienced rendering the wireless
Whilst installing the radio in the safe area is an signal unusable.
attractive option it does have its limitations. It is
typically restricted to applications where there In certain scenarios, the entire facility can be
are a small number of hazardous areas that are classed as a hazardous area, such as those found
often in segregated rooms. in large petrochemical plants and refineries or
offshore platforms.

16
Extronics has performed a simple apparatus assessment on a range of standard non-hazardous area
antennas. This means that when using the Extronics RF iSOLATE device, customers can pick from a
wider range of lower cost antenna options.

Example of Simple Apparatus Assessment

Equipment Type: iANT221 Antenna
Directional Dual Band 2x2 MIMO Antenna
This document assesses the equipment as simple apparatus only when connected to an Intrinsically
Safe RF Source.

Standards and Specifications used:

IEC 60079-0:2018 Explosive atmospheres – Part 0: Equipment – General requirements

IEC 60079-11:2012 Explosive atmospheres – Part 11: Equipment protection by intrinsic safety “i”

IEC 60079-14:2014 Explosive atmospheres – Part 14: Electrical installations design, selection,
and erection

Doc No. 413569 Extronics iSOLATE501 Operating Manual

Assessment Summary:

11:2012 clause 5.7 simple The iANT221 Antenna is a purely passive device and contains no energy
apparatus storage, current limiting, or voltage enhancement components. It does not
require separate power to operate.

60079- 0:2018 clause 8 The iANT221 Antenna is consisting of a white Polycarbonate, UV stable
Exposed metals radome with an aluminum backplate and a Nickle Plated Brass N-Type
connector. There are mild steel bolts protruding from the for securing the
antenna to the optional MNT-22 mounting bracket.

The aluminum rear plate will be considered externally exposed for the pur-
pose of this clause, and the high aluminum content of the alloy used means
that this antenna does not comply with the criteria for equipment to be
rated EPL Ma, Mb (Mining) or EPL Ga (Gas Zone 0)

Overall, the chemical composition of the exposed metallic elements de-

tailed above, are individually each below 7.5% by mass of metals magnesi-
um, titanium, and zirconium. There are no copper elements exposed which
means the requirements of 8.5 in relation to copper content for Gas Group
IIC applications has also been met.

In summary, this means that the requirements of this clause for EPL Gb and
Gc (Gas Zone 1 and 2) and EPL Da, Db and Dc (Dust Zone 20, 21 and 22) have
all been satisfied.

0:2018 - Clause 8 - Exposed Metals

Group I - Mining Group II - Surface Gas Group III - Surface Dust

EPL Ma EPL Mb EPL Ga EPL Gb EPL Gc EPL Da EPL Db EPL Dc

FAIL FAIL FAIL PASS PASS PASS PASS PASS

17
 Environmental
Challenges

Now let’s consider the installation of a non-certified

wireless device into a hazardous area and look at the key
considerations:

‫׼‬ Materials of Construction

‫׼‬ IP Rating

‫׼‬ Ambient Temperature

‫׼‬ Solar Loading

‫׼‬ Metallic Environments and the Effects of Multipath

Interference

Materials of Construction
Often hazardous areas are also subject to extreme weather
conditions or corrosive substances. It is therefore extremely
important that the materials of construction used in any Ex
enclosure be carefully considered to ensure the product can
withstand the extreme condition long term.

For instance, when installing an Ex wireless enclosure into a

marine environment the material of the enclosure becomes
paramount for a successful installation. When we think
about marine environments in the process industries, we
often think about offshore platforms, but the same material
consideration must be given to process plants by the coast in
a hot humid environment. In a hot humid environment, the
saline atmosphere can be very corrosive and if the correct
materials are not used the equipment will soon become
corroded and eventually fail.

Typically, a high-grade marine aluminum with special

coatings should be selected or stainless steel constructed
enclosures. In some cases, nonmetallic enclosures that use
glass reinforced polyester can also provide a high degree
of environmental protection. It’s very important to ensure
the enclosure is designed for these extreme environments
otherwise what looks good when first installed will soon be a
liability to the owner.

18
IP Rating
The minimum level of IP rating for an outdoor Ex
enclosure is IP54, but this level of protection is not
suitable for extreme outdoor environments. In these
environments the minimum level of protection that
should be considered is IP65. IP66 provides a higher
level of protection in applications that are exposed to
high volumes of liquid for clean downs or deluges such
as on an offshore platform or ship.

Ambient Temperature
When installing a wireless radio device into your
hazardous area it is important to consider the operating
temperature. Most standard indoor wireless radio devices
will likely only have a 0°C to 40°C operating temperature
range and would be unsuitable for extreme hot or cold
environments. A truly industrial Ex wireless device
must have an operating temperature range of -40°C to
over +50°C to provide reliable performance in the most
extreme environments.

It is also important to consider the heat rise that your

chosen wireless device will be subject to by being
installed in an Ex enclosure. It is not uncommon to
see a heat rise of 0.5°C per Watt of power dissipated.
For example, a 25W WiFi access point could generate
a 12.5°C heat rise. This heat rise must be added to the
upper temperature limit. If your enclosure is subject to
extreme cold, then enclosures can be fitted with heaters
to ensure that the lowest temperature the wireless device
is exposed to is within its normal operating temperature
range.

For example, if an indoor rated WiFi access point (AP) is

only rated up to 40°C and there is a 10°C temperature rise
within the enclosure, the enclosure should be installed in
an area that would not exceed 30°C, otherwise the WiFi
AP will be exposed to temperatures outside of its rated
range.

For this reason, it may be better to fit outdoor or

industrial indoor AP’s inside the enclosure because they
typically offer a wider range of operating temperatures.

19
Solar Loading

Solar loading is often overlooked but can

cause significant operating issues if not
addressed. The heating effects of the sun
can be considerable, especially in hot
climates. If not properly protected the
surface temperature can rise to considerably
dangerous levels, especially if the enclosure
is dark in colour. When specifying your
enclosure, be sure to understand the potential
solar loading effects for the area where the
enclosure will be installed.

Enclosures designed for outdoor high

ambient temperature environments will have
been thermally engineered. The use of light
colours helps reflect the suns heating rays and Figure 4: iWAP XN3 thermally engineered design
minimizes the amount of heat conducted into
the enclosure (see Figure 4). It is also possible
to provide sunshades if the heating effect is
deemed to be too large (see Figure 5). When
using a sunshade, consideration should be
given to the material of construction as it
may affect the RF propagation and thus the
wireless performance. It is also important to
ensure the shade is made from an anti-static
material. This is because the large surface area
of the shade could become an electrostatic
ignition hazard.

Figure 5: iWAP107 with sunshade installed

20
 Figure 6: Metallic process industry environment

Figure 6: Metallic process industry environment

Metallic
Environments
and the Effects
of Multipath
Interference

One of the most common challenges seen in

almost all process industry sites is the effect
metallic structures have on the wireless
signal. It is essential you chose a device and
enclosure system capable of operating in a
dense metallic environment. These tend to be
on large process plants such as refineries, but
they can also exist in smaller chemical plants
or on offshore platforms and FPSO’s.

Typical communication wireless signals will

not penetrate metal, so the complete signal is
attenuated and therefore no communication
link is possible. Many of these areas include
metal rooms or walkways with bulkheads,
scaffolding and pipes, making it very difficult
to obtain a strong signal. When designing
wireless networks for these dense metallic
environments you must consider the position
of your wireless enclosures and the density
you need to obtain the required performance
levels.

Another phenomenon that must be

considered is the effect of RF multipath
interference (see Figure 7).

21
Radio signals will bounce off metallic structures
and this causes the wireless signal to be received
multiple times by a receiver. This can mean
signals are received out of phase and cancel
each other out. This results in a poor or no
communication link.

Figure 7: multipath interference diagram

Certain radio technologies have evolved to be

tolerant to this and use multipath interference
to increase the bandwidth. For instance, MIMO
radios have become common place nowadays.

Technology, such as 802.11b/g WiFi was fine in

line-of-sight applications but became useless
as soon as it was deployed in heavy metallic
environments with severe multipath interference.
This was one of the main reasons that held up
the deployment of WiFi in the process industries.
The advent of 802.11n WiFi was a game changer
in that it was the first WiFi standard to utilise this
radio technology. It made it as practical to use in a
refinery processing unit as it did in an office.

22
Design and Installation
Considerations

There are a few important steps to go through when determining the suitability of an Ex certified
wireless enclosure system for the chosen wireless device.

It is important to ensure it is still compliant to the Ex certification, does not invalidate other product
certification such as product safety and make sure that the wireless device performs as the original
manufacturer intended, especially from the RF signal perspective.

The key points you must go through when installing an Ex wireless solution into a hazardous area are
summarized below:

1 2 3
Does the wireless device meet Will the wireless device fit in the If the Ex Certification is for North
the typical parameters set enclosure? America the notified bodies
out by the Ex certification stipulate that any equipment
requirements? It is important that size is taken inside the enclosure must be
into consideration to ensure certified to an appropriate UL
• Operating voltage any future maintenance is safety standard by an NRTL. This
trouble free. It is critical to avoid can often be a challenge because
• Regulatory compliance, compromising the routing of the many wireless devices will have
such as product safety e.g. RF cables to the external antenna been tested for product safety to
EN62368 ports and tight bend radiuses of a standard such as IEC62368, but
the internal RF cables to ensure they were not done by an NRTL.
• Maximum power dissipation RF performance is not affected.
allowed in the enclosure They can still be sold in the
It is also worth noting that North American market without
• Cross sectional area and in the US you cannot buy an concern because they are classed
volume stipulations for empty enclosure and install as low power equipment so
Ex d explosion proof your choice of wireless device don’t need to have an NRTL
certified enclosures. yourself. This would invalidate safety approval, however, for Ex
the manufacturing facility and certification under the NEC500 or
process audits required for all NEC505 it is a requirement. This
Ex-manufacturers. In the US, all can present a serious challenge
installations must be checked and restrict the possibility of
and signed off by an Authority installing the chosen device in a
Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) hazardous area. Extronics wireless
appointed by the state to ensure enclosures have been designed
OSHA rules are applied correctly. to overcome this issue and our
internal processes and protective
components allow such devices
to be installed.

23
 4 5
The RF path is very important to achieve the In more recent times, it has become common
same level of performance from the standard place to install multiple wireless devices into
wireless device when installed in an enclosure. the same enclosure system. This is often
done to cater for specific use cases or to
High quality low loss RF cables and utilise the best wireless technology available
connectors with a minimum bend radius are from different manufacturers. For example,
essential to obtain maximum performance. combining WiFi with WiHART or WiFi with
If using intrinsically safe RF barriers standard LTE are quite common use cases across the
antennas can be used - ensure that these process industry.
have a low insertion loss.
Ensuring that the antenna port spacing
Finally, when direct mounting antennas to provides suitable RF isolation between
the enclosure it is important to ensure that the two radios is essential as they can
the antenna ports are optimally spaced for interfere with each other. This only applies
the radio frequency concerned when using in applications where the antenna is directly
devices that have multiple antennas such as mounted to the wireless enclosure. A typical
MIMO radios. If the antennas are installed too value of isolation required to prevent a
close or even too far apart this can affect the transmitting radio saturating the receiver of
RF performance. These key considerations the other radio is 30dB to 40dB.
should be carefully addressed to ensure
the standard wireless device will provide The wireless devices can even interfere
the required level of performance when with each other when working on different
installed in a hazardous area certified wireless frequencies. Ideally, the devices would be
enclosure system. spaced more than a metre apart but that
is not possible when installed inside the
same enclosure. There are two practical
options available in this scenario. Firstly, one
antenna can be remotely mounted to create
the required distance. If remote mounting
is not an option, then mounting one radios
antenna on the top of the enclosure and the
other on the bottom will usually provide the
appropriate level of isolation.

6
Antenna port spacing on the enclosure is
important when using MIMO radios. MIMO
radios typically have 3 or 4 antennas per
radio. The spacing of these ports from one
to the other is important to ensure optimal
performance when omni directional antennas
are mounted directly on to the enclosure.

24
WiFi Use Case: Enclosure
Design and Configuration

WiFi devices are still some of the most common deployments in the process industry. Although many
other wireless technologies are becoming more popular and regularly being deployed, for the purpos-
es of this guide we will use the deployment of an uncertified WiFi Access Point into a hazardous area
as an example.

Firstly, it is important to clarify with the end customer what the hazardous area classification is, Zone/
Division, Gas Group and Temperature Class.

Example Customer
Wireless Device Specification
Specification
o POE power input

o Zone 1 IIB T3 hazardous area

o Power consumption of 25W
o Ambient temperature range of -10°C to
+40°C o Dimensions are 220 x 220 x 67 mm

o WiFi Access Point Specification - indoor

o Operating temperature range of
IP20 rated 4 x RF port 802.11AC device
-20°C to +50°C

o Maximum RF power output of

23 dBm (200 mW)

Customer Requirements

The Access Point will be installed in a location on the plant that is too far away from a network switch
to use copper ethernet cabling and PoE power. For this reason, fibre ethernet and 230 VAC power sup-
ply is required. Antenna pattern required is omni directional and direct mounted antennas would be
preferable. The maximum ambient temperature is 40°C.

25
Solution
It is recommended that the customer use
the Extronics iWAP107 Zone 1 hazardous area
wireless enclosure with direct mounted iANT216
antennas.

Once it has been determined the wireless device

will fit inside the enclosure, a check of the
maximum power disipation is assessed along
with any other stipulations regarding product
safety approvals that may be required, such as
compliance to EN62368 for example. It’s also a
requirement to check that the max RF power
output at the antenna ports does not exceed the
allowed limits for the specific hazardous area
where the device is being installed. In this case it
is a IIB area meaning up to 3.5W is allowed and
therefore well under the safe limits.

The maximum allowed ambient temperature

must be calculated to ensure that the internal
heat rise in the enclosure does not exceed
the wireless device’s maximum operating
temperature. In this example the wireless Extronics has over 15 years experience of
device has a maximum power consumption developing and manufacturing hazardous
of 25W. The majority of this will be disipated area wireless enclosure systems. During
inside the enclosure. Therefore, the maximum this period we have delivered a wide range
ambient operating temperature will be less of wireless configurations all over the
than the standard wireless device due to world. There is a high degree of possibility
internal heat rise. Extronics has profiled the that we have already delivered an
power disipation and the effects of heat rise identical system you may be looking for.
on all iWAP enclosures. In this example, the This means that the compliance checks,
heat rise will be approximately 10°C meaning production process and procedures will
the iWAP maximum ambient temperature will have been completed, making it even
be reduced to 40°C to ensure that the wireless easier for you to purchase.
device is operating within its standard operating
parameters. If it is a new wireless device then we must
check a number of safety parameters that
As all the Ex parameters are within the limits of are stipluated in our notified body type
the certification it is now confirmed that this approval for the enclosure system. The
WiFi Access Point is suitable for installation first thing to check is to make sure that
inside the iWAP107 enclosure system. the Access Point fits into the permissable
area detailed in the notified body type
approval. For instance there can be limits
on how close to the wall of the enclosure
that heat generating parts can be
mounted as this could affect the T class
of the enclosure by increasing the surface
temperature. In respect to Ex d explosion
proof enclosures there are rules about the
amount of free space that needs to be
in the enclosure both dimensionally and
volumetrically.

26
Ex Installation
Considerations
How you install the enclosure should be at the
forefront of any hazardous area installation planning.
Firstly, you must decide how the wireless enclosure
will be mounted in the plant. The iWAP range of
enclosures has standard fixing points for mounting
to a wall or a frame. Alternatively, you may wish to
mount the enclosure to a pole using a standard pole
mounting bracket available for the iWAP enclosure
range.

The next step is to look at the field cabling

requirements. For instance, the AC power cable in
this example will need to be mechanically protected.
This is a mandatory requirement stipulated in the
IEC60069-14 Electrical installations design, selection
and erection standard. There are typically two
approaches to meet this requirement:

Option 1:
the cable selected has an armoured sheath,
which can be in the form of a metal tape or
braid compliant with the standard

Option 2:
the cable must be mechanically protected
by other means such as installing it in a
metal conduit or cable tray system

When the cable type has been selected a suitable

Ex cable gland must be selected to match the cable
and the hazardous area classification. Extronics can
offer advice on selecting the suitable cable glands
and can supply these as a separate item as part
of the kit of parts to complete the installation in
compliance with the standards.

27
 Solar Loading
Consideration should be given to the amount of solar
loading the enclosure will be exposed to as this will cause
further heat rise inside the enclosure. It’s important to check
with a manufacturer of enclosure systems what the effect
of solar loading is. If it is determined that the solar loading
effect will cause heat rise that means the wireless device’s
operating temperature is exceeded, then a sunshade needs
to be fitted to the wireless enclosure system to ensure the
heat rise stays within the standard operating temperature
for the device.

Location Performance
As with any wireless device it is important to consider where it is mounted from a wireless performance
perspective. This will have been determined by undertaking a wireless design survey. It should not
be underestimated the importance of carrying out a wireless network design review, which will often
include carrying out a physical wireless survey. There are companies that specialise in this type of work.
They will also consider interference from other wireless devices that may be deployed in the plant.
This is essential to ensure the wireless equipment being installed will perform to the manufacturer’s
specification and be reliable in operation.

Finally, it must be proven that the maximum RF field at the antennas does not exceed those allowed for
the hazardous area classification where the enclosure is installed. In the above example: Max RF power
is 23 dBm and the antenna gain is 6 dBi.

Calculation

Max EIRP = Max Radio Power + Antenna Gain – Cable Losses –

Connector Losses

Radio frequency power thresholds

Equipment for Threshold power W Thermal initation time μs

Group I 6 200

Group IIA 6 100

Group IIB 3,5 80
Group IIC 2 20

Group III 6 200

There is no cable or connector losses because the antennas are directly mounted. Therefore, the
maximum power is 29 dBm, which is 794mW and well below the 3.5W allowed for a IIB hazardous area.
This means the installation is safe. More details on how to verify if an RF installation is safe can be found
on our blog.

Calculating the Max RF Power for a Hazardous Area Wireless Device

28
Maintenance of Ex Equipment

All Ex equipment needs to be routinely They cover things such as “mounting in an area
inspected to a standard such as IEC 60079- that is not of a high risk of mechanical impact” or
17:2014 Explosive atmospheres. “a routine pressure test needs to be carried out
after installation and annually after that”. These
This standard stipulates the type of inspections can not only be a burden on an end user but very
and the frequency they must be carried out. costly too. For instance, with Type nR protection
These inspections must be documented and – restricted breathing, which is suitable for Zone
it is only through compliance to this standard 2 & Division 2 installations, there are certain
that an end user can be assured that they are conditions that stipulate if the enclosure must be
operating their plant in the safest way possible. pressure tested every year to ensure the method
of explosion protection is maintained.
When selecting a wireless enclosure system,
it is important to check the details of the Ex Extronics iWAP hazardous area wireless
certificate for any special conditions of safe use. enclosures are engineered to the highest
It is not uncommon for an Ex certificate to have standard without the need of routine testing in
an “X” after its number. The “X Conditions” are the plant.
clearly stipulated on the certificate and in the
installation and maintenance manual of the
product.

29
Working With a
Specialist Can Save
Time and Hassle

Whether you are an End User, OEM or System Integrator

working with specialists pays dividends in the long term.
Reliable operation of the wireless device, the long-term total
cost of ownership or the support during the design phase
makes a big difference to the total costs.

Extronics is vendor agnostic when it comes to the wireless

technology. We work with any wireless vendor or wireless
standard. Our mission is to enable non-hazardous area certified
wireless devices to be cost effectively installed in hazardous
areas with the minimal effort required from our customers.

Being agnostic to one vendor or type of wireless technology

means we are not bound by contractual relationships that
stipulate you can only offer specific devices. It also means we
can support all wireless vendors with our solutions without
them being concerned that we favour one or the other.

Our goal is to offer the best solution to suit the customer’s

application. If the customer has a preferred wireless device,
then that is the one we’ll use. Equally if a customer comes to
us and has no preference, we will offer the solution that best
matches their application.

We are wireless experts. We have been involved in wireless

technology for deployment in hazardous areas since 2005.
There are many companies in the market that sell Ex
enclosures to install uncertified electrical equipment, such as
low voltage switchgear and they do a great job of this. However,
when installing a wireless device in a hazardous area you
need specialist knowledge and design considerations in the
enclosure to ensure optimal performance.

We don’t just offer the enclosure; we develop and manufacture

other components to enable wireless equipment to be
deployed in hazardous areas cost effectively. For example, the
Extronics intrinsically safe RF isolators and antennas. These are
available for purchase separately but are extensively used in our
wireless enclosure systems and have been optimised for price
and performance.

30
Working With OEMs
If you are an OEM developing wireless
devices, Extronics is an ideal partner to work
with. We can help you take your wireless
equipment to the hazardous area market
without the need to take on the task and
expense of designing your own Ex compliant
enclosure.

Using a
Pre-Certified
Enclosure
There are several benefits to utilizing pre-
certified Ex wireless enclosures. Firstly, the
reduced time to market. Typically, an Ex
certification process will take up to 12 months
but often it can be longer.

If you are an end user or System Integrator

and you want to use wireless equipment that
you are familiar with, , then you don’t have to
compromise and try and find a wireless devices
that is already certified.

Our wireless enclosures are certified to many

standards such as North American, ATEX, IECEx,
UKCA, EAC, INMETRO and TIIS. It costs a lot of
money to get such a range of Ex certificates
as well as the time and the quality control
considerations. It’s important to note that all Ex
manufacturers not only have to obtain a type
approval for their product but also need to have
the appropriate quality system in place. It is a
legal requirement that all Ex manufacturers are
audited frequently to ensure the equipment
is being manufactured in accordance with the
type approval. For example, North American
certification requires 4 audits per year. ATEX and
IECEx have an annual inspection regime but are
typically of much longer duration and may take 2
to 3 days.

Working with a specialist like Extronics removes

all the hassle surrounding EX certification.

31
Extronics –
Hazardous Area
Wireless Experts
At Extronics, we provide Ex certified wireless enclosures systems
for use in hazardous areas. Our vendor agnostic position means
we can work with most global wireless devices including most
WiFi access points sold on the market.

This approach gives you the flexibility to design your WiFi

network in the most efficient way possible, reducing upfront cost,
installation cost and cost of ownership into the future.

We do this using our innovative iWAP range of hazardous area

wireless enclosures for reliable wireless networking.

Learn more about the iWAP range of

hazardous area wireless enclosures

The unique chassis design is purpose built to house most wireless

devices and provide intrinsically safe RF outputs using our
iSOLATE technology. The iSOLATE technology further drives cost
down for the end user by allowing standard non-hazardous area
antenna to be used.

32 iWAP modular chassis system example with AP installed.

 Contact Us
Our experienced team is on hand to answer any questions
you may have.

info@extronics.com

+44 (0)845 277 5000

www.extronics.com/solutions/hazardous-area-wireless-
networking/