IEC standards are international standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. Therefore, these safety standards cover a massive range of technologies from power generation and distribution to office equipment, semiconductors, batteries, solar energy, marine energy, nanotechnology, and many others.
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is responsible for preparing and publishing IEC standards. Experts from the participating countries develop each IEC standard in a consensus process. IEC standards are often used as a foundation to globally harmonise technical requirements and specifications in IEC member and non-member countries.
IEC standards have numbers ranging from 60000 to 79999 and titles such as IEC 60417: Graphical symbols for use on equipment. Furthermore, some IEC standards are developed jointly with ISO. In such situations, the title of the standard has the following structure: ISO/IEC XXXXX.