This paper gives an overview of the requirements for electrical equipment in potentially explosive atmospheres and describes how these are applied to electrical machines and drives in hazardous areas. The method by which equipment can be shown to be safe in a whole range of gases, by testing in a single test gas, is covered. It is shown how the more recently introduced methods of protection for hazardous areas, increased safety and non-sparking, are ideally suited to AC machines and drives. A novel method of measuring the full-load temperature rise of electrical machines for hazardous, and other areas, without the need to connect a mechanical load to the machine's drive shaft is explained.
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