The Hart Communication Foundation (HCF, www.hartcomm.org) announced on July 23 that the European Committee for Standardization (CEN, www.cen.eu) has approved the WirelessHart specification as a European National Standard (EN 62591). CEN released the standard to CENELEC, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (www.cenelec.eu), whose members are the national electrotechnical committees of 31 European countries. CENELEC approved the WirelessHart European Standard on June 1, 2010.
“In March, the WirelessHart specification was approved by the International Electrotechnical Commission as a full international standard (IEC 62591Ed. 1.0),” said HCF Executive Director Ron Helson. “Approval as a European National Standard further confirms acceptance of the technology by users and suppliers as a technically sound, reliable and secure solution for wireless communication in process automation.”
The IEC Standard was approved by CENELEC as a European Standard without any modification. According to the announcement of approval issued by CENELEC, “members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration”.
A growing number of WirelessHart-compatible products are available from major global suppliers including ABB, Emerson, Endress+Hauser, MacTek, Nivis, Phoenix Contact, Pepperl+Fuchs, Siemens and others.
Released in September 2007, WirelessHart is an open and interoperable wireless communication standard designed to address the critical needs of industry for reliable, robust and secure wireless communication in real-time industrial process measurement and control applications.
European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardizationwww.cenelec.euEuropean Committee for Standardization www.cen.euHart Communication Foundation www.hartcomm.orgSubscribe to Automation World's RSS Feeds for News