This part of IEC 60079 specifies general and testing requirements for electrical resistance trace heaters for application in explosive atmospheres with the exclusion of those for EPL Ga and Da. This standard covers trace heaters that comprise either factory or field (work-site) assembled units, and which may be series trace heaters, parallel trace heaters, trace heater pads, or trace heater panels that have been assembled and/or terminated in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

This standard also includes requirements for termination assemblies and control methods used with trace heating systems. The explosive atmospheres referred to in this standard are those defined in IEC 60079-10-1 and IEC 60079-10-2.

Annexes D and E outline the application of this standard for those users applying the Division method of area classification.

This standard supplements and modifies the general requirements of IEC 60079-0, except as indicated in Table 1. Where a requirement of this standard conflicts with a requirement of IEC 60079-0, the requirement of this standard takes precedence.