What is NEN 1010?
NEN 1010 is the Dutch standard for low-voltage electrical installations, setting requirements for the design, erection and inspection of installations up to 1000 V AC or 1500 V DC so that people, livestock and property are protected against electrical hazards. It is the Dutch implementation of the European HD 60364 series, which in turn is based on the international IEC 60364. NEN 1010 applies to homes, offices, healthcare buildings and industrial plants, and through building regulations it is the legal minimum for the electrical installation of a building.
For OT teams, NEN 1010 is the foundation under everything they build: the supply to a control cabinet, a UPS in the server room, a variable frequency drive or a row of charging points all hang off an installation that must comply with this standard. Its ultimate purpose is electrical safety.
🧠 What does NEN 1010 govern?
NEN 1010 follows the part structure of IEC 60364. Each part has its own role, from fundamental principles to special locations:
| Part | Subject | Examples of requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | Fundamental principles and assessment of characteristics | Purpose of the standard, assessment of supply, use and external influences |
| Part 4 | Protection for safety | Protection against electric shock, thermal effects, overcurrent, overvoltage and undervoltage |
| Part 5 | Selection and erection of electrical equipment | Cables and wiring systems, switching and protective devices, earthing and protective conductors |
| Part 6 | Inspection | Initial inspection at handover (6.4) and periodic inspection (6.5) |
| Part 7 | Special installations or locations | 7-701 bathrooms, 7-704 construction sites, 7-712 photovoltaic systems, 7-722 electric vehicle charging |
The core is always the same question: which risks arise in normal use and under fault conditions, and which measure prevents a person from being exposed to a dangerous touch voltage or a fire from starting?
- Protection against electric shock - basic insulation, enclosures and barriers against direct contact, plus fault protection by automatic disconnection of supply, double insulation or extra-low voltage (SELV/PELV).
- Protection against overcurrent - protective devices that protect cables against overload and short circuit, matched to the conductor cross-section and the installation method.
- Protection against overvoltage - measures against atmospheric and switching overvoltages, including surge protective devices in the distribution board.
- External influences - the choice of equipment depends on temperature, moisture, dust, mechanical stress and chemical environment; think of the correct IP rating.
🔄 How does NEN 1010 relate to other standards?
A common mistake is to apply NEN 1010 to everything electrical. The standard covers the fixed installation; the equipment connected to it has its own standards:
| Standard | Scope | Boundary with NEN 1010 |
|---|---|---|
| NEN 1010 | Design, erection and inspection of the low-voltage installation | The installation up to the connection point of the loads |
| NEN 3140 | Safe operation, maintenance and periodic inspection | Takes over once the installation is in use |
| NEN-EN-IEC 61439 | Design and verification of switchgear and controlgear assemblies | NEN 1010 refers to it for distribution boards |
| NEN-EN-IEC 60204-1 | Electrical equipment of machines | Starts at the machine’s supply terminals |
| IEC 60079 (part 14) | Installations in explosive atmospheres | Additional requirements in ATEX zones |
An MCC or control cabinet is therefore an IEC 61439 product as an assembly, while the supply cable to it, the upstream protection and the earthing fall under NEN 1010. For a machine, NEN 1010 applies up to the supply terminals; from there IEC 60204-1 and the Machinery Directive (from 20 January 2027 the Machinery Regulation) take over, and you assess the functional safety of the control system with NEN-EN-ISO 13849. Individual products such as circuit breakers, motor starters or a PLC carry CE marking under the Low Voltage Directive; that marking says something about the product, not about the installation it is built into.
📜 Which edition of NEN 1010 is legally required?
The Dutch Buildings Decree for the Living Environment (Besluit bouwwerken leefomgeving, Bbl), which replaced the Building Decree 2012 on 1 January 2024 together with the Environment and Planning Act, requires a building’s electrical installation to comply with NEN 1010. The edition that applies is set in Annex II of the Environment and Planning Regulation (Omgevingsregeling), and only the parts containing technical safety requirements for the electrical installation apply.
| Edition | Status |
|---|---|
| NEN 1010:2015 (+C2:2016, +A1:2020) | Edition referenced by the building regulations |
| NEN 1010:2020 | Published in April 2021, based on HD/IEC 60364 as of October 2020 |
| NEN 1010:2020+C1:2024 | Proposed for designation in the Omgevingsregeling; inclusion in the Bbl is expected at the end of 2026 |
If you already design to the newer edition, you can do so under the equivalence principle, provided the level of safety is at least the same. In the workplace, the Working Conditions Decree (Arbobesluit, article 3.4), which elaborates the Arbowet, also requires safe electrical installations; it does not name NEN 1010 or NEN 3140 literally, but they are the usual way to demonstrate compliance.
Key content changes in the 2020 edition and amendment C1:2024:
- More goal-based - prescriptive requirements, such as a minimum number of socket outlets in homes or a maximum of four circuits behind one residual current device, have been replaced by objectives and the installer’s judgement.
- Overvoltage and undervoltage - the chapters on surge protection and coordination have been expanded and a chapter on undervoltage protection has been added. The draft Omgevingsregeling excludes the new chapter on overvoltage from lightning on the public network, because it limits damage to equipment rather than protecting users.
- Voltage-independent RCD - with C1:2024, the residual current device used for additional protection must also be voltage-independent, in line with the European standard.
- Public lighting is now within scope, and the inspection chapters have been renumbered to 6.4 and 6.5.
🔧 Which technical requirements and typical values matter most?
A number of values come back in almost every design. They originate in the underlying IEC 60364 parts and have been adopted in NEN 1010:
| Subject | Typical value |
|---|---|
| Disconnection time, 230 V final circuit (up to 63 A with socket outlets, up to 32 A fixed loads), TN system | At most 0.4 s |
| Disconnection time, same final circuits, TT system | At most 0.2 s |
| Disconnection time, distribution circuits | At most 5 s (TN) or 1 s (TT) |
| Additional protection for socket outlets up to 32 A | Residual current device with a rated residual current of at most 30 mA |
| Earth electrode resistance, TT system | RA × IΔn ≤ 50 V |
| Insulation resistance, circuits up to 500 V | Test at 500 V DC, at least 1 MΩ |
| Voltage drop (informative, supply from the public network) | 3 % for lighting, 5 % for other loads |
The earthing systems TN, TT and IT determine which protection works. Beware of the naming confusion: in the IT system the supply is isolated from earth (the I) and only the exposed conductive parts are earthed (the T, from terre). An insulation monitoring device reports the first earth fault, and the name has nothing to do with information technology. The system is used in industry where a first earth fault must not immediately cause downtime.
🏭 How do you apply NEN 1010 in industrial and OT environments?
In industrial automation and building automation, NEN 1010 touches more than just the distribution board. A practical approach for a new production line or OT room:
- Map supply and load - connected load, prospective short-circuit current of the network, diversity, and loads with high inrush currents or harmonics such as drives.
- Choose the earthing system and protective devices - selectivity between main and final-circuit protection prevents a fault in one machine from tripping the whole line or the control system.
- Assess external influences - moisture, dust, vibration and temperature determine the IP rating, cable types and wiring routes. For cabinet cooling and thermal protection, the actual heat dissipation counts.
- Separate power and signal - keep distance between power and data cables and provide a meshed equipotential bonding network; this is also the basis for EMC and interference-free HMIs and networks.
- Include special installations - solar panels (7-712), EV charging infrastructure (7-722) and a battery energy storage system add multiple sources of supply. A building can then no longer be made dead with a single action, which affects the design and the work instructions.
- Inspect and document - the initial inspection consists of a visual check, measurements (continuity of protective conductors, insulation resistance, disconnection time and RCD operation) and functional tests, recorded in a handover report with up-to-date drawings.
After that, the installation moves into the NEN 3140 regime. Insurers often also ask for a periodic inspection under the Dutch SCIOS scheme, where Scope 8 covers inspection to NEN 3140 and Scope 10 the fire risk of the electrical installation.
🔐 Why does NEN 1010 matter for IT/OT security and availability?
A poorly designed electrical installation is an availability risk that no firewall can fix. Nuisance tripping of residual current devices, missing selectivity or an overvoltage after a lightning strike can take down a SCADA server, network switch or PLC just as effectively as a cyberattack. That is why a documented, NEN 1010-compliant supply, a correctly connected UPS and surge protection belong in every availability analysis and risk assessment of the OT environment.
Conversely, electrification brings new cyber risks: inverters, charging points and battery systems can be controlled remotely. See Solar Inverter Cybersecurity for that side of the story.
❓ Frequently asked questions
Is NEN 1010 legally required?
Yes, the Dutch Buildings Decree for the Living Environment (Bbl) refers to NEN 1010 for the electrical installation of new buildings and for alterations. In the workplace, the Working Conditions Decree requires safe electrical installations, and NEN 1010 is the usual way to show that an installation has been safely designed and erected.
What is the difference between NEN 1010 and NEN 3140?
NEN 1010 contains the requirements for the design, erection and initial inspection of a low-voltage installation. NEN 3140 then governs safe operation, work on the installation and periodic inspection, so that together the two standards cover the entire life cycle.
Does NEN 1010 also apply to control cabinets and machines?
NEN 1010 applies to the fixed installation up to the connection point of a machine or cabinet. The assembly of a switchgear or control cabinet falls under NEN-EN-IEC 61439, and the electrical equipment of a machine under NEN-EN-IEC 60204-1.
Which edition of NEN 1010 should I apply?
The building regulations still refer to NEN 1010:2015 with its amendments, while NEN 1010:2020 with amendment C1:2024 is expected to be designated at the end of 2026. Designing to the newer edition is allowed under the equivalence principle, provided the level of safety is at least the same.
What does NEN 1010 say about solar panels and EV chargers?
NEN 1010 contains separate provisions in part 7 for photovoltaic systems (7-712) and charging installations for electric vehicles (7-722). These cover, among other things, protection, the choice of residual current devices and the safe isolation of installations with multiple sources of supply.
Who may inspect an installation to NEN 1010?
The initial inspection to NEN 1010 is carried out at handover by the installer or a competent inspector, with a visual check, measurements and functional tests. Periodic inspections are usually carried out to NEN 3140, often by an inspector working under the SCIOS scheme.
📌 In summary
NEN 1010 is the Dutch implementation of IEC 60364 for low-voltage installations up to 1000 V AC and 1500 V DC. It covers protection against electric shock, overcurrent and overvoltage, the selection of equipment and the initial inspection, and it is anchored in law through the Bbl. Cabinets and machines have their own standards, and after handover NEN 3140 takes over the management of the installation. For OT teams, a well-designed installation is a precondition for availability.
NEN 1010 is the statutory baseline standard for safe low-voltage installations in the Netherlands: anyone building OT systems starts with an installation that complies with it.