This Guide provides background information to technical committees when dealing with safety requirements for products intended to be integrated in a home control system. It includes information on functional safety as well as conventional safety aspects relevant to home control systems.

This Guide defines the safety-related characteristics of systems intended for signal transmission through building wiring carrying low voltage or extra low-voltage, through fibre optics, through air or by electromagnetic waves in household and similar premises (home control systems).

This Guide deals with home control systems providing control communication for equipment used within homes. This includes the control of equipment for cooling, heating, lighting, audio/video, telecommunications, security, etc., in fact, any equipment controlled by the home control system. It also includes residential gateways between the internal home control system network and external wide-area networks such as the internet. The Guide also covers similar building management functions in commercial buildings of similar complexity.

EMC aspects are not covered, since these are dealt with by IEC Guide 107.