FAQ

IEC 61850-90-4 vs IEC 61850-3 and IEEE 1613 for Substations

IEC 61850-3 / IEEE 1613 define the hardware-layer environmental and electrical robustness (EMC immunity, wide temperature range, vibration/shock) required for switches to operate reliably in harsh substation environments. IEC 61850-90-4 serves as the application and engineering guideline for designing and validating Substation Ethernet networks, including redundancy, time synchronization, multicast performance, and test procedures.



IEC 61850-3 / IEEE 1613 — Hardware prerequisites (can it survive)

  • EMC immunity: withstands lightning surges, switching transients, and strong electromagnetic environments (model dependent).
  • Environmental endurance: wide operating temperature, vibration/shock, humidity (model dependent).
  • Reliability design: dual-redundant AC/DC power, industrial terminals, DIN-rail / rack mounting (model dependent).


IEC 61850-90-4 — Design and engineering guide (can it run properly)

ItemNotes
Network topologyStar / Ring / Dual networks; evaluate pros and cons and consider fault tolerance and redundancy.
Time synchronizationRecommend IEEE 1588v2 PTP (TC / BC as supported, model dependent).
GOOSE / SV transportLine-rate multicast and low latency; plan VLAN / QoS.
Seamless redundancyPRP / HSR (use RedBox where needed); can also work with ERPS / α-Ring (non-seamless).
SCL configuration supportUse SCL (Substation Configuration Language) for device / network configuration and documentation management.
Bridge / clock modelsSupport topology and clock object models to ease system integration and engineering tools.
Design & testingDesign review and FAT / SAT; provide PICS / PIXIT / MICS and test reports as required (project dependent).

61850-3 / IEEE 1613 ensure hardware robustness; 61850-90-4 ensures network availability and engineering practicality.
Specific features and documentation depend on the model and the project.

Next step: Why PTP, PRP/HSR, GOOSE/SV, and SCL are needed
Related link: Is IEC 61850-90-4 mandatory?