Generating Standards Is a Long Process [From the Editor

Abstract

Interestingly, this issue of IEEE Power Electronics Magazine focuses on standards in power electronics. It is a difficult and complex issue, one that is not so easy to interpret and implement as there are so many organizations and multiple standards. As a result, engineers often struggle to adopt the correct standard. We invited Prof. Peter Wilson of the University of Bath, United Kingdom, who is also the PELS director of standards, to shed some light on this complicated topic. In his article, “Standards in Power Electronics,” Prof. Wilson attempts to address commonly asked questions from practicing engineers. Besides identifying important standards organizations around the world, the article also describes how standards are developed. He provides a flow diagram that graphically takes you from the first stage in the process, which is the development of an idea, to the last step when the standard is published. However, the process must be reviewed and updated after ten years; updates used to be required every five years.