EMC

From ambitious startups shipping their first device to major companies with global portfolios, compliance remains one of the most unexpectedly complex hurdles in electronics development. The rules are published, and the standards are stable, yet products still fail tests right before launch, documentation gets rejected by authorities, and global approval is asking questions due to missing evidence. 

Why does this keep happening? 

To explore this question, we spoke with Henrik Brosbøl, who is the managing director at EKTOS Testing & Reliability Services (TRS). He runs accredited EMC and radio laboratories working daily with products across industrial, consumer, and high-reliability sectors. The conversation quickly moved beyond standards and test limits, into timing, assumptions, and how teams actually use testing in real projects. 

The takeaway from the conversation is clear: most EMC problems are caused by testing limits. They can be discovered earlier with a good test plan for the project. 

Let’s start at the beginning. What role should testing play in a development project? 

Compliance testing should support decisions, not just confirm them at the end. In many projects, compliance testing is treated as a final hurdle: you design the product, build it, and then test to see if it passes. That approach leaves very little room for learning. When something fails, the only options are redesign, delay, or compromise. When testing is used earlier, especially pre-compliance testing, it becomes a learning tool. You identify risks while there’s still time to act on them. That’s a very different role than testing purely for approval. 

How do you explain the difference between pre-compliance and compliance testing to teams that are new to this? 

Pre-compliance is about learning early and reducing risk. Compliance testing is about proving that you are allowed to place the product on the market. Both are important, but they are not interchangeable. Pre-compliance testing helps teams understand how their design behaves and where margins are tight. Compliance testing is confirmation against formal requirements, often under strict conditions and documentation rules. Skipping pre-compliance is one of the biggest risks teams take, especially startups or teams under time pressure. It almost always pushes problems to the worst possible moment. 

Many teams assume that if something passed before, it will pass again. Why is that assumption so risky? 

Because EMC and radio compliance are configuration-dependent. Small changes like component substitutions, layout tweaks, new suppliers, and firmware updates can all affect results. An old test report only applies to the exact configuration that was tested. A simple and effective rule is to understand that every change should trigger a decision. Either you reassess, or you consciously justify why reassessment isn’t needed. Problems arise when that decision is never made. 

That brings us to firmware. Can software changes really influence EMC performance? 

Yes, much more often than people expect. Firmware controls timing, power states, duty cycles, and communication behavior. All of these influence emissions and immunity. Some of the most surprising failures we see happen when hardware hasn’t changed at all; rather, only the firmware has. If a firmware update changes how the product operates, it should also trigger an EMC risk review. Treating software as “invisible” from a compliance perspective is a common mistake. 

Why does accreditation matter if the measurements themselves look correct? 

Because compliance is not just about levels. It’s about trust in how that measurement was produced. 

Accreditation ensures traceability, controlled processes, and celebrated equipment. Authorities rely on that framework when they assess test results. Without it, results may be questioned later, often when schedules are already tight. 

The practical takeaway is simple: choose testing setups that will be accepted where you plan to sell, not just where it’s convenient to do the tests. 

Is passing EMC testing in one region enough for global markets? 

Not always. Different regions expect different documentation, test scopes, and accreditation behind the results. Teams often discover this only when they expand internationally, which leads to re-testing and delays. 

Planning EMC documentation with global acceptance in mind from the start can bemore efficient than retrofitting reports later. 

Finally, what does a strong compliance partnership look like from your point of view? 

It’s based on early dialogue, shared understanding, and trust. When compliance expertise is involved early and remains engaged throughout the product lifecycle, testing supports progress rather than slowing it down. At that point, compliance becomes part of development and not just a validation step at the end. 

If you’re reading this and wondering whether your product would benefit from pre-compliance testing, full compliance testing, or a clearer testing strategy overall, talk to EKTOS TRS 

👉 Bonus - Download the EMC Testing Checklist: See checklist here 

Make sure your device is ready before it enters the lab. 

Henrik Brosbøl is the Managing Director of EKTOS Testing & Reliability Services (Denmark). He oversees a team delivering accredited and non-accredited testing, along with global market approval support. The team focuses on EMC, electrical safety, and product reliability, operating from two DANAK-accredited laboratories and supporting clients worldwide in achieving compliance and market access.

I dag er det svært at finde et industrianlæg uden moderne kabelteknologi. Mange processer håndteres eller styres af frekvensomformere, transformatorer, elekstriske afbrydere og kommunikationsenheder.

Sådanne koblingsprocesser indebærer altid en risiko for funktionsfejl. Det der i bedste fald kun er generende i form af interferens i radioen, kan under visse omstændigheder have langt mere alvorlige konsekvenser i form af systemfejl i forbindelse med medicinsk teknologi.

Dette er grunden til, at der i industrielle miljøer kræves en stadig større sikkerhed mod elektromagnetisk interferens – også kaldet EMC-støj.

• Hvordan virker EMC?
• Hvorfor er EMC-beskyttelse vigtig?
• Hvornår skal et skærmet kabel bruges?
• Hvordan er skærmede kabler konstrueret?
• Hvordan virker LAPPs patenterede zeroCM®-teknologi?
• Hvordan kan kabler tilsluttes på en EMC-kompatibel måde?

Har du det rette udstyr til håndtering af elektrisk støj? Vi har mange års erfaring med at afhjælpe ledningsbåret støj fra elektronik og anbefaler i dag EMC-klemmer fra tyske Icotek. Det er solid, tysk kvalitet med mange fordele:

• Tager hånd om dine EMC-problemer
• Smart løsning til ledningsbåret støj
• Stor kontaktflade til kabelskærm
• Vibrationstestet iht. EN61373
• Med/uden trækaflastning iht. til EN62444
• Skærmdiameter 1,5-75 mm

EMC-klemmerne passer perfekt til hurtig og nem montage på en DIN-skinne, busbar, bundplade, PLC- adaptere, printplader eller i kombination med en flange kabelgennemføringsløsning.

Læs mere om EMC/EMI filtre, EMC komponenter og EMC-teknik

Du kan også få løsninger til specielle applikationer, lavet hos os, og komplette EMC-løsninger til masseproduktion, der kræver hurtig og enkel montage.