International approvals can be difficult to understand. Especially when you see a drawing or a specification sheet and only one end of the power cord is approved and not the other. I mean, how can only one part of a cord be approved while the rest is not? To me, that does not make much sense.
If you look into it, in most cases, a power cord is not approved as a whole but in different sections. The plug, the wire, and the connector are all approved separately. They each have a different set of rules they need to follow. But when all countries are using the same IEC standard connector each approval agency will treat things differently. Such as China and Argentina approving the whole cord set instead of separate pieces.
It all comes down to IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) and what they consider as standards. While there are many different approval agencies per country they all use the same IEC connectors. That means they all have to follow IEC regulations. According to IEC 60799 5.2.2., it states “The rated current of the plug shall be not less than the rated current of the connector.” This means the connector cannot have a higher rating than the plug attached. This is why several international cords have no approval on the IEC-60320-C19 side of the power cord. While the plug and the wire are approved, the connector is not. For example, the highest a UK plug can be rated is 13A and the C19 connector is rated at 16A. So with that being said IEC will not approve the C19 connector due to its higher rating than the 13A UK plug. This is the same for Australia, Switzerland, Argentina, and Denmark. All of those countries plugs are rated less than the connector and when you see a
specification sheet for those power cords it will show “NONE” on the C19 approval side.
So you might have read that last paragraph twice and are now thinking, “Wait I thought the C19 was rated up to 20A?” While that is true here in the North America, that rating changes when you take it internationally. The same goes for the IEC-60320-C13 as well. An IEC C13 is approved by UL (a North American approval agency) up to 15A. But when you take that same IEC C13 over to Europe, it is only approved for 10A. The IEC C19 in North America is approved up to 20A, but when you take it internationally it is only approved for 16A. Same connector, different ratings.
But now you’re asking, how am I supposed to find a cord that’s approved for those countries with a C19? Well just like here in North America, there are different styles of plugs that handle many types of ratings. While each of those plugs require a different outlet, same would go for international plug types. Most international countries use an IEC-60309 style plug which is rated no less than 16A. It is a much larger plug that can handle higher amperages as well. When an IEC-60320-C19 is attached to the other end of that cord it becomes approved because the C19 is no longer rated higher than the plug.
In Australia, a different style plug is used, the Clipsal 20A plug. This plug acts the same as the IEC 309 letting the connector be rated less than the plug.
In any case, to have a C19 connector approved in most international countries, you will need the plug to have a higher rating.