This part of IEC 60947 applies to separable contacts used in the utilisation area considered, such as switching elements for control circuits. This standard takes into consideration two rated voltage areas: - above (and including) 10 V (typically 24 V) where contacts are used for switching loads with possible electrical erosion, such as programmable controller inputs; - below 10 V (typically 5 V) with neglible electrical erosion, such as electronic circuits. This standard does not apply to contacts used in the very low energy area of measurement, for example sensor or thermocouple systems. The object is to propose a method of assessing the performances of low energy contacts giving: - useful definitions; - general principles of test methods which are to monitor and record the behaviour of contacts at each operation; - functional bases for the definition of a general testing equipment; - preferred test values; - particular conditions for testing contacts intended for specific applications (such as switching of PC inputs); - information to be given in the test report; - interpretation and presentation of the test results.