English specification desk How guides are written

Home / Electrical / How to specify a Pilot Light

Electrical

How to specify a Pilot Light

What to put on an RFQ for Pilot Light: the ratings, documents, and constraints that change the quote.

25 Oct 2026 · 3 min read · Tradinor Desk

Specification points for Pilot LightTRADINOR · FIGUREWhat to lock for Pilot LightVoltage and frequencyMountingCoordinationRated current
Put these on the RFQ for Pilot Light before you compare prices.

A buyer searching for Pilot Light is usually trying to stop a bad substitute. Low-voltage distribution gear is specified by the fault level, the current, the poles, and the enclosure it sits in. The notes below are selection criteria for a Pilot Light. They are not a catalog promise. Confirm every rating on the current datasheet, drawing, or test report for the revision you will receive.

What has to be true of Pilot Light

Low-voltage distribution gear is specified by the fault level, the current, the poles, and the enclosure it sits in. For a Pilot Light, start from the duty, then the interface to the rest of the machine or the room, then the document that proves the claim. A lower price that leaves one of those blank is a different product.

Pilot Light is easy to confuse with Servo Motor Driver. If the quote could be read as either, add the line that separates them: the rating, the fitment, or the standard named below. Link the drawing number to that line so receiving inspection can reject the wrong one.

Numbers that change the quote

Line What to write for Pilot Light
Voltage and frequency The real mains, single or three phase.
Mounting DIN rail, panel, or a stated enclosure with its IP code.
Coordination What sits upstream and downstream so the combination is selective.
Rated current Continuous current at the ambient inside the panel.
Breaking capacity The fault current the device must interrupt, in kiloamperes.
Poles and trip Poles, curve or trip unit, and residual current if people are protected.

How to compare two offers

Lay both quotes for Pilot Light on one sheet and line up voltage and frequency, mounting, and coordination. If a cell is empty, the offer is not finished. Ask for the missing line in writing. When those match, the honest difference is lead time, the test evidence, and who carries the warranty. Do not average a fully specified Pilot Light with a cheaper line that omitted voltage and frequency.

Documents worth having before the deposit

IEC 60947 is the usual family for low-voltage switchgear. Ask which part of it the declaration uses. The file should name Pilot Light and the revision, not only the supplier’s homepage. A factory quality certificate such as ISO 9001 can sit beside that file. It does not replace it.

Failures that show up after delivery

  • Sizing a breaker from the load current and ignoring the fault level.
  • Mixing a person-protection device with a plain miniature breaker.
  • Cutting an enclosure and assuming the IP code survived.

On a Pilot Light, the expensive version of the first mistake is discovering it after the goods are in the crate. Put the rejection condition in the purchase order while the supplier can still restate the offer.

A worked RFQ line

Use this shape, then replace the brackets with your duty: “Pilot Light — Write current, breaking capacity, poles, voltage, and the enclosure code.” That sentence is a template, not a rating of any brand. If a supplier’s datasheet uses different units, convert them onto this sheet so the next offer can be compared.

Where words like waterproof / IP65 belong

Searches often add a constraint to Pilot Light: waterproof / IP65, or IP67. Keep those on this page. IP65 in IEC 60529 means dust-tight and protected against water jets. Write that code if hoses are the real exposure. The word waterproof alone does not name a test. IP67 is dust-tight plus a defined temporary immersion. It is not a rating for living underwater, and it says nothing about sunlight or salt. If you need a third constraint, add it as another line on the same drawing. A second URL that only swaps the adjective does not give a buyer a second fact.

Related in this section: how to specify Servo Motor Driver.

Questions buyers actually ask

What should an RFQ for Pilot Light include?

Write current, breaking capacity, poles, voltage, and the enclosure code.

Is a cheaper Pilot Light the same part?

Only if voltage and frequency, mounting, and the documents match. A missing line is a different offer.

Do waterproof, OEM, or IP words need their own page?

No. For Pilot Light they are extra lines on this specification. Ask for the test or the drawing that gives the word a value.