EN 50615:2015 · CENELEC CLC/TC 61

BS EN 50615: devices for the suppression and prevention of electric hob fires.

BS EN 50615 covers a family of products commonly known as stove guards: devices that improve kitchen fire safety by preventing fires on electric hobs. It's the standard those products are tested against, and it's the one you should reference when buying a compliant device.

A plain-English explanation of the standard for those who specify these devices.

The Category B temperature windowA vertical temperature scale from 20 to 400 degrees Celsius. Below 200 degrees the device must not act. Between 200 and 330 degrees is the window in which it must cut power. At 330 degrees and above, the cooking oil is at risk of igniting.
Category B: prevention of ignition

A device must ignore cooking oil below 200 °C, and must have cut the power before it reaches 330 °C. The oil must then not ignite for 10 minutes following a cut-off.

01 – What is it?

A product standard, not a building standard

BS EN 50615 sets out performance standards for stove guards so that manufacturers have a framework to build to and testing facilities have benchmarks to measure compliance against. It sets one narrow window: a stove guard must ignore cooking oil below 200°C, and must have cut the power before it reaches 330°C.

What the standard can't do is answer questions that might be relevant in a fire safety strategy: which buildings benefit from these devices, how many are required, where they go in a scheme, or how they are commissioned and maintained once installed.

It's also not a standalone document and shouldn't be read or referenced in isolation. EN 50615 is a particular-requirements standard: it modifies and supplements EN 60335-1:2012 – a core European electrical safety standard for household appliances – clause by clause. Foreword of EN 50615:2015

Reference
EN 50615:2015
Title
Household and similar electrical appliances – Safety – Particular requirements for devices for fire prevention and suppression for electric hobs (cooktops)
Approved
5 January 2015
Committee
CLC/TC 61 – Safety of household and similar electrical appliances
National implementation by
5 January 2016
Conflicting standards withdrawn by
5 January 2018
Applies to
Electric hobs and cooktops (not gas).

What to call BS EN 50615 devices

These devices are usually referred to as stove guards. You might also see them called "cooker cut-off devices", "hob safety devices", and even "pan sensors". The standard itself calls them "devices for fire prevention and suppression for electric hobs" – precise, but it's unlikely to be used anywhere outside the standard itself.

Related standards worth reading

  • EN 60335-1:2012The general safety standard for household appliances. EN 50615 modifies and supplements it clause by clause, and should be read alongside this.
  • EN 60335-2-6:2003Cooking ranges, hobs and ovens. Supplies the test pans.
  • EN 60335-2-31:2003Range hoods and extractors. Cited for the test hob.
  • EN 54-3:2001Fire alarm sounders. Supplies the method behind the 65 dB requirement.

02 – Categories

Two ways to stop a hob fire

The standard treats prevention and suppression as different products with different jobs, and categorises them accordingly – a compliant device has to be labelled with its category. Clause 7.1 of EN 50615:2015

A

Suppression

Clause 3.101.1 of EN 50615:2015

Puts out a fire that has already started, and cuts the power at the same time.

A Category A device is judged on how quickly it suppresses a pan fire that has already started. The standard allows a short delay before the device acts, and notes that this gives the person cooking a chance to deal with the situation themselves – during flambéing, for example. To be clear: a Category A device permits ignition.

  • Power cut within 30 seconds of ignitionPage 14 of EN 50615:2015
  • Audible warning of at least 65 dB at 1 m, for no more than 15 secondsPage 14 of EN 50615:2015
  • Flame extinguished within 45 seconds of ignitionPage 14 of EN 50615:2015
  • No re-ignition for 10 minutes afterwardsPage 14 of EN 50615:2015
B

Prevention

Clause 3.101.2 of EN 50615:2015

Cuts the power before the oil can ignite. Nothing catches fire.

This is the category that matters in practice: it's what compliant stove guards on the UK market are certified to, and the type of device BS 9991:2024 is referring to when it mentions thermal cut-offs. A Category B device doesn't try to extinguish a fire: its whole job is to judge, from the outside of the pan, that a cooking process has started to become potentially dangerous – and to switch the hob off before a fire can start.

  • Must not act while the oil is below 200°CClause 11.104.2 of EN 50615:2015
  • Must cut power before the oil reaches 330°CClause 11.104.2 of EN 50615:2015
  • Audible warning of at least 65 dB at 1 m, sounding until the person cooking silences it or the oil coolsPage 14 of EN 50615:2015
  • The oil must not ignite in the 10 minutes after power is cutClause 11.104.2 of EN 50615:2015
AB

Both

Clause 3.101.3 of EN 50615:2015

Prevents first, extinguishes if ignition still occurs.

A Category AB device has to satisfy the Category B requirements in full, and then behave like a Category A device if ignition still occurs. It's the hardest of the three to build: the preventive judgement has to be right, and the suppression capability should be available as a backup without false alarming.

  • Meets every Category B requirementPage 14 of EN 50615:2015
  • Behaves as a Category A device if ignition occursPage 14 of EN 50615:2015
  • No ignition for 10 minutes after the device actsPage 14 of EN 50615:2015

Important note:

Only one of these three categories actually has any certified, compliant products. Every stove guard we have found on sale in the UK is Category B, and we have not been able to identify a certified Category A or AB device anywhere in the world – however, there is no public register of certified devices. It's worth bearing this in mind when you read the standard; it's written as though all three categories are equally represented, which they aren't.

Norway is the one place with enough stove guard experience to have taken a view: its insurance certification scheme lists stove guards meeting Category B or AB, and declines the Category A test method outright, on the grounds that it requires a fire to start before the device is allowed to intervene[5].

03 – Testing

How a device gets certified

Certification is a type test: a device is installed in a kitchen built to the dimensions in the standard, and is tested rigorously and repeatedly under conditions specifically designed to make it fail.

The EN 50615 test kitchenAn elevation of the test installation: a 119.8 cm base cabinet carrying a six-element hob, with a 59.8 cm cabinet on each side, a worktop at86 cm, and a wall cupboard on either side of the range hood position whose underside sits 55 cm above the worktop. The whole rig stands in a room of 20 to 30 cubic metres.
In a room of 20–30 m³Hood tested off, then at full extract

The test kitchen:

  • A test room of 20–30 cubic metresClause 5 of EN 50615:2015
  • A six-element hob in a standard fitted-kitchen run, with cabinets on either sideClause 11.2 of EN 50615:2015
  • Wall units set 55cm above the worktop, as in a real kitchenClause 11.2 of EN 50615:2015
  • Where the instructions assume a range hood, the device is first tested with it switched off, then at full extractionClause 11.2 of EN 50615:2015
  • Where a device can be mounted in more than one position, the least favourable position is usedClause 11.2 of EN 50615:2015
  • Fresh sunflower oil for every testClause 11.104 of EN 50615:2015
  • No lids on any panClause 11.104 of EN 50615:2015
  • Hob elements at maximum powerClause 11.104 of EN 50615:2015
  • The hob starts every test coldClause 11.104 of EN 50615:2015
  • The device is fully disconnected for at least 15 seconds before each test sequenceClause 11.104 of EN 50615:2015

The oil:

Sunflower oil, in quantities fixed by pan size: Table 11.105 of EN 50615:2015

Pan diameterQuantity of oil
110 mm30ml
145 mm50ml
180 mm80ml
220 mm120ml
300 mm220ml

These are small quantities – a film of oil in a frying pan, rather than the quantity of oil necessary for a chip pan. The standard recreates the cooking conditions of an unattended frying pan; it doesn't certify devices for use with deep fat fryers.

The three Category B tests:

  1. 1 The nuisance test

    Every hob element is in use. Water simmers in all but the largest pan. After 20 minutes, the oil in the largest pan is driven at full power.

    Silence below 200°C. Power cut before 330°C.

    A device won't pass this if it's overreactive; it has to sit through 20 minutes of ordinary cooking on a full hob and not interfere – then identify the one pan that has started to become potentially dangerous and intervene.

  2. 2 Every element, one at a time

    Oil is heated on the element under test. Tall, empty pans stand on all the other elements, blocking the sensor's view. Each element is tested in turn.

    Power cut before 330°C, and no ignition for the next 10 minutes.

    The 10-minute hold is designed to catch out weak products. Cutting power is not enough if the element is still glowing, as the oil temperature will keep climbing after the device has acted. Therefore, the device has to show that a fire can't occur after cut-off.

  3. 3 Cast iron pan on the worst-performing element

    Test 2 is repeated on whichever element performed worst, using a cast iron frying pan.

    Power cut before 330°C, and no ignition for the next 10 minutes.

    Cast iron is the deliberate worst-case scenario for testing cooking fire detection: it is slow to heat up, and it holds enough heat to keep cooking the oil long after the power has gone.

Clause 11.104.2 of EN 50615:2015 governs all three.

04 – False alarms

The floor matters as much as the ceiling

It's relatively easy to build a device that never lets a fire start; simply cut the power at 150°C and you'll never see ignition. However, you'll also see the device defeated or removed by users within a fortnight.

The 200°C floor exists to allow normal, safe cooking to take place. Before a device gets near the fire tests it has to sit through 20 minutes of six pans simmering on a full hob and not false alarm – then identify the one pan that has started to become potentially dangerous. Clause 11.104.2 of EN 50615:2015 The same thinking runs through the installation check: with the device fitted and the hob in ordinary use, it must stay silent. Clause 11.2 of EN 50615:2015

It also sets standards for circumstances where the device can be bypassed safely. A stove guard may let someone suppress it to allow a particular cooking process, but that mute has to expire after five minutes and the device has to show that it is muted – you can't just switch it off for the evening. Clause 22.103 of EN 50615:2015

For anyone specifying into student accommodation, HMOs, or sheltered housing, this is the section of the standard that is designed to prevent stove guards becoming a source of nuisance false alarms. A device that interferes with normal cooking practices leads to frustrated users and defeats the purpose of installing a stove guard in the first place.

05 – Fail-safe

Ensuring products are fail-safe

Sometimes, people have an incentive to bypass devices that are designed to save their lives; smoke alarms and stove guards are two examples of products that are subject to tampering or defeat by users. The standard is written with that in mind, and the provisions below are the ones worth checking when choosing a product.

  • Clause 22.106 of EN 50615:2015

    Take the sensor off its mounting, or turn it, and leave it that way for more than five minutes, and the hob must not work until the sensor is replaced correctly. The fixings have to make it possible to remount it only in its original position.

  • Clause 22.102 of EN 50615:2015

    A device that runs on batteries alone must warn – visibly and audibly – when the batteries are nearly out, or the device is mounted incorrectly, and must stop the hob being switched on. The person cooking can acknowledge the warning to release it.

  • Clause 22.104 of EN 50615:2015

    Every device must have a way to check that it is properly connected and working. Running that check cuts the hob too, so the test is a real test.

  • Page 14 of EN 50615:2015

    Someone has to intervene after the device cuts power before the hob works again; the device must not automatically reset itself and allow cooking to continue.

  • Clause 22.103 of EN 50615:2015

    If a device allows users to mute it during a particular cooking process, that mute must last for a maximum of five minutes, and the device must show that it is muted.

  • Clause 11.102 of EN 50615:2015

    Sensitivity settings must not be adjustable by accident. Changing them has to involve a deliberate, distinct action.

  • Clause 22.46 of EN 50615:2015

    Software in these devices is assessed for functional safety, not just treated as firmware.

  • Clause 24.101 of EN 50615:2015

    Anything mounted within a metre of the hob edges and 70cm above it has to be built to survive a humid, greasy kitchen environment – pollution degree 3 – unless its insulation is sealed away from it.

06 – Limits

What it doesn't cover

No standard is able to cover everything, and BS EN 50615 acknowledges this. If you plan using the standard as the basis for a fire strategy, you should be aware of the following limitations:

Gas hobs

Out of scope entirely. The standard covers electric hobs, and there's currently no gas equivalent.

This is the one exclusion that might be subject to change in the near future. Two draft amendments are with CENELEC: A1 re-bases the standard on the 2023 edition of EN IEC 60335-1, and A2 extends it to gas hobs with automatic burner control systems. Comment closed in June 2026, BSI projects publication for September 2027, and neither had been published when this page was last checked, on 12 August 2026[6][7].

Scope of EN 50615:2015

Ovens and grills

A Category A device isn't expected to deal with a fire inside an oven or under an oven grill, and its instructions must say this.

Clause 7.12 of EN 50615:2015

Smoke

The drafters considered smoke – including smoke carrying harmful substances – and couldn't devise a test for it that would give repeatable results, so it was omitted from the standard. These devices are not smoke alarms and the standard doesn't attempt to claim that they are.

Introduction of EN 50615:2015

Items left on the hob

A Category B device isn't required to cope with flammable material left on or near the hob, and its instructions must warn about this. Category A and AB devices do have to handle this, and are tested using kitchen roll on a bare element.

Clause 7.12, 11.101 of EN 50615:2015

Electromagnetic compatibility

Not covered here. This standard is written against the Low Voltage Directive; EMC is dealt with elsewhere.

Foreword of EN 50615:2015

How many times a test is run

The standard doesn't say. Each test is written as a single run per element or configuration, with no suggestion as to the number of repeats and how many times devices have to pass before being certified as compliant.

Our reading, not a stated exclusion

Which kind of electric hob

The words induction, ceramic, and solid plate don't appear. The test facility works from the hob types the manufacturer declares the device to be suitable for, and picks the least favourable. This means that the manufacturer's declared compatibility carries a lot of weight, so it's worth paying attention to it when specifying devices.

Our reading, not a stated exclusion

Who ran the tests

Nothing in the standard requires a third party to verify that a device meets it. A manufacturer may self-declare. "Meets BS EN 50615" and "independently tested to BS EN 50615" are not the same claim; only the latter comes with a test report that you can read.

Our reading, not a stated exclusion

Servicing intervals

The standard doesn't set one: it requires the manufacturer to state an interval for technical checks where relevant, and to give instructions for whatever user maintenance the device needs, but it doesn't explicitly provide guidance on what the servicing interval should be.

Clause 7.12 of EN 50615:2015

None of these facts mean that the standard is weak. BS EN 50615 is written to focus on one area – reducing the risk of cooking fires on electric hobs – rather than aiming to solve kitchen fire safety completely.

07 – UK context

Where BS EN 50615 sits in UK practice

BS EN 50615 isn't mandatory in the UK; it's a product standard. Currently, nothing compels a building to have compliant devices installed.

However, what has changed is that BS 9991:2024 – the code of practice for fire safety in residential buildings – now references it explicitly[3]. The commentary to clause 5.6 observes that fitting cooking appliances with thermal cut-off devices – and it names BS EN 50615 as the specification for them – can reduce the risk of ignition.

This is narrower than it might sound. A commentary in a BSI standard merely explains the rules; it accompanies them, but it isn't one of them. That means BS 9991 doesn't say that a building should have these devices, and it doesn't oblige anyone to fit one. What it does is put the standard in front of people who design residential buildings – which is why BS EN 50615 has started appearing in fire strategies and specifications, and why many people are meeting it for the first time without much prior context.

Clause 5.6 Commentary of BS 9991:2024

Approved Document B, the statutory guidance supporting the Building Regulations in England, carries no mention of ignition prevention devices or BS EN 50615. It is currently under review.

Norway has been ahead of the curve for many years when it comes to preventing cooking fires. Stove guards have been required in new domestic installations, and wherever new wiring is run to the cooker, since 1 July 2010[4] – five years before this standard existed. The order of events is worth noting: the requirement came first, and the European test standard was only written afterwards for a class of device that was already being installed as a matter of routine in Norway.

The reason why this is significant is well-evidenced: cooking appliances are the largest single source of ignition in accidental dwelling fires in England, accounting for 44% of them[1]. Detection and suppression both act after ignition. This standard is the only one that describes a device capable of acting before a fire can start – in other words, this is genuine fire prevention.

08 – Specifying

Six questions worth asking

If a product has been offered to you as BS EN 50615 compliant, these are the questions that separate a claim from certification:

  1. 01

    Which company tested the device, and can I have a copy of the report?

    A compliance claim is still only a claim; a report is evidence, and it tells you who tested the device and certified it to be compliant.

  2. 02

    Which hob types is it stated as being suitable for, and what is the largest hob that it covers?

    Manufacturers are required to state where their device does and doesn't work. If a scheme has 90cm hobs or induction throughout, this decides whether or not the product is suitable.

    Clause 7.12 of EN 50615:2015
  3. 03

    What about island hobs, or kitchens with no extraction hood?

    Both are cases that the standard expects to be declared as limitations, because the test kitchen setup assumes a hob against a wall.

    Clause 7.12.1 of EN 50615:2015
  4. 04

    What happens when the cooker isolator is switched off and on again?

    This is a UK-specific gap: the standard was drafted around mainland European kitchens, which do not have an isolator switch beside the hob. Ask the manufacturer to tell you – in writing – what state the device is in after the switch is cycled.

  5. 05

    What does the device do when the sensor batteries run out?

    The standard requires a battery-only device to prevent the hob being used. Confirm that the product actually does that, rather than allowing unprotected cooking.

    Clause 22.102 of EN 50615:2015
  6. 06

    What happens if someone takes the sensor off the wall?

    The hob shouldn't allow cooking within five minutes of removing the sensor, or if the sensor has been mounted with the wrong orientation. In settings such as student accommodation – where occupants might have an incentive to try to tamper with the device – this is an important consideration.

    Clause 22.106 of EN 50615:2015

09 – FAQ

Common questions

Is BS EN 50615 mandatory in the UK?

No. It's a product standard, rather than a regulation. What has changed in recent years is that BS 9991:2024 now names it explicitly in the commentary to clause 5.6, as the specification for thermal cut-off devices on cooking appliances. This is an observation rather than a recommendation – BS 9991 doesn't tell anyone to fit one – but its reference means that the standard has started appearing in fire strategies and specifications for residential buildings.

Does it apply to gas hobs?

Not currently. The published standard covers devices for electric hobs only. This could be subject to change, though: draft amendment A2 would widen the scope to gas hobs fitted with automatic burner control systems, while everything relating to burning the gas itself stays with EN IEC 60335-2-102 (the standard for appliances that combine fuel-burning and electrical functions). A second draft, A1, re-bases EN 50615 on the 2023 edition of EN IEC 60335-1. Comments on both closed in June 2026 and BSI projects publication for September 2027, so nothing has changed yet: a device certified to BS EN 50615:2015 today has still only been tested on electric hobs.

What is the difference between Category A and Category B?

Category A extinguishes a fire that has already started and cuts the power at the same time. Category B cuts the power before the oil can ignite, so the fire never starts. Category AB offers both prevention and suppression. In practice, the question is academic: every stove guard we have found on sale in the UK is Category B, and we haven't been able to identify a certified Category A or AB device for sale anywhere in the world.

Does a compliant device prevent every kitchen fire?

No, and the standard is honest about this. It covers fire originating from the cooking process. A Category B device isn't required to deal with flammable material left on or near the hob, it does nothing about ovens or grills, and smoke sits outside of the standard altogether.

Is a certified device the same as an independently tested one?

Not necessarily. Nothing in the standard requires third-party verification, so a manufacturer can self-declare conformity. If independent testing matters to you – and for a fire safety device it reasonably might – ask for the report and the name of the testing facility.

Where can I read the standard itself?

BS EN 50615 is available from BSI. This site explains what the standard requires but reproduces none of its text, because the standard is copyright. If you're using it in a fire safety strategy, it's worth buying a copy.

10 – Resources

Where to go next

One-page summary

Everything on this page, condensed to a single A4 sheet you can put in a project file or hand out in a meeting.

Which sector do you work in?
View the summary PDF, A4

Further reading

Unicook, who publishes this site, also maintains stoveguard.co.uk, a general introduction to the technology for people meeting it for the first time.

We also deliver an accredited CPD presentation on BS EN 50615 for construction industry professionals, including architectural practices, M&E consultants, and accommodation providers.

11 – About

Who runs this site

This site is built and maintained by Unicook Ltd. Unicook has distributed stove guards in the UK since 2015.

No product is named on this site – not Unicook's, not anyone else's – and there is nothing here to buy. This is because BS EN 50615 is worth more to us as a well-understood standard than as a marketing term, and at the moment it is neither. Most specifiers meet it for the first time in a tender document, with no neutral source to check it against. This website is intended to be that source.

If you think something here is wrong, tell us. We'll correct it, or explain why we read a particular clause differently.

enquiries@unicook.co.ukunicook.co.uk

Unicook Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales, number 05837028. Registered office: 104 High Street, West Wickham, Kent BR4 0NF, United Kingdom.