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HIPOT Testing
DECEMBER 1, 2011 36 COMMENTS
Jignesh.Parmar

What is HIPOT Testing (Dielectric Strength Test):

Hipot Test is short name of high potential (high voltage) Teat and It also known as Dielectric Withstand Test. A Blog Stats
hipot test checks for “good isolation.” Hipot test makes surety of no current will flow from one point to another 15,295,254 hits
point. Hipot test is the opposite of a continuity test.
Continuity Test checks surety of current flows easily from one point to another point while Hipot Test checks surety
of current would not flow from one point to another point (and turn up the voltage really high just to make sure no About Jignesh Parmar:
current will flow).
Jignesh Parmar has completed M.Tech (Power

Importance of HIPOT Testing: System Control), B.E(Electrical). He is member

of Institution of Engineers (MIE) and CEng,India.
The hipot test is a nondestructive test that determines the adequacy of electrical insulation for the normally Membership No:M-1473586.He has more than
occurring over voltage transient. This is a high-voltage test that is applied to all devices for a specific time in order 16 years experience in Transmission -
to ensure that the insulation is not marginal. Distribution-Electrical Energy theft detection-
Hipot tests are helpful in finding nicked or crushed insulation, stray wire strands or braided shielding, conductive or Electrical Maintenance-Electrical Projects
corrosive contaminants around the conductors, terminal spacing problems, and tolerance errors in cables. (Planning-Designing-Technical Review-
Inadequate creepage and clearance distances introduced during the manufacturing process. coordination -Execution). He is Presently
HIPOT test is applied after tests such as fault condition, humidity, and vibration to determine whether any associate with one of the leading business group
degradation has taken place. as a Deputy Manager at Ahmedabad,India. He
The production-line hipot test, however, is a test of the manufacturing process to determine whether the has published numbers of Technical Articles in
construction of a production unit is about the same as the construction of the unit that was subjected to type “Electrical Mirror”, “Electrical India”, “Lighting
testing. Some of the process failures that can be detected by a production-line hipot test include, for example, a India”,”Smart Energy”, “Industrial
transformer wound in such a way that creepage and clearance have been reduced. Such a failure could result from Electrix”(Australian Power Publications)
a new operator in the winding department. Other examples include identifying a pinhole defect in insulation or Magazines. He is Freelancer Programmer of
finding an enlarged solder footprint. Advance Excel and design useful Excel base
As per IEC 60950, The Basic test Voltage for Hipot test is the 2X (Operating Voltage) + 1000 V Electrical Programs as per IS, NEC, IEC,IEEE
The reason for using 1000 V as part of the basic formula is that the insulation in any product can be subjected to codes. He is Technical Blogger and Familiar with
normal day-to-day transient over voltages. Experiments and research have shown that these over voltages can be English, Hindi, Gujarati, French languages. He
as high as 1000 V. wants to Share his experience & Knowledge and
help technical enthusiasts to find suitable
solutions and updating themselves on various
Engineering Topics.

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Test method for HIPOT Test:
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Hipot testers usually connect one side of the supply to safety ground (Earth ground). The other side of the supply
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is connected to the conductor being tested. With the supply connected like this there are two places a given
conductor can be connected: high voltage or ground.
When you have more than two contacts to be hipot tested you connect one contact to high voltage and connect all
other &
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application of a large voltage difference between the two
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conductors separated by the insulator would result in the flow of a very small current. Although this small current is
 acceptable, no breakdown of either the air insulation or the solid insulation should take place.
Therefore, the current of interest is the current that is the result of a partial discharge or breakdown, rather than the
Electrical Notes-…
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current due to capacitive coupling.

Time Duration for HIPOT Test:

The test duration must be in accordance with the safety standard being used. Like Page
The test time for most standards, including products covered under IEC 60950, is 1 minute.
A typical rule of thumb is 110 to 120% of 2U + 1000 V for 1–2 seconds.
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Current Setting for HIPOT Test:
Most modern hipot testers allow the user to set the current limit. However, if the actual leakage current of the
product is known, then the hipot test current can be predicted.
The best way to identify the trip level is to test some product samples and establish an average hipot current. Once
this has been achieved, then the leakage current trip level should be set to a slightly higher value than the average
figure.
Another method of establishing the current trip level would be to use the following mathematical formula: E(Hipot)
/ E(Leakage) = I(Hipot) / 2XI(Leakage) BUY ELECTRICAL SOFTWARES
The hipot tester current trip level should be set high enough to avoid nuisance failure related to leakage current
and, at the same time, low enough not to overlook a true breakdown in insulation.

Test Voltage for HIPOT Test:

The majority of safety standards allow the use of either ac or dc voltage for a hipot test.
When using ac test voltage, the insulation in question is being stressed most when the voltage is at its peak, i.e.,
either at the positive or negative peak of the sine wave.
Therefore, if we use dc test voltage, we ensure that the dc test voltage is under root 2 (or 1.414) times the ac
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test voltage, so the value of the dc voltage is equal to the ac voltage peaks.
For example, for a 1500-V-ac voltage, the equivalent dc voltage to produce the same amount of stress on the
insulation would be 1500 x 1.414 or 2121 V dc.

Advantage / Disadvantage of use DC Voltage for Hipot Test:

One of the advantages of using a dc test voltage is that the leakage current trip can be set to a much lower value
than that of an ac test voltage. This would allow a manufacturer to filter those products that have marginal
BUY ELECTRICAL SOFTWARES.
insulation, which would have been passed by an ac tester.
when using a dc hipot tester, the capacitors in the circuit could be highly charged and, therefore, a safe-discharge
device or setup is needed. However, it is a good practice to always ensure that a product is discharged, regardless
of the test voltage or its nature, before it is handled.
It applies the voltage gradually. By monitoring the current flow as voltages increase, an operator can detect a
potential insulation breakdown before it occurs. A minor disadvantage of the dc hipot tester is that because dc test
voltages are more difficult to generate, the cost of a dc tester may be slightly higher than that of an ac tester.
The main advantage of the dc test is DC Voltage does not produce harmful discharge as readily occur in AC. Proud to be an IndiBlogger
It can be applied at higher levels without risk or injuring good insulation. This higher potential can literally “sweep-
electricalnotes.wordpress.c...
out” far more local defects.

85
The simple series circuit path of a local defect is more easily carbonized or reduced in resistance by the dc
leakage current than by ac, and the lower the fault path resistance becomes, the more the leakage current
/100
increased, thus producing a “snow balling” effect which leads to the small visible dielectric puncture usually
observed. Since the dc is free of capacitive division, it is more effective in picking out mechanical damage as well
as inclusions or areas in the dielectric which have lower resistance.

Advantage / Disadvantage of use AC Voltage for Hipot Test:

One of the advantages of an ac hipot test is that it can check both voltage polarities, whereas a dc test charges the SEARCH
insulation in only one polarity. This may become a concern for products that actually use ac voltage for their normal
operation. The test setup and procedures are identical for both ac and dc hipot tests.
A minor disadvantage of the ac hipot tester is that if the circuit under test has large values of Y capacitors, then, Copyright © 2018
depending on the current trip setting of the hipot tester, the ac tester could indicate a failure. Most safety standards The content in electricalnotes.wordpress.com is
allow the user to disconnect the Y capacitors prior to testing or, alternatively, to use a dc hipot tester. The dc hipot for personal, non-commercial use only. you can
tester would not indicate the failure of a unit even with high Y capacitors because the Y capacitors see the voltage not reproduce,republish or communicate any of
but don’t pass any current. the content , including files downloadable from
this website, without the permission of the
Step for HIPOT Testing: copyright owner.The use of this content on any
Only electrically qualified workers may perform this testing. other websites breaches copyright Act. If You
Open circuit breakers or switches to isolate the circuit or Cable that will be hi-pot tested. find this content in any other site,it makes the
Confirm that all equipment or Cable that is not to be tested is isolated from the circuit under test. page you are viewing an infringement of the
copyright.
 The limited approach boundary for this hi-pot procedure at 1000 volts is 5 ft. (1.53m) so place barriers around the
terminations of cables and equipment under test to prevent unqualified persons from crossing this boundary.
Connect the ground lead of the HIPOT Tester to a suitable building ground or grounding electrode conductor.
Recent Posts
Attach the high voltage lead to one of the isolated circuit phase conductors. Electrical Thumb Rules-VENTILATION &
Switch on the HIPOT Tester. Set the meter to 1000 Volts or pre decide DC Voltage. Push the “Test” button on the CEILING FAN
meter and after one minute observe the resistance reading. Record the reading for reference.
Electrical Thumb Rules-Light Sources
At the end of the one minute test, switch the HIPOT Tester from the high potential test mode to the voltage
measuring mode to confirm that the circuit phase conductor and voltage of HIPOT Tester are now reading zero Quick Reference-Fire Fighting (Part-2)
volts. Quick Reference-Fire Fighting (Part-1)
Repeat this test procedure for all circuit phase conductors testing each phase to ground and each phase to each
Electrical Thumb Rule- High Rise Building (As
phase.
per NBC)
When testing is completed disconnect the HIPOT Tester from the circuits under test and confirm that the circuits
are clear to be re-connected and re-energized. Calculate Motor Pump Size
To PASS the unit or Cable under Test must be exposed to a minimum Stress of pre decide Voltage for 1 minute Calculate Size of Cable for Motor (As NEC)
without any Indication of Breakdown. For Equipments with total area less than 0.1 m2, the insulation resistance
How to Design efficient Street lighting-(Part-6)
shall not be less than 400 MΩ. For Equipment with total area larger than 0.1 m2 the measured insulation
resistance times the area of the module shall not be less than 40 MΩ⋅m2. How to Design efficient Street lighting-(Part-5)

How to Design efficient Street lighting-(Part-4)

Safety precautions during HIPOT Test:
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During a HIPOT Test, There may be at some risk so to minimize risk of injury from electrical shock make sure
How to Design efficient Street lighting-(Part-2)
HIPOT equipment follows these guidelines:
How to Design efficient Street lighting-(Part-1)
1. The total charge you can receive in a shock should not exceed 45 uC.
Calculate Size of Pole Foundation & Wind
2. The total hipot energy should not exceed 350 mJ.
Pressure on Pole
3. The total current should not exceed 5 mA peak (3.5 mA rms)
4. The fault current should not stay on longer than 10 mS. Calculate Size of Circuit Breaker/ Fuse for

5. If the tester doesn’t meet these requirements then make sure it has a safety interlock system that guarantees you Transformer (As per NEC)

cannot contact the cable while it is being hipot tested. Selection of Various Types of UPS (Part-2)

For Cable: Selection of Various Types of UPS (Part-1)

Electrical Thumb Rules-Illumination-(Part-19).

1. Verify the correct operation of the safety circuits in the equipment every time you calibrate it.
Electrical Thumb Rules-Illumination-(Part-18).
2. Don’t touch the cable during hipot testing.
3. Allow the hipot testing to complete before removing the cable. Electrical Thumb Rules-Illumination-(Part-17).
4. Wear insulating gloves.
5. Don’t allow children to use the equipment.
6. If you have any electronic implants then don’t use the equipment. Archives
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About Jignesh.Parmar
Jignesh Parmar has completed M.Tech (Power System Control), B.E(Electrical). He is member of March 2018 (1)
Institution of Engineers (MIE) and CEng,India. Membership No:M-1473586.He has more than 16 February 2018 (2)
years experience in Transmission -Distribution-Electrical Energy theft detection-Electrical
January 2018 (1)
Maintenance-Electrical Projects (Planning-Designing-Technical Review-coordination -Execution). He is Presently
associate with one of the leading business group as a Deputy Manager at Ahmedabad,India. He has published December 2017 (1)
numbers of Technical Articles in “Electrical Mirror”, “Electrical India”, “Lighting India”,”Smart Energy”, “Industrial November 2017 (1)
Electrix”(Australian Power Publications) Magazines. He is Freelancer Programmer of Advance Excel and design
October 2017 (1)
useful Excel base Electrical Programs as per IS, NEC, IEC,IEEE codes. He is Technical Blogger and Familiar with
English, Hindi, Gujarati, French languages. He wants to Share his experience & Knowledge and help technical September 2017 (1)
enthusiasts to find suitable solutions and updating themselves on various Engineering Topics. August 2017 (1)

July 2017 (2)

June 2017 (1)

36 Responses to HIPOT Testing
May 2017 (1)

krishanmani says: April 2017 (1)

December 1, 2011 at 5:06 pm March 2017 (1)

Rtt Tower & Gbd tower Tell about this topic pls February 2017 (1)

Reply January 2017 (1)

December 2016 (1)

November 2016 (1)

Ashirvad says:
December 4, 2011 at 2:30 pm October 2016 (1)

HEY MR. JIGNESH!! GOOD WORK……KEEP IT UP September 2016 (1)

CAN YOU PUT UP AN ARTICLE COVERING ALL TESTS ON SWITCHGEAR EQUIPMENTS, August 2016 (1)

TYPE OF TESTS, July 2016 (1)

UNDERSTANDING RESULTS WHETHER THE THE EQUIPMENT IS ALRIGHT OR WHAT MEASURES TO BE
June 2016 (1)
TAKEN!!!!!
May 2016 (1)
HOPING IT TO COME SOON!!!!!
April 2016 (2)
Reply
March 2016 (2)

February 2016 (2)

Muhammad Aslam Butt says:
January 2016 (2)
January 16, 2012 at 6:12 am
December 2015 (1)
Please post all tests of Synchronous turbo Generators (stator & rotor) and Power Transformers
November 2015 (1)
Reply
October 2015 (2)

September 2015 (1)

naresh says: August 2015 (1)
March 14, 2012 at 2:47 am
July 2015 (1)
Very nice
June 2015 (1)
Reply
May 2015 (1)

April 2015 (1)

M.Sai Phanindra Kumar says: March 2015 (2)
May 2, 2012 at 8:00 am
February 2015 (2)
I want to know that is there any course for erection, testing and commissioning of electrical equipments in India?
January 2015 (2)
IF so, Please suggest me which institute is providing this course. As presently I am working in erection and
commissioning of 1x100MW combined cycle power plant, this course will be helpful to me. December 2014 (2)

November 2014 (2)

Reply
October 2014 (2)

September 2014 (2)

Scotty Moncrieff says:
May 16, 2012 at 12:24 pm August 2014 (3)

July 2014 (2)

very good info
June 2014 (2)
 Reply May 2014 (2)

April 2014 (2)

Scotty Moncrieff says: March 2014 (3)

May 28, 2012 at 7:59 pm
February 2014 (4)

is it possible to test switchgear with a VLF tester?? if not is there any reason ?? January 2014 (2)

Reply December 2013 (1)

November 2013 (1)

gurunathan says: October 2013 (2)

June 19, 2012 at 4:46 am September 2013 (3)

i had a little confuse tan delta test & polarization index test .Which is best to identify cable fault by using HV August 2013 (3)
megger or HIPOT Teter July 2013 (3)
Reply June 2013 (3)

May 2013 (3)

anup kumar singh says: April 2013 (2)

July 15, 2012 at 5:49 pm
March 2013 (3)
hi sir February 2013 (2)
a very nice work out to support electrical engineers. many will be delighted by it and will be thank full to you for this
January 2013 (3)
valuable support.
December 2012 (2)
Reply
November 2012 (3)

October 2012 (1)

Ramamurthy.c says:
September 2012 (3)
December 27, 2012 at 9:25 pm

August 2012 (7)

Dear Jignesh,
It is a delight to see your your notes.One can feel like having somebody behind him to support. July 2012 (2)
Thanx, May 2012 (7)

Reply April 2012 (2)

March 2012 (3)

archani says: February 2012 (2)

February 7, 2013 at 8:30 pm
January 2012 (1)

Hi Sir December 2011 (3)

Very good job.
November 2011 (2)
What are the limits of leakage current for cables 6.6 kV and 11 kV?
Thanks October 2011 (4)

September 2011 (2)

Reply
August 2011 (1)

June 2011 (5)

Parimal Majee says:
July 3, 2013 at 2:18 pm May 2011 (3)

April 2011 (12)

Dear Sir,
If the normal operating voltage of a turbo generator rotor is 455 V DC and voltage applied during Hi-Pot test is March 2011 (17)
1500 V AC, what should be the limit for leakage current? Pl. suggest.

Reply EEP

sam says:
August 28, 2013 at 11:39 am

Are electrical power engineers qualified to carry out hipot testing? or just electricians? (I’m in Australia)

Reply

JEROME says:
September 5, 2013 at 12:27 pm
THANKS FOR THE INFO, MAY I ASK HOW MANY TIMES CAN WE TEST THE CABLES IN CASE IF IT IS
FAILED ?

Reply

venkatesh says:
September 22, 2013 at 5:54 am

Dear sir,

I have a doubt about the testing please Guide your experience how to test 34.5kV MV cable, i don’t know which
test require AC hipot test or DC hipot test.

venkatesh

Reply

Aldwin Castillo says:

October 30, 2013 at 7:22 pm Pages

Dear Mr. Jignesh Parmar, My high pot tester is always displaying this OL or over limit. Is it important or I may say, Abstract
is it a must to know the leakage current readings? I’m afraid if our client ask me what is the leakage current Abstract of CPWD-Part 1
readings, I can’t answer anything. By the way, I am electrician. Thanks
Abstract of IE Rules
Reply
Abstract of IS Code.

IS 1255

Ken Mark M. Carreon says: IS 15652/11171/1445/1678

November 27, 2013 at 12:05 pm
IS 3043 / 5039
Dear Sir, IS 5613

When can I say that Hi pot testing done is okay? Is there limitation for the leakage current? IS 694 / 1554 / 11892

Reply
IE Rules for DP Structure

Electrical Notes
Hafez says:
ElectRICAL. Q&A
February 4, 2014 at 12:53 am
Electrical Q&A Part-1
Dear Mr Jignesh
Electrical Q&A Part-2
I am Hafez from Malaysia. Currently, I am in charge for a commissioning of MV panel switch gear. My contractor
Electrical Q&A Part-3
perform a test with 12kV of 6.6kV to a cable from switch gear to a motor. I would like to ask the acceptance value
of insulation as the value read only 200MOhm, but as I believe it should reach more than 1GOhm. Electrical Q&A Part-4

Please advise, and cahn I have the reference of IEC standard on this? Electrical.Tool

Thanks EXCEL TOOL

Reply

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manindra nath says: electricalnotes.files.wor…

March 24, 2014 at 4:33 pm electricalnotes.files.wor…

what should be the ideal value of the leakage current during the testing of 11kv bus bar. mediafire.com/file/5040ut…

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Anil KOndath says:
August 5, 2014 at 4:19 pm electricalnotes.files.wor…

Appreciate if you could tell me what is the reason for choosing DC or AC voltage for Hipot testing. Thanks mediafire.com/file/vc7vfk…

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good job..
i need more detail

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Mohammed_mukry says:
March 24, 2015 at 11:09 am

thank you for this nice article

Reply

servis alat ukur says:

September 18, 2015 at 12:08 pm

nice…..info

Reply

Tapan Kumar Biswas says:

September 30, 2015 at 2:56 pm

Body earth & Neutral earth for a Power Transformer in a Distribution Station can be taken from common eatrh mat.

Reply

chandrashekhar says:
March 7, 2016 at 8:17 pm

Is it necessary to check at both the ends of the underground cable for the fault in the cable or cable check from
one end of the cable is enough

Reply

vinod chandran says:

March 17, 2016 at 11:29 am

it is really useful hats off

Reply

Muhammad Junaid says:

May 3, 2016 at 7:51 am

You are doing a great work. Keep it Up!

Reply
 R.Thangaraja says:
September 17, 2016 at 4:04 am

can you tell about the before and after hipot insulation value difference ?..

Reply

baskaran says:
October 20, 2016 at 4:45 pm

is it applicable to do dc hipot instead of ac hipot

Reply

Kanthasamy muthusamy says:

January 24, 2017 at 4:28 am

Very informative.i appreciate it.

Reply

Babalu says:
September 21, 2017 at 10:27 pm

Are there any testing standards or codes for hipot test?

Reply

Raju S Khandekar says:

October 19, 2017 at 9:35 am

Dear Mr. Jignesh. Really you are doing a good Job !!! Keep it up…..

Reply

MARTIN ARO says:

January 8, 2018 at 8:23 am

Dear Mr. Jignesh. Really you are doing a good Job !!! Keep it up…

Reply

bhanu pratap says:

March 15, 2018 at 11:36 am

what will happen if we use hipot kit for insulator testing

Reply

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