IEC 62368-1 is the safety standard that applies to audio, video, information and communication technology equipment. It replaces the two earlier standards for the same product families and introduces a fundamentally different approach, known as hazard-based safety engineering. Instead of prescribing a construction and then testing it, the standard starts from the energy sources inside the equipment, classifies each as a class 1, 2 or 3 source according to its magnitude, identifies the potential hazards the energy can cause, and then requires a safeguard appropriate to the class: insulation, a protective barrier, a safety interlock or an instruction. This structure allows the same framework to accommodate new technologies without revision, which was the principal reason for the change. The standard covers electric shock, fire, energy related injury, thermal burn and radiation hazards, and it specifies the type tests used to verify insulation, temperature rise, fault conditions and the integrity of the safeguards. It has been adopted in Europe as a harmonised standard and is now the principal requirement for placing such products on the market.