CENELEC's EN 50041 and EN 50047 standardise the two sizes of industrial position switch that dominate European machinery panels, with EN 50047 covering a 30 × 55 mm body and EN 50041 covering a 42.5 × 80 mm body [S3][S5]. The two documents also fix mounting centres, contact-block characteristics, and actuator interfaces, which is why a switch designed to one standard will usually not drop into a panel cut-out drilled for the other [S3][S5].
Honeywell's GLS catalogue frames it plainly: "CENELEC has defined the dimensions and characteristics of two types of limit switch in the standards EN 50041 and EN 50047" [S5], and its later MICRO SWITCH comparison table (GLL, GLA, GLC, GLD, GLE families) lines up mounting centres, body dimensions, sealing and electrical ratings against the same two standard envelopes [S1]. Schmersal, on its position- and limit-switches product page, uses both standards as the basis for its universal actuator and mounting-dimension programme [S2].
The two standard envelopes at a glance
EN 50047:2019 is the small-format position-switch standard, applies to four actuator forms (roller lever form A, rounded plunger form B, roller plunger form C, roller lever arm form E), and explicitly references the larger 42.5 × 80 mm size as covered separately by EN 50041 [S3]. EN 50047 contact elements are designated "(1)" for independent snap action or "(2)" for dependent slow make-and-break [S3].
EN 50041 is the larger companion standard; Honeywell's EVN2000 datasheet restates its core mounting geometry as "30 mm × 60 mm" switch mounting centres, with switching characteristics of the side rotary actuator also defined by the standard [S4]. Honeywell's GLS family documents "Enclosure width 40 mm according to EN 50041" in its limit-switch product matrix, confirming that the 40 mm-wide body is the EN 50041 form factor rather than the 30 mm EN 50047 body [S8].
Mounting centres and body dimensions side by side
Mounting-centre spacing is the single number that determines whether a switch is EN 50041, EN 50047, or "EN 50047 mounting-compatible" on a larger housing, and the Honeywell comparison table gives the spread precisely: EN 50047 series show mounting centres of "20 to 22" mm or "22 × 56" mm, the EN 50041 GLA (DIN) shows "30 × 60" mm, and the GLE plastic-housing line offers "20 to 22 and 40 to 42" mm, i.e. dual-pattern [S1]. The EN 50047 body itself is fixed at 30 × 55 mm by the standard [S3], while the EN 50041 body is 42.5 × 80 mm [S3][S5].
Putting the two standards in a single comparison: EN 50047 (30 × 55 mm body) uses 20–22 mm or 22 × 56 mm mounting centres and is built for compact panels and lighter actuators, while EN 50041 (42.5 × 80 mm body) uses 30 × 60 mm mounting centres and accepts larger heads, higher-current snap-action blocks, and more robust housings. On sealing and electrical rating, the same Honeywell comparison shows the EN 50041 GLA at IP67 and AC15 A600 / DC13 Q300 with 10 A thermal, against the EN 50047 metal-housing GLC at IP66/67 and AC15 A300 / DC13 Q300 with the same 10 A thermal current [S1]. Operating temperature spans -10 °C to 80 °C on the EN 50047 GLL (Min-Din) line, and -25 °C to 85 °C on the EN 50041 GLA, with the rest of the EN 50047 range reaching -40 °C to 85 °C [S1].
Contact block, positive opening, and electrical ratings
Both standards carry IEC 60947-5-1 as the underlying low-voltage switchgear reference, and the Honeywell comparison table lists "IEC/EN 60947-5-1" on the EN 50041 GLA and on every EN 50047 housing variant it covers [S1]. Positive opening on the NC contact is universal across both standards in the comparison: every column shows "Yes" for the NC positive-opening characteristic, which is the safety-relevant behaviour the standards exist to enforce [S1].
EN 50047:2019 covers both independent snap-action "(1)" and dependent slow make-and-break "(2)" contact elements, and the standard's review-enquiry window runs from 21 February 2024 to a target completion of 25 August 2026 under CLC/TC 121A, the same technical committee that owns the EN 50041 family [S3]. Schmersal's programme fits the same two-element pattern, with snap-action and slow-make blocks offered across both standard sizes so the same actuator and contact block can be used regardless of which envelope the panel accepts [S2].
Who EN 50047 is for, and who should move up to EN 50041
EN 50047 suits compact machine builders and OEMs that need to pack many switches into a small envelope; the 30 × 55 mm body and 20–22 mm or 22 × 56 mm mounting pattern fit standard control panels and small mounting brackets [S1][S3]. Schmersal's position-switch programme relies on EN 50047 mounting dimensions and switch points so the same switch can be retrofitted into existing machine designs with no panel rework [S2].
EN 50041 is the right call when the actuator forces are higher, the contact block needs the heavier AC15 A600 / DC13 Q300 rating, or the installation is exposed: the GLA datasheet line in the Honeywell comparison specifies IP67 sealing and an extended -25 °C to 85 °C operating range, with a side-rotary variant rated -40 °C to 85 °C [S1]. Applications such as aerial-lift booms, train-car door and brake sensing, and elevator floor-positioning all sit naturally on the larger 42.5 × 80 mm form factor where the higher current rating and wider operating-temperature window matter [S1]. Where a project needs both, the GLE "EN 50047 compatible" plastic housing carries a "20 to 22 and 40 to 42" mm dual mounting-centre pattern, allowing one switch SKU to cover both footprints [S1].
Selection rules and failure modes when the standards are misapplied
The most common specification error is treating "EN 50041 / EN 50047" as one interchangeable family: a 30 × 60 mm mounting hole pair will not accept an EN 50047 switch, and a 22 × 56 mm pair will not accept an EN 50041 body, because the standard pins both body envelope and hole spacing [S3][S4]. A second error is using EN 50047 dimensions for an EN 50041 actuator interface: Honeywell's GLS catalogue specifically lists "Most GLS versions are interchangeable with almost all other makes of EN50041/47 switches", but this interchangeability applies to the mounting footprint of each standard, not across the two [S5].
On ratings, a panel that needs AC15 A600 at 10 A thermal must move up from the EN 50047 A300 envelope to an EN 50041 device; the smaller standard is electrically capable, but its housing is not sized for the higher let-through energy and contact block [S1]. Schmersal's safety-architecture guidance ("a single switch can achieve up to Performance Level d (PL d) according to EN ISO 13849-1") only holds if the snap-action block and positive-opening NC are retained; specifying an EN 50047 body with a slow-make dependent contact "(2)" breaks the positive-opening path and should be flagged at design review [S2][S3].
Sourcing, certification, and retrofit by the numbers
Honeywell publishes a single comparison document that maps each of its global limit-switch series to one or both standards, with explicit mounting-centre, body, sealing, and electrical-rating columns: GLL (EN 50047 Min-Din, 22 × 56 mm), GLA (EN 50041 DIN, 30 × 60 mm), GLC/GLE (EN 50047 metal and plastic, 20–22 mm with 40–42 mm dual on GLE), and the older GLD line at 20–22 mm [S1]. The 2022-vintage GLS Interactive Catalog adds the legacy 14-page limit-and-enclosed-switches matrix, where EN 50041 and EN 50047 are described as the two CENELEC-defined limit-switch types covering the IEC 947-1 / IEC 60947-5-1 low-voltage switchgear framework [S5].
Honeywell's EVN2000 datasheet gives the EN 50047 reference dimensions as "30 mm × 60 mm" mounting centres and lists IEC/EN 60947-5-1, EN 60529, EN81-1 (lift applications), AC15 A300, DC13 Q300, UL and CE as the certification stack, with a mechanical life of 10 million operations and an IP66/67 sealing grade [S4]. Schmersal rounds out the cross-vendor picture: ATEX/IECEx certified variants exist for zones 1, 2, 21 and 22 on the same EN 50041/EN 50047 actuator and mounting platform, and a sub-range carries AS-i-SaW for bus-connected safety chains, both features being additional to, not instead of, the base standards [S2]. For a comparison of how these contact-block standards sit alongside process-isolation practice, the isolation switch selection guide and the broader limit switch fundamentals entries are worth reading at the same time, while the related EN 14351-1 aluminium window DoP: what the 2024-2026 declarations actually declare piece is a useful cross-reference on how CENELEC harmonised standards are reviewed and republished under the same Mandate M/511 framework that covers EN 50047.
Component reference pages worth checking: displacement position.