For: Curtain wall company website, technical whitepaper, technical presentation Standards Issuing Body: CEN (European Committee for Standardization) Primary Standard: EN 1627, Burglar resistance of windows, doors, shutters and curtain walls – Requirements and classification Supplementary Glazing Standard: EN 356, Glass in building – Security glazing – Classification and test methods for resistance against attack
Introduction
EN 1627 establishes a widely adopted burglar resistance framework. It is referenced directly in technical specifications for numerous projects and frequently used as a baseline for benchmarking against regional security standards such as Australian AS standards and Singapore BCA requirements. The RC rating assesses the integrated performance of window and curtain wall systems, including profiles, connections, locking hardware, hinges and glazing against deliberate forced entry. The P rating evaluates the resistance of security glazing specimens against thrown objects and blunt-force impact. This document outlines applicable building types, operating environments and typical attack modes for each class for reference by architects, general contractors and security consultants.
1. EN 1627 Burglar Resistance Classes RC1 – RC6 (Complete Window / Curtain Wall System)
RC1
Attack mode: Unaided physical impact with no tools; intended only to delay accidental climbing or entry. Suitable buildings and applications: Low rise ancillary buildings, service perimeter windows within compounds, temporary facilities, equipment room windows, low security public zones and landscape support structures. Note: Not designed to resist deliberate forced entry. It serves only as a basic security threshold and is rarely specified for ground floor or readily accessible primary facades.
RC2
Attack mode: Simple hand tools including screwdrivers, pliers and wedges; defined test attack duration ≥ 3 minutes. Suitable buildings and applications: Residential apartments, hotel guestrooms, standard office floors, high-level windows above the first floor in commercial buildings, regular classrooms and staff dormitories. Note: A commonly specified baseline security class for residential construction. The system shall be equipped with compatible multi-point locks, reinforced mullions and heavy-duty lock keepers.
RC3
Attack mode: Crowbars, short axes and chisels; defined test attack duration ≥ 5 minutes. Suitable buildings and applications: Street-front low-rise residences, retail storefronts, convenience stores, pharmacies, local financial branches, museum auxiliary spaces, archives and small storage facilities, typically for ground floor openings along streets and alleyways.
RC4
Attack mode: Heavy prying tools, hand sledges and long pry bars; defined test attack duration ≥ 10 minutes. Suitable buildings and applications: Precious metal retail outlets, jewelry showrooms, cash handling areas, back-of-house zones for bank branches, controlled substance storage, secondary perimeter windows for data centers, ground-floor high-end private residences and critical archive storage rooms for locations housing high value assets.
RC5
Attack mode: Powered breaking tools including electric drills and angle grinders; defined test attack duration ≥ 15 minutes. Suitable buildings and applications: Observation windows around bank vaults, precious metal storage, high-grade document archives, government auxiliary buildings, port support facilities and high-value equipment control rooms for sites at risk of organized professional burglary. Note: Mandatory type testing applies to profile wall thickness, anti-drill lock cylinders, anti-removal hinges and laminated glazing construction. This class is generally implemented only in discrete high-security zones.
RC6
Attack mode: High-power cutting and demolition power tools; defined test attack duration ≥ 20 minutes. Suitable buildings and applications: National archives, central bank vaults, special material storage and classified government facilities. This represents the highest burglar resistance class for civilian applications. Note: Rarely adopted for conventional exterior curtain walls. It is normally deployed for standalone security enclosures and internal dividing assemblies.
2. EN 356 Security Glazing Classes P1A – P8B
P1A / P2A: Resists thrown soft objects by hand; suitable for inaccessible high-level windows and skylights to mitigate accidental impact. P3A / P4A: Resists manually thrown hard objects and stone impacts. P5A / P6B: Withstands repeated hammering and sustained stone impacts. P7B / P8B: Resists heavy repeated hammer strikes and axe blows, classified as heavy-duty security glazing.
3. Related Supporting Standards
EN 12600: Glass in building – Pendulum impact test – Classification, focused on human impact safety. EN 14019: Curtain wall impact performance, evaluating resistance of curtain wall assemblies against soft-body impact. EN 13049: Soft-body impact for windows and doors, assessing safety performance under impact from human bodies or carried parcels.
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