Equipotential Bonding in Event Technology – New Clarity Through the German DIN 15767:2025-04

Equipotential bonding has long been an integral part of safe setups in event technology. With the German DIN 15767:2025‑04, its role is now defined even more clearly: it is a safety‑relevant protective measure. One visible consequence of this clarification is that hand‑operated wing nuts or toggle fasteners are no longer considered compliant with the standard for connecting the equipotential bonding.

The background is easy to explain. Equipotential bonding is intended to prevent dangerous voltage differences from occurring between conductive parts that can be touched simultaneously. In temporary installations with mobile equipment, changing power supplies and often direct proximity to the audience, this is a particularly sensitive task. DIN 15700 explicitly describes these operating conditions as demanding and derives increased requirements for the durability and unambiguous nature of the connection from this.

DIN 15767 takes up this concept and formulates it deliberately clearly: the connection of the equipotential bonding must not be unintentionally altered or interrupted during operation. As compliant solutions, it specifies either connection boxes for mobile equipotential bonding systems in accordance with DIN 15700 or permanently installed threaded connections with nuts that can only be loosened using tools. Hand‑operated connections are explicitly no longer taken into account.

This is not a re‑evaluation or a devaluation of what has been common practice for many years. In international event technology, wing nuts and similar solutions have been and continue to be widely used and have proven themselves in everyday work. However, DIN 15767:2025‑04 follows a clear normative approach: it consistently regards equipotential bonding as part of the protective measures and therefore requires an implementation in which any changes are always linked to a deliberate, tool‑based intervention.

DIN 15700 provides the technical framework for this. It describes mobile equipotential bonding systems in such a way that their function is maintained even during modifications or partial dismantling, and safety‑relevant connections are clearly secured. Tool‑based connections are not an end in themselves, but rather an expression of this safety concept.

The international context is also important. Both DIN 15767 and DIN 15700 are German standards. Internationally, different regulations, standards or established practices may apply. Anyone working globally therefore regularly operates between different normative requirements. Within the scope of application of the German DIN standards, however, the line is now clearly defined.

In summary, DIN 15767:2025‑04 above all provides one thing: clarity. It places equipotential bonding where it belongs – among the protective measures. Wing nuts were part of everyday practice for a long time. From a normative perspective, the focus is now deliberately on clearly secured, tool‑based solutions.

An example of a compliant implementation in accordance with German DIN 15767:2025‑04 is our dual grounding system.

It combines a classic grounding stud with a HAN‑GND connection, thus linking international practice with the clear requirements of the German standard.

The grounding stud deliberately has the same thread as the wing nuts that are commonly used internationally. This means that the use of a wing nut outside the scope of the DIN requirements is fundamentally possible. The decisive difference does not lie in the thread, but in the compliant design: the connection is tool‑based and therefore meets the requirements of DIN 15767 for a secured equipotential bonding.

The grounding stud is complemented by a HAN‑GND connection as a pluggable, clearly secured solution for mobile equipotential bonding systems in accordance with DIN 15700. Users thus benefit from maximum flexibility while at the same time having a clear normative classification.

Especially in international projects, this dual concept creates a practical transition between established working methods and the specific requirements of the German DIN standards – without disruption, without the need to rethink workflows, and without compromising on safety.