IP Rating for Electrical Enclosure
IP rating:
- IP letters stand for “International Protection” rating or “Ingress Protection” rating. IP ratings are defined in international standard (British BS EN 60529, IEC 60509).
- It is used to explain levels of sealing effectiveness of electrical enclosures against foreign bodies (tools, dirt etc) and moisture.
Meaning of IP Rating:
- The IP rating code is a two-digit (or optionally three-digit) designator to standardize the rating of protection level against intrusion of solids and liquids into mechanical and electrical enclosures. An enclosure can be a piece of equipment, an assembly unit, a cable or simply a connector.
- The numbers of IP of each have a specific meaning.
- First Number: The first Number indicates the degree of protection from moving parts, as well as the protection of enclosed equipment from foreign bodies.
- Second Number: The second Number indicates the protection level that the enclosure enjoys from various forms of moisture (drips, sprays, submersion etc).
- Third Number: The third digit in the designator is not part of the official IEC standard and is sometimes included (but more often omitted) to reference additional protections.
Abbreviation of IP Rating:
IP Rating Digits | |||
| IP Rating | First Digit | Second Digit | Third Digit (Optional) |
| Solid Objects Protection | Liquids Protection | Mechanical impacts | |
0 | No special protection | No protection. | No protection. |
| 1 | Protected against solid objects greater than 50mm in diameter ( such as large part of the body like hand) | Protection against vertically falling drops of water e.g. condensation. | Protects against impact of 0.225 joule (150 g weight falling from 15 cm height) |
| 2 | Protected against solid objects over 12 mm in diameter (person’s fingers) | Protection against direct sprays of water up to 15° from the vertical. | Protected against impact of 0.375 joule (250 g weight falling from 15 cm height) |
| 3 | Protected against solid objects not greater than 80mm in length and 12mm in diameter (tools and wires). | Protected against direct sprays of water up to 60° from the vertical. | Protected against impact of 0.500 joule (250 g weight falling from 20 cm height) |
| 4 | Protected against solid objects larger than 1 mm diameter (tools, wires, and small wires). | Protection against water sprayed from all directions (limited ingress permitted). | Protected against impact of 2.0 joule (500 g weight falling from 40 cm height) |
| 5 | Protected against dust limited ingress (no harmful deposit). | Protected against low pressure jets of water from all directions (limited ingress). | Protected against impact of 6.0 joule (1.5 kg weight falling from 40 cm height) |
| 6 | Totally dust tight. | Protected against temporary flooding of water, e.g. for use on ship decks (limited ingress permitted). | Protected against impact of 20.0 joule (5 kg weight falling from 40 cm height) |
| 7 | N/A | Protected against the effect of immersion between 15 cm and 1 m. | N/A |
| 8 | N/A | Protects against long periods of immersion under pressure. | N/A |
Example:
- IP65 Enclosure: IP rated as protection against dust (6) and protection from low water pressure (5).
- IP66 Enclosure – IP rated as protection against dust (6) and protected against heavy seas or powerful jets of water (6)