IP Ratings explained, ingress protection rating table.

IP Ratings explained for Industrial Enclosures and Electrical Boxes.

First of all, the boring stuff. The IP (or "Ingress Protection") is a rating international standard, EN 60529 (British BS EN 60529:1992, European IEC 60509:1989) are used to define levels of sealing effectiveness of enclosures against intrusion from foreign bodies (solids, dust, dirt etc) and moisture.

The next thing to remember, is that this system is simple to understand and don't let others tell you otherwise! The IP protection rating system refers to specific tests which are made up from two components.

The easiest way to explain this, is to take an example of say, IP56. The IP which as discussed above stands for ingress protection. The first digit concerns solid objects while the second digit is for liquids. The basic rule that applies is, the higher the number, then the better the protection.

IP RATING TABLE
Degree of Protection	1st Digit(Solid Objects)	2nd Digit(Liquids)
0	No Protection	No Protection
1	Protected against objects larger than 50mm	Drip Proof
2	Protected against objects larger than 12mm	Protected against direct sprays of water up to 15° from vertical
3	Protected against objects larger than 2.5mm	Protected against direct sprays of water up to 60° from vertical -light rain proof
4	Protected against objects larger than 1mm	Protected against water sprayed from all directions-light splash proof
5	Protected against dust limited ingress	Protected against low pressure jets of water from all directions -limited ingress permitted
6	Totally protected against dust	Protected against low pressure jets of water (use on ship deck) -limited ingress permitted
7	Not Defined	Protected against the effect of immersion between 150mm & 1 metre
8	Not Defined	Protected against long periods of immersion under pressure

Please click here to down load the above IP ratings chart in a PDF file.

An important point to note is EN 60529 does not specify the sealing effectiveness against the following:

1. Mechanical damage of equipment.
2. The risk of explosions.
3. Certain types of moisture conditions, an example say, those produced by condensation, corrosive vapours, vermin or fungus.

The above points for the IP rating system may, seem self explanatory, but still worth noting.

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