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The IP Code (or
International Protection Rating[1],
sometimes also interpreted as Ingress Protection Rating)
consists of the letters IP followed by two digits and an
optional letter. As defined in international standard IEC 60529,
it classifies the degrees of protection provided against the
intrusion of solid objects (including body parts like hands and
fingers), dust, accidental contact, and water in electrical
enclosures.[2] The
standard aims to provide users more detailed information than
vague marketing terms such as waterproof. The rating is
also known as index protection.
The digits
(characteristic numerals) indicate conformity with the
conditions summarized in the tables below. Where there is no
protection rating with regard to one of the criteria, the digit
is replaced with the letter X.
For example, an
electrical socket rated IP22 is protected against insertion of
fingers and will not be damaged or become unsafe during a
specified test in which it is exposed to vertically or nearly
vertically dripping water. IP22 or IP2X are typical minimum
requirements for the design of electrical accessories for indoor
use.
First
digit
The first digit
indicates the level of protection that the enclosure provides
against access to hazardous parts (e.g., electrical conductors,
moving parts) and the ingress of solid foreign objects.
| Level |
Object
size protected against |
Effective
against |
| 0 |
— |
No
protection against contact and ingress of objects |
| 1 |
>50 mm |
Any large
surface of the body, such as the back of a hand, but no
protection against deliberate contact with a body part |
| 2 |
>12.5 mm |
Fingers or
similar objects |
| 3 |
>2.5 mm |
Tools,
thick wires, etc. |
| 4 |
>1 mm |
Most
wires, screws, etc. |
| 5 |
dust protected |
Ingress of
dust is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in
sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory
operation of the equipment; complete protection against
contact |
| 6 |
dust tight |
No ingress
of dust; complete protection against contact |
Second
digit
Protection of the
equipment inside the enclosure against harmful ingress of water.
| Level |
Protected
against |
Details |
| 0 |
not
protected |
— |
| 1 |
dripping
water |
Dripping
water (vertically falling drops) shall have no harmful
effect. |
| 2 |
dripping
water when tilted up to 15° |
Vertically
dripping water shall have no harmful effect when the
enclosure is tilted at an angle up to 15° from its
normal position. |
| 3 |
spraying
water |
Water
falling as a spray at any angle up to 60° from the
vertical shall have no harmful effect. |
| 4 |
splashing
water |
Water
splashing against the enclosure from any direction shall
have no harmful effect. |
| 5 |
water jets |
Water
projected by a nozzle against enclosure from any
direction shall have no harmful effects. |
| 6 |
powerful
water jets |
Water
projected in powerful jets against the enclosure from
any direction shall have no harmful effects. |
| 7 |
immersion
up to 1 m |
Ingress of
water in harmful quantity shall not be possible when the
enclosure is immersed in water under defined conditions
of pressure and time (up to 1 m of submersion). |
| 8 |
immersion
beyond 1 m |
The
equipment is suitable for continuous immersion in water
under conditions which shall be specified by the
manufacturer.
NOTE: Normally, this will mean that the equipment is
hermetically sealed. However, with certain types of
equipment, it can mean that water can enter but only in
such a manner that produces no harmful effects. |
Additional
letters
The standard
defines additional letters that can be appended to classify only
the level of protection against access to hazardous parts by
persons:
| Level |
Protected
against access to hazardous parts with |
| A |
back of
hand |
| B |
finger |
| C |
tool |
| D |
wire |
Further letters can
be appended to provide additional information related to the
protection of the device:
| Letter |
Meaning |
| H |
high
voltage device |
| M |
device
moving during water test |
| S |
device
standing still during water test |
| W |
weather
conditions |
Mechanical impact resistance
An additional
number has sometimes been used to specify the resistance of
equipment to mechanical impact. This mechanical impact is
identified by the energy needed to qualify a specified
resistance level, which is measured in joules (J). This has now
been superseded by the separate IK number specified in EN
50102.
Although dropped
from the 3rd edition of IEC 60529 onwards, and not present in
the EN version, older enclosure specifications will sometimes be
seen with an optional third IP digit denoting impact resistance.
Newer products are likely to be given an IK rating instead.
However there is not an exact correspondence of values between
the old and new standards.
-
| OLD IP
Level |
Impact
energy |
Equivalent drop mass and height |
| 0 |
— |
— |
| 1 |
0.225 J |
150 g
dropped from 15 cm |
| 2 |
0.375 J |
250 g
dropped from 15 cm |
| 3 |
0.5 J |
250 g
dropped from 20 cm |
| 5 |
2 J |
500 g
dropped from 40 cm |
| 7 |
6 J |
1.5 kg
dropped from 40 cm |
| 9 |
20.0 J |
5.0 kg
dropped from 40 cm |
-
IK
number |
Impact
energy
(joules) |
Equivalent impact |
| 00 |
unprotected |
no
test |
| 01 |
0.150 |
drop
of 200 gram object from 7.5 cm height |
| 02 |
0.200 |
drop
of 200 gram object from 10 cm height |
| 03 |
0.350 |
drop
of 200 gram object from 17.5 cm height |
| 04 |
0.500 |
drop
of 200 gram object from 25 cm height |
| 05 |
0.700 |
drop
of 200 gram object from 35 cm height |
| 06 |
1.00 |
drop
of 500 gram object from 20 cm height |
| 07 |
2.00 |
drop
of 500 gram object from 40 cm height |
| 08 |
5.00 |
drop
of 1.7 kg object from 29.5 cm height |
| 09 |
10.0 |
drop
of 5 kg object from 20 cm height |
| 10 |
20.0 |
drop
of 5 kg object from 40 cm height |
References
-
^
IEC 60529(ed2.1), clause 4.1
-
^
IEC 60529: Degrees of protection
provided by enclosures (IP Code).
International Electrotechnical
Commission, Geneva.
-
^
DIN 40050-9: Straßenfahrzeuge; IP-Schutzarten;
Schutz gegen Fremdkörper, Wasser und
Berühren; Elektrische Ausrüstung
[Road vehicles; degrees of
protection (IP-code); protection
against foreign objects, water and
impact; electrical equipment]. May
1993. (an English translation of the
German original is available from
DIN)
-
^
http://www.pcenclosures-direct.com/NEMA.html
North American ingress-protection rating
systems are defined in NEMA 250, UL 50, UL
508, and CSA C22.2 No. 94.
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