IP Ratings
The Ingress Protection or IP rating classifies the degree of protection from dust and moisture. This system is recognised by most European countries.
A typical rating would be IP54, where the first character (5) relates to the ingress of dust and the second character (4) relates to the ingress of moisture.
The following table defines each of the numeric classes within the Ingress Protection classification system.
First Character
| IP x - | Degree of protection against dust |
|---|---|
| 0 | No protection |
| 1 | Protected against solid objects greater than 50mm diameter eg. hand |
| 2 | Protected against solid objects greater than 12mm diameter eg. fingers |
| 3 | Protected against solid objects greater than 2.5mm diameter eg. tools or wires |
| 4 | Protected against solid objects greater than 1.0mm diameter eg. small tools or wires |
| 5 | Protected against limited ingress of dust eg. no interference in operation of unit |
| 6 | Protected against any ingress of dust |
Second Character
| IP - x | Degree of protection against moisture |
|---|---|
| 0 | No Protection |
| 1 | Protection against vertically dripping water |
| 2 | Protection against dripping water up to 15 degrees from vertical |
| 3 | Protection against spraying water up to 60 degrees from vertical |
| 4 | Protection against splashing water from any direction |
| 5 | Protection against jets of water from any direction |
| 6 | Protection against powerful jets of water with limited ingress with no harmful effect |
| 7 | Protection against total immersion in water for limited periods |
| 8 | Protection against total immersion in water under pressure for an indefinite period. Additional depth in meters should also be provided. |