IP Rated Enclosures Explained
What is an IP rating?
IP (or "Ingress Protection") ratings are defined in international standard EN 60529
(British BS EN 60529:1992, European IEC 60509:1989). They are used to define levels
of sealing effectiveness of electrical enclosures against intrusion from foreign bodies
(tools, dirt etc) and moisture.
What do the numbers in an IP Rating mean?
The numbers that follow IP each have a specific meaning. The first indicates the degree
of protection (of people) from moving parts, as well as the protection of enclosed
equipment from foreign bodies. The second defines the protection level that the
enclosure enjoys from various forms of moisture (drips, sprays, submersion etc). The
tables below should help make sense of it:
IP Ratings - what they mean.
IP Rated Enclosures - quick find chart
A number replaced by x indicates that the enclosure is not rated for that spec.
First Digit (intrusion protection)
0. (or X - see section below): No special protection. Not rated (or no rating supplied)
for protection against ingress of this type.
1. Protection from a large part of the body such as a hand (but no protection from
deliberate access); from solid objects greater than 50mm in diameter.
2. Protection against fingers or other object not greater than 80mm in length and
12mm in diameter (accidental finger contact).
3. Protection from entry by tools, wires etc, with a diameter of 2.5 mm or more.
4. Protection against solid objects larger than 1mm (wires, nails, screws, larger
insects and other potentially invasive small objects such as tools/small etc).
5. Partial protection against dust that may harm equipment.
6. Totally dust tight. Full protection against dust and other particulates, including a
vacuum seal, tested against continuous airflow.
Second Digit (moisture protection)
0. (or X - see section below): No protection.
1. Protection against vertically falling droplets, such as condensation. ensuring that
no damage or interrupted functioning of components will be incurred when an
item is upright.
2. Protection against water droplets deflected up to 15° from vertical
3. Protected against spray up to 60° from vertical.
4. Protected against water splashes from all directions. Tested for a minimum of 10
minutes with an oscillating spray (limited ingress permitted with no harmful
effects).
5. Protection against low-pressure jets (6.3 mm) of directed water from any angle
(limited ingress permitted with no harmful effects).
6. Protection against direct high pressure jets.
7. Protection against full immersion for up to 30 minutes at depths between 15 cm
and 1 metre (limited ingress permitted with no harmful effects).
8. Protection against extended immersion under higher pressure (i.e. greater
depths). Precise parameters of this test will be set and advertised by the
manufacturer and may include additional factors such as temperature fluctuations
and flow rates, depending on equipment type.
9. (K): Protection against high-pressure, high-temperature jet sprays, wash-downs
or steam-cleaning procedures - this rating is most often seen in specific road
vehicle applications (standard ISO 20653:2013 Road Vehicles - Degrees of
protection).
IPX Ratings
Not an entirely valid IP rating, but still occassionally seen on websites offering
enclosures (but more commonly lighting). The "x" simply denotes that the value for that
number is missing. You can replace it with a zero, assuming that it has not ingress
protection rating. This may not be the case, but better safe than sorry. The first number
denotes foreign body ingress protection, the second moisture. So "x"5 for example,
means that there is no defined protection from solid objects, but protection against low
pressure water jets, while 5"x" would denote partial protection from dust, but no
particular protection from moisture.
Our range
While we cover a huge range of electrical enclosures, our most common IP ratings are
probably 65, 66, 67 and 68. So for quick reference, these are defined below:
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IP65 Enclosure - IP rated as "dust tight" and protected against water projected
from a nozzle.
IP66 Enclosure - IP rated as "dust tight" and protected against heavy seas or
powerful jets of water.
IP 67 Enclosures - IP rated as "dust tight" and protected against immersion. for
30 minutes at depths 150mm - 1000mm
IP 68 Enclosures - IP rated as "dust tight" and protected against complete,
continuous submersion in water.