Ingress protection rating - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ingress protection rating

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The IP code or IP rating defined in international standard IEC 60529 classifies the level of
protection that electrical appliances provide against the intrusion of solid objects or dust,
accidental contact, and water. The resulting Ingress Protection (IP) rating (explanation of
the letters IP is given in IEC 60529(ed2.1), clause 4.1), is identified by a code that consists
of the letters IP followed by two digits and an optional letter. 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 in-door use. The standard aims to provide users
more detailed information than vague marketing terms such as "waterproof".

Contents

1 First digit

2 Second digit

3 Additional

letters

4 IP69K

5 References

6 External links

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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
0

Effective against
no protection against contact and ingress of objects
any large surface of the body, such as the back of a

>50 mm

hand, but no protection against deliberate contact

with a body part

>12.5 mm

fingers or similar objects

>2.5 mm

tools, thick wires, etc.

>1 mm

most wires, screws, etc.

ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it must

dust protected

not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the

satisfactory operation of the equipment; complete
protection against contact

dust tight

no ingress of dust; complete protection against

contact

Second digit
Protection of the equipment inside the enclosure against harmful ingress of water.

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Level

Protected against

not protected

dripping water

Details

Dripping water (vertically falling drops) shall

have no harmful effect.
Vertically dripping water shall have no harmful

dripping water when tilted up to 15 effect when the enclosure is tilted at an angle
up to 15 from its normal position.

spraying water

Water falling as a spray at any angle up to 60

from the vertical shall have no harmful effect.

splashing water

Water splashing against the enclosure from any

direction shall have no harmful effect.

water jets

Water projected by a nozzle against enclosure

from any direction shall have no harmful effects.
Water from heavy seas or projected in powerful

heavy seas

jets shall not enter the enclosure in harmful

quantities.
Ingress of water in harmful quantity shall not be

immersion up to 1 m

possible when the enclosure is immersed in

water under defined conditions of pressure and
time (up to 1 m of submersion).
The equipment is suitable for continuous
immersion in water under conditions which shall
be specified by the manufacturer.

immersion beyond 1 m

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.

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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

finger

tool

wire

Further letters can be appended to provide additional information related to the protection
of the device:
Letter

Meaning

high voltage device

device moving during water test

device standing still during water test

weather conditions

IP69K
German standard DIN 40050-9 extends the IEC 60529 rating system described above with
an IP69K rating for high-pressure, high-temperature wash-down applications. Such
enclosures must not only be dust tight (IP6X), but also able to withstand high-pressure and
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steam cleaning. The test specifies a spray nozzle that is fed with 80 C water at 810 MPa
(80100 bar) and a flow rate of 1416 L/min. The nozzle is held 1015 cm from the tested
device at angles of 0, 30, 60 and 90 for 30 s each. The test device sits on a turntable
that rotates once every 12 s (5 rpm).
The IP69X test specification was initially developed for road vehicles, especially those that
need regular intensive cleaning (dump trucks, cement mixers, etc), but also finds use in
other areas (e.g., food industry).

References

IEC 60529: Degrees of protection provided by enclosures (IP Code). International

Electrotechnical Commission, Geneva.

DIN 40050-9: Straenfahrzeuge; IP-Schutzarten; Schutz gegen Fremdkrper, Wasser

und Berhren; Elektrische Ausrstung [Road vehicles; degrees of protection (IP-code);
protection against foreign objects, water and contact; electrical equipment]. May 1993.
(an English translation of the German original is available from DIN)

North American ingress-protection rating systems are defined in NEMA 250, UL 50, UL
508, and CSA C22.2 No. 94.

External links

Australian IP ratings

Protection test IP69K

Vilcus dactyloadapter elegant example of an IP1X design

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Categories: Electrical engineering | IEC standards

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