IP Rating, what does it mean?

IP (Ingress Protection).

Yes that’s what the “IP” stands for.

In Brief – The first number following the “IP” is a Solid Particle Protection rating, the second number is a Liquid Ingress Protection rating. See below for the ratings and what they mean. I have also included the IP rating letters that can appear at the end of the rating number.

Solid Particle Protection. (1st number)

Protection of persons against contact with or approach to live parts and against contact with moving parts (other than smooth rotating shafts and the like) inside the enclosure and protection of the equipment against ingress of solid foreign bodies in accordance with IEC 60598-1:2003.

IP number	How effective is it?
0	Not protected at all against any size particle.
1	Particles larger than 50 mm
2	Particles larger than 12.5 mm This is the minimum rating to protect against putting your finger into a thing.
3	Particles larger than 2.5 mm
4	Particles larger than 1 mm
5	Dust Protected Dust must not enter in enough quantity to affect the normal operation.
6	Dust Tight Dust can’t enter, even in a vacuum.

Liquid Ingress Protection. (2nd number)

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

 

IP number	How effective is it?
0	Not protected at all.
1	Protected against dripping water.
2	Protected against dripping water when tilted up to a 15-degree angle from its normal position.
3	Protected against spraying water when tilted up to a 60-degree angle from its normal position.
4	Protected against splashing water at any angle.
5	Protected against water sprayed by a 6.3 mm nozzle at 12.5 Liters/minute and 30 kPa (pressure) from three meters away for three minutes.
6	Protected against water sprayed by a 12.5 mm nozzle at 100 Liters/minute and 100 kPa (pressure) from three meters away for three minutes.
6K	Protected against water sprayed by a 6.3 mm nozzle at 75 Liters/minute and 1,000 kPa (pressure) from three meters away for three minutes.
7	Protected against immersion in water up to one meter at normal pressure for 30 minutes.
8	Protected against immersion in water one meter or deeper at specifications detailed by the manufacturer.
9K	Protection against water sprayed from high-flow and high-pressure jets at high-temperature Water volume of 14 to 16 Liters/minute Water pressure of 80 to 100 bar Water temperature of 80-degrees Distance of 0.10 to 0.15 meters

If either number is replaced by an “X” then it doesn’t have a rating. The “X” is just a placeholder.

Additional Protection Designation

These Letters will appear at the end of the IP rating if any of them apply.

Letter code    What it means      

f                         Oil resistant

H                        High voltage protection

M                        Motion during water testing

S                         No motion during water testing

W                       Weather resistant

A                         Protected against access to hazardous parts with back of hand.

B                         Protected against hazardous parts with fingers.

C                         Protected against tools interfering with hazardous parts.

D                         Protection against wire from entering hazardous parts

But wait… there’s more!! Some things may have an IK rating.

An IK rating is the degree of impact resistance.

Impact protection

Degrees of protection provided by enclosures for electrical equipment against external mechanical impacts in accordance with IEC 62262:2002 and IEC 60068-2-75:1997.

 

IK00     Not protected

IK01     Protected against 0.14 joules impact.
Equivalent to impact of 0.25kg mass dropped from 56mm above impacted surface.

IK02     Protected against 0.2 joules impact.
Equivalent to impact of 0.25kg mass dropped from 80 mm above impacted surface.

IK03     Protected against 0.35 joules impact.
Equivalent to impact of 0.25kg mass dropped from 140 mm above impacted surface

.IK04     Protected against 0.5 joules impact.
Equivalent to impact of 0.25kg mass dropped from 200 mm above impacted surface.

IK05     Protected against 0.7 joules impact.
Equivalent to impact of 0.25kg mass dropped from 280 mm above impacted surface.

IK06     Protected against 1 joules impact.
Equivalent to impact of 0.25kg mass dropped from 400 mm above impacted surface.IK07Protected against 2 joules impact.
Equivalent to impact of 0.5kg mass dropped from 400 mm above impacted surface.

IK08     Protected against 5 joules impact.
Equivalent to impact of 1.7kg mass dropped from 300 mm above impacted surface.

IK09     Protected against 10 joules impact.
Equivalent to impact of 5kg mass dropped from 200 mm above impacted surface.

IK10     Protected against 20 joules impact.
Equivalent to impact of 5kg mass dropped from 400 mm above impacted surface.

I have searched for “IP rating chart” and “IP rating table” myself so I hope all this helps.

Click here for my home page