Protection grade standard
The degree of protection consists of the letter IP followed by two digits and an optional letter. According to the definition in the international standard IEC 60529, it classifies the protection level of electrical enclosures against solid objects (including hands, fingers and other body parts), dust, accidental contact and water intrusion. The standard aims to provide users with more detailed information than vague marketing terms such as waterproof.
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The number (characteristic number) indicates that the conditions summarized in the following table are met. For example, the power socket rated IP22 has protection against finger insertion and will not be damaged or become unsafe during a specified test when exposed to vertical or near vertical dripping. IP22 or 2X is a typical minimum requirement for the design of electrical accessories for indoor use.
*The interpretation of the letter IP is given in clause 4.1 of IEC 60529 (Ed. 2.1)
First digit: solid
The first number indicates the level of protection provided by the enclosure to prevent contact with hazardous parts (e.g. electrical conductors, moving parts) and the entry of solid foreign matter.
| Grade | Protected Object Size | Effective confrontation |
| 0 | Unprotected | No protection against object contact and entry |
| 1 | >50mm | Any large surface of the body, such as the back of the hand, but there are no protective measures to prevent intentional contact with body parts. |
| 2 | >12.5mm | Fingers or similar objects. |
| 3 | >2.5mm | Tools, thick lines, etc |
| 4 | >1mm | Most wires, screws, etc. |
| 5 | Dustproof | The dust cannot be completely prevented from entering, but the amount of dust entering shall not be enough to interfere with the normal operation of the equipment; Completely prevent contact. |
| 6 | Dustproof | No dust entering; Completely prevent contact. |
Second digit: liquid
Protect the equipment inside the enclosure from harmful water intrusion.
| Grade | Protected Object Size | Effective confrontation |
| 0 | Unprotected | —— |
| 1 | Drip | Drips (vertically falling drops) shall have no harmful effects. |
| 2 | Dripping when inclined 15 ° | When the enclosure is tilted up to 15 ° from its normal position, vertical dripping shall have no harmful effect. |
| 3 | Water spray | Water falling in the form of spray at any angle within 60 ° from the vertical will not have harmful effects. |
| 4 | Splash water | Water splashed onto the enclosure from any direction will not have harmful effects. |
| 5 | water jet | The water sprayed onto the shell from any direction by the nozzle (6.3mm) shall have no harmful effects. |
| 6 | Powerful water jet | The water sprayed onto the housing from any direction with a strong jet (12.5 mm nozzle) will not have harmful effects. |
| 7 | Immersion depth up to 1m | When the enclosure is immersed in water under the specified pressure and time conditions (maximum immersion of 1 m), no harmful amount of water shall enter. |
| 8 | Immersion exceeding 1m | The equipment is suitable for continuous immersion in water under conditions specified by the manufacturer. Usually, this means that the equipment is sealed. However, for some types of equipment, this may mean that water can enter, but only in a way that does not produce harmful effects. |
IP Rating Reference Chart
The following is an easy to follow reference chart to help you determine the IP rating you need or have.
| IP Number | First digit - solid | 第二位数字——液体 |
| IP00 | Not protected by solids. | Not protected by liquid. |
| IP01 | Not protected by solids. | Prevent condensation. |
| IP02 | Not protected by solids. | Prevent water spraying less than 15 degrees from the vertical direction. |
| IP03 | Not protected by solids. | Prevent water spraying less than 60 degrees from the vertical direction. |
| IP04 | Not protected by solids. | Prevent water spraying from any direction. |
| IP05 | Not protected by solids. | Prevent low pressure water jet from any direction. |
| IP06 | Not protected by solids. | Prevent low pressure water jet from any direction. |
| IP07 | Not protected by solids. | Prevent immersion depth between 15cm and 1m. |
| IP08 | Not protected by solids. | Prevent long-term immersion in the specified pressure. |
| IP10 | Prevent hand contact exceeding 50mm. | Not protected by liquid. |
| IP11 | Prevent hand contact exceeding 50mm. | Prevent condensation. |
| IP12 | Prevent hand contact exceeding 50mm. | Prevent water spraying less than 15 degrees from the vertical direction. |
| IP13 | Prevent hand contact exceeding 50mm. | Prevent water spraying less than 15 degrees from the vertical direction. |
| IP14 | Prevent hand contact exceeding 50mm. | Prevent water spraying from any direction. |
| IP15 | Prevent hand contact exceeding 50mm. | Prevent low pressure water jet from any direction. |
| IP16 | Prevent hand contact exceeding 50mm. | Prevent high-pressure water jet from any direction. |
| IP17 | Prevent hand contact exceeding 50mm. | Prevent immersion depth between 15cm and 1m. |
| IP18 | Prevent hand contact exceeding 50mm. | Prevent long-term immersion in the specified pressure. |
| IP20 | Keep fingers away from objects larger than 12 mm. | Not protected by liquid. |
| IP21 | Keep fingers away from objects larger than 12 mm. | Prevent condensation. |
| IP22 | Keep fingers away from objects larger than 12 mm. | Prevent water spraying less than 15 degrees from the vertical direction. |
| IP23 | Keep fingers away from objects larger than 12 mm. | Prevent water spraying less than 60 degrees from the vertical direction. |
| IP24 | Keep fingers away from objects larger than 12 mm. | Prevent water spraying from any direction. |
| IP25 | Keep fingers away from objects larger than 12 mm. | Prevent low pressure water jet from any direction. |
| IP26 | Keep fingers away from objects larger than 12 mm. | Prevent high-pressure water jet from any direction. |
| IP27 | Keep fingers away from objects larger than 12 mm. | Prevent immersion depth between 15cm and 1m. |
| IP28 | Keep fingers away from objects larger than 12 mm. | Prevent long-term immersion in the specified pressure. |
| IP30 | Be protected from tools and wires larger than 2.5 mm. | Not protected by liquid. |
| IP31 | Be protected from tools and wires larger than 2.5 mm. | Prevent condensation. |
| IP32 | Be protected from tools and wires larger than 2.5 mm. | Prevent water spraying less than 15 degrees from the vertical direction. |
| IP33 | Be protected from tools and wires larger than 2.5 mm. | Prevent water spraying less than 60 degrees from the vertical direction. |
| IP34 | Be protected from tools and wires larger than 2.5 mm. | Prevent water spraying from any direction. |
| IP35 | Be protected from tools and wires larger than 2.5 mm. | Prevent low pressure water jet from any direction. |
| IP36 | Be protected from tools and wires larger than 2.5 mm. | Prevent high-pressure water jet from any direction. |
| IP37 | Be protected from tools and wires larger than 2.5 mm. | Prevent immersion depth between 15cm and 1m. |
| IP38 | Be protected from tools and wires larger than 2.5 mm. | Prevent long-term immersion in the specified pressure. |
| IP40 | Prevent tools and thin lines larger than 1mm. | Not protected by liquid. |
| IP41 | Prevent tools and thin lines larger than 1mm. | Prevent condensation. |
| IP42 | Prevent tools and thin lines larger than 1mm. | Prevent water spraying less than 15 degrees from the vertical direction. |
| IP43 | Prevent tools and thin lines larger than 1mm. | Prevent water spraying less than 60 degrees from the vertical direction. |
| IP44 | Prevent tools and thin lines larger than 1mm. | Prevent water spraying from any direction. |
| IP45 | Prevent tools and thin lines larger than 1mm. | Prevent low pressure water jet from any direction. |
| IP46 | Prevent tools and thin lines larger than 1mm. | Prevent high-pressure water jet from any direction. |
| IP47 | Prevent tools and thin lines larger than 1mm. | Prevent immersion depth between 15cm and 1m. |
| IP48 | Prevent tools and thin lines larger than 1mm. | Prevent long-term immersion in the specified pressure. |
| IP50 | Prevent limited dust ingress. | Not protected by liquid. |
| IP51 | Prevent limited dust ingress. | Prevent condensation. |
| IP52 | Prevent limited dust ingress. | Prevent water spraying less than 15 degrees from the vertical direction. |
| IP53 | Prevent limited dust ingress. | Prevent water spraying less than 60 degrees from the vertical direction. |
| IP54 | Prevent limited dust ingress. | Prevent water spraying from any direction. |
| IP55 | Prevent limited dust ingress. | Prevent low pressure water jet from any direction. |
| IP56 | Prevent limited dust ingress. | Prevent high-pressure water jet from any direction. |
| IP57 | Prevent limited dust ingress. | Prevent immersion depth between 15cm and 1m. |
| IP58 | Prevent limited dust ingress. | Prevent long-term immersion in the specified pressure. |
| IP60 | Prevent dust from entering. | Not protected by liquid. |
| IP61 | Prevent dust from entering. | Prevent condensation. |
| IP62 | Prevent dust from entering. | Prevent water spraying less than 15 degrees from the vertical direction. |
| IP63 | Prevent dust from entering. | Prevent water spraying less than 60 degrees from the vertical direction. |
| IP64 | Prevent dust from entering. | Prevent water spraying from any direction. |
| IP65 | Prevent dust from entering. | Prevent low pressure water jet from any direction. |
| IP66 | Prevent dust from entering. | Prevent high-pressure water jet from any direction. |
| IP67 | Prevent dust from entering. | Prevent immersion depth between 15cm and 1m. |
| IP68 | Prevent dust from entering. | Prevent long-term immersion in the specified pressure. |
| IP69K | Prevent dust from entering. | Prevent steam jet cleaning. |
Reference resources
1. IEC 60529，“Degrees of protection provided by enclosures (IP code)）”，Ed。2.1（Geneva: International Electrotechnical Commission，2011）
2. IEC 60529(Version 2.1), Clause 4.1
