Understanding IP Ratings
The Ingress Protection (IP) rating scheme is an internationally-recognised system of defining the degree of protection against the entry of solid and liquid objects.
It is a very simple system using two numbers to symbolise increasingly greater sealing from solid objects and from water.
For example, a product rated as being sealed to IP 44 will provide some degree of protection from penetration by dust and a splash of water, but it would not be expected to completely seal against all dust or being immersed in water.
| 1st IP # | Protection against objects | 2nd IP # | Protection against liquid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | No protection provided | 0 | No protection provided |
| 1 | Protected against solid objects of 50mm | 1 | Protected against vertically falling water drops |
| 2 | Protected against solid objects of 12.5mm | 2 | Protected against vertically falling water drops when enclosure tilted up 15° from its normal position |
| 3 | Protected against solid objects of 2.5mm | 3 | Protected against spraying water |
| 4 | Protected against solid objects of 1.0mm | 4 | Protected against splashing water |
| 5 | Protected against entry of dust in sufficient quantity to prevent satisfactory operation | 5 | Protected against water jets |
| 6 | Complete protection against dust (Dust tight) | 6 | Protected against powerful water jets from any direction |
| 7 | Protected against the effects of total water immersion up to 1M | ||
| 8 | Protected against the effects of total water immersion beyond 1M |
