What do the IP protection classes mean?
Meaning of IP protection classes:
IP protection classes define how well a particular component is protected against external ingress of water or foreign particles, such as dust. The abbreviation IP comes from English and means "International Protection"; the term "Ingress Protection" is also frequently used. In general, this refers to protection against ingress. To define the protection class of a product, this product is tested after the development process and a corresponding protection class is assigned. An example of this is a sightglass luminaire. If water penetrates the luminaire housing, a dangerous overvoltage can occur. Such a failure can lead to a short circuit or even more far-reaching hazards such as fire. Therefore, such special electronic components should have the highest possible IP protection class.
Listing of IP protection classes:
There are many different protection classes, each of which is composed of two code numbers. The combination of these two code numbers results in the respective protection class, e.g. for sightglass luminaires. The first code number is selected in the range from 0 to 6, the second code number can be between 0 and 9. The first code number focuses on protection against foreign particles and contact. The second code number indicates how well e.g. sightglass luminaires are protected against the ingress of water.
1. Key number Protection against foreign particles and contact |
2. Key number | ||
0 | unprotected | 0 | unprotected |
1 | protected against solid foreign particles | 1 | protected against dripping water |
2 | protected against solid foreign particles | 2 | protected against falling dripping water |
3 | protected against solid foreign particles | 3 | protected against falling spray water |
4 | protected against solid foreign particles | 4 | protected against splash water (all sides) |
5 | protected against dust | 5 | protected against jet water |
6 | tight against dust | 6 | protected against heavy sea |
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| 7 | protected against temporary immersion |
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| 8 | protected against permanent submersion |
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| 9 | Protection against water during high pressure steam jet |
