IEC Enclosure Standards
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has established enclosure standards for protection from environmental contamination as show below. These standards are used widely in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia.
IEC Definitions
The IEC, standard 60529, has defined Ingress Protection as a two digit code. The first digit describes the degree of protection against access to hazardous parts and ingress of solid objects. The second digit designates the Ingress Protection against water. Please refer to the appropriate sections of IEC 60529 for complete information regarding applications, features, and design tests.
Therefore an IP 65 rating means that the unit is: Protected against access with a wire (1.0 mm), is Dust tight and can handle Jetting water - any direction.
Protection Against Access to Hazardous Parts (First Digit)
| Number | Description |
|---|---|
| 0 | No special protection |
| 1 | Protected against access with back of hand (50 mm) |
| 2 | Protected against access with jointed finger (12 mm × 80 mm |
| 3 | Protected against access with a tool (2.5 mm) |
| 4, 5, 6 | Protected against access with a wire (1.0 mm) |
Protection Against Ingress of Solid Foreign Objects (First Digit)
| Number | Description |
|---|---|
| 0 | No special protection |
| 1 | Protected against solid objects greater than of 50 mm Ø |
| 2 | Protected against solid objects greater than of 12 mm Ø |
| 3 | Protected against solid objects greater than of 2.5 mm Ø |
| 4 | Protected against solid objects greater than of 1 mm Ø |
| 5 | Dust protected |
| 6 | Dust-tight |
Protection Against Ingress of Liquids (Second Digit)
| Number | Description |
|---|---|
| 0 | No special protection |
| 1 | Protected against vertical falling water drops |
| 2 | Protected against vertical falling water drops when enclosure is tilted at 15° |
| 3 | Protected against sprayed water |
| 4 | Protected against splashing water |
| 5 | Protected against water jets |
| 6 | Protected against heavy seas |
| 7 | Protected from the effects of temporary immersion |
| 8 | Protected from the effects of continuous immersion |
