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Ingress Protection Ratings
Commonly referred to as the IP rating the ingress protection number is defined in various national and international standards:
| BS 5490:1977 | IEC 529:1976 | Classification of degrees of Protection Provided by Enclosures |
| BS 5420:1977 | IEC 144:1963 | Specification for degrees of Protection of Enclosures of Switch gear and Control Gear for Voltages up to and Including 1000Vac and 1200Vdc |
The IP number consists of two or three digits as described below and indicated the degree of protection provided against solid and particulate materials and liquids. The third digit if specified describes the degree of protection against impacts from solid objects. The British standards do not specify the impact digit.
| 1st Digit | Protection against Solid Objects | |
| 0 | No Protection | |
| 1 | Protected against solid objects up to 50mm | Accidental touch by hand |
| 2 | Protected against solid objects up to 12mm | Fingers |
| 3 | Protected against solid objects over 2.5mm | Tools and wires |
| 4 | Protected against solid objects over 1.0mm | Tools and small wires |
| 5 | Protected against dust Limited ingress permitted with no harmful deposit |
|
| 6 | Totally sealed against dust | |
| 2nd Digit | Protection against Liquids | |
| 0 | No Protection | |
| 1 | Protected against vertically falling water drops | Condensation |
| 2 | Protected against direct water spray up to 15o from vertical | Rain |
| 3 | Protected against direct water spray up to 60o from vertical | Driving rain |
| 4 | Protected against water sprayed from all directions. Limited ingress permitted |
|
| 5 | Protected against low pressure water jets from all directions. Limited ingress permitted |
|
| 6 | Protected against strong water jets from all directions. Limited ingress permitted |
For use on ship decks |
| 7 | Protected against immersion between 0.15m and 1m | |
| 8 | Protected against long periods of immersion under pressure | |
| 3rd Digit | Protection against Mechanical Impacts | |
| 0 | No Protection | |
| 1 | Protected against impact of 0.225J | 0.15 kg weight dropped from 0.15m |
| 2 | Protected against impact of 0.375J | 0.25 kg weight dropped from 0.15m |
| 3 | Protected against impact of 0.5J | 0.25 kg weight dropped from 0.2m |
| 4 | Protected against impact of 2.0J | 0.5 kg weight dropped from 0.4m |
| 5 | Protected against impact of 6.0J | 1.5 kg weight dropped from 0.4m |
| 6 | Protected against impact of 20.0J | 5.0 kg weight dropped from 0.4m |