What is the IP Code and what do I need it for?
Water and dust resistance is a very important feature of electronic devices, especially those that work outdoors in changing weather conditions. We all want our devices to be operational for as long as possible, choosing devices with the right waterproof rating will help us enjoy our installation long after the warranty period and ensure safe use troughout the device lifespan.
The IP code or ingress protection code indicates how well a device is protected against water and dust. It is defined by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) under the international standard IEC 60529 which classifies and provides a guideline to the degree of protection provided by mechanical casings and electrical enclosures against intrusion, dust, accidental contact, and water. It is published in the European Union by the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) as EN 60529.
The meaning of the digits in the IP code.
Now that we know what the IP rating is, let’s learn the meaning of the various characteristic digits in the code.
| First Digit | Protection against |
| 0 | No protection against contact and ingress of objects |
| 1 | Any large surface of the body, such as the back of a hand, but no protection against deliberate contact with a body part |
| 2 | Fingers or similar objects |
| 3 | Tools, thick wires, etc. |
| 4 | Most wires, slender screws, large ants etc. |
| 5 | Ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the safe operation of the equipment. |
| 6 | No ingress of dust; complete protection against contact (dust-tight). A vacuum must be applied. Test duration of up to 8 hours based on airflow. |
| Second Digit | Protection against |
| 0 | No protection |
| 1 | Dripping water (vertically falling drops) shall have no unsafe effect on the specimen when mounted in an upright position onto a turntable and rotated at 1 RPM. |
| 2 | Vertically dripping water shall have no harmful effect when the enclosure is tilted at an angle of 15° from its normal position. |
| 3 | Water falling as a spray at any angle up to 60° from the vertical shall have no harmful effect. |
| 4 | Water splashing against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effect. |
| 5 | Water projected by a nozzle (12,5l/min) against enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effects. |
| 6 | Water projected by a nozzle (100l/min) against enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effects. |
| 7 | Immersing in water with the lowest point of the enclosure 1 m (39 in) below the surface of the water, or the highest point 15 cm (5.9 in) below the surface, whichever is deeper, for 30 minutes shall have no harmfull effects. |
| 8 | Continous immersion in water shall have no harmfull effects. The test depth and duration is expected to be greater than the requirements for IPx7. |
| 9 | Protected against close-range high pressure, high-temperature spray downs. |
In practice.
What does all this mean in practice? Let’s take the Bft Q.BO Pad code keypad for an example, as we can see in the “Technical Specifications” tab the protection class of this device is IP45. Which means that its housing is not dustproof and that dousing it with a strong stream of water is not the best idea. However, the tightness of the Q.BO’s housing, will withstand heavy rain and will not allow solid objects to easily get inside the device. For most household applications, devices with IP44 protection rating will easily suffice. Devices with a higher degree of protection will be useful in places where our equipment will be exposed to more extreme conditions.
