What does IP20 mean? Actually, what does any IP mean?
Posted by Marshall Wolf on Dec 12th 2023
We’re going to make IP Ratings simple!
IP stands for "ingress protection". The numbers then describe your protection against solids and liquids.
The first number is the protection rating against solid objects and the second number is the protection against liquids.
For example, using the listing below, IP20 means you are protected again solid objects up to 12mm (2) but there is no protection against liquids (0)
Here is what each number means:
IP First number – Protection against solid objects
- 0 – No special protection
- 1 – Protected against solid objects up to 50 mm, e.g. accidental touch by persons hands.
- 2 – Protected against solid objects up to 12 mm, e.g. persons fingers.
- 3 – Protected against solid objects over 2.5 mm (tools and wires).
- 4 – Protected against solid objects over 1 mm (tools, wires, and small wires).
- 5 – Protected against dust limited ingress (no harmful deposit).
- 6 – Totally protected against dust.
IP Second number – Protection against liquids
- 0 – No protection.
- 1 – Protection against vertically falling drops of water e.g. condensation.
- 2 – Protection against direct sprays of water up to 15o from the vertical.
- 3 – Protected against direct sprays of water up to 60o from the vertical.
- 4 – Protection against water sprayed from all directions – limited ingress permitted.
- 5 – Protected against low pressure jets of water from all directions – limited ingress.
- 6 – Protected against temporary flooding of water, e.g. for use on ship decks – limited ingress permitted.
- 69K – Protected against ingress of high temperature (steam)/high pressure water.
- 7 – Protected against the effect of immersion between 15 cm and 1 m.
- 8 – Protects against long periods of immersion under pressure.
Marshall Wolf Automation offers a complete range of industrial automation products to meet any IP rating your application requires!