Manufacturing Blog

IP ratings define an electrical enclosure’s level of protection against ingress of water and solid objects based on the enclosure’s ability to pass performance criteria outlined by the international standard IEC 60529. The rating consists of the letters IP followed by two digits, e.g. IP54. The first digit indicates the level of protection against solid objects. The second digit indicates the level of protection against liquids. To help you understand what kind of protection each IP rating offers, we’ve created this guide for your reference.

There are two types of enclosure rating systems. One is the National Electronic Manufacturers Association (NEMA) rating system, which is primarily used in the U.S. and Canada. The other is Ingress Protection or International Protection (IP) rating system. Both of the standards establish specifications about the performance criteria for different enclosures. To help you determine which type of enclosure is right for you, we’ve put together a list of NEMA enclosure types, IP Equivalency Ratings and definitions to help you compare your options.