ingress protection (IP)
Ingress Protection(IP) is a type of protection classification whose protection classes are defined by the International Electrotechnical Commission( IEC) in 60529 and by DIN in DIN 40050. The standards describe the classification of protection by enclosures for electrical equipment. They apply to personal protection and against the ingress of solid and liquid substances.
The IP protection class is classified by code letters and a two- digit number, hence the name IP code. The first IP digit concerns protection against solid substances. Foreign bodies with different grain sizes are distinguished up to dust. The specifications of the second digit provide protection against water dripping onto the connector at different angles, against splashing water, jets of water and against immersion of the connector in a liquid.
The higher the two digits, the better the protection. The first digit for solid foreign objects knows the classifications from 0 to 6, the second from 0 to 9.
The IP protection classes are always indicated with two digits, for example as IP-56, which means dust protection and water jets.
A more advanced concept for protection type classification is the MICE concept, Mechanical, Ingress, Climatic, Electromagnetic. In the USA, there is the NEMA rating of the National Electrical Manufacturer Association (NEMA), which corresponds to the IP protection classification.