IPklassade

IPklassade refers to the ingress protection rating used to indicate how well an enclosure shields electronic equipment or other devices from intrusion by solid objects and liquids. The common standard is IEC 60529, and IPklassningen is widely used in Swedish and other languages to describe the rating.

The IP code consists of two digits, sometimes with additional letters. The first digit describes protection against solids and ranges from 0 to 6 (0 = none; 1 = protection against objects larger than 50 mm; 2 = 12.5 mm; 3 = 2.5 mm; 4 = 1.0 mm; 5 = dust-protected; 6 = dust-tight). The second digit describes protection against liquids and ranges from 0 to 8, with 7 and 8 covering immersion, and occasional suffixes such as 9K describing high-pressure jets. Values include 1 for vertically falling drops, 4 for splashing water, 5 for water jets, and 7–8 for immersion.

Common examples include IP54 (dust-protected and splashing water), IP67 (dust-tight and temporary immersion), IP68 (dust-tight and continuous immersion, per manufacturer), and IP69K (dust-tight with high-pressure, high-temperature jet cleaning). The rating applies to the enclosure as tested; connectors and mounted components may have separate ratings or be excluded from the enclosure test.

IP ratings are used across industries to convey expected performance in field conditions, but they do not guarantee immunity to all hazards (such as chemical exposure, UV, or physical wear). Real-world performance also depends on the quality of seals, assembly, and actual usage conditions.