IP and IK protection degrees: What are they and how are they used?
Here we give you all the necessary information so that you are aware of what the IP and IK protection degrees represent.
1 IP protection class
Its acronym in English means Ingress Protection. They are regulated by the IEC, whose regulations (IEC 60529) establish the requirements for the classification of different degrees of protection of the enclosures of electrical and electronic equipment against external elements. In this case, the IP protection degree indicates the resistance of the material to solid agents and water. The IP protection degree is always made up of two numbers. The first of them is indicative of the entry of external solid agents, while the second indicates the resistance to water. Therefore, the lowest degree of protection that we can find will be IP00 and maximum IP68. In the following table, we can find a summary of what was explained above.
As a summary, we can say that products that have a degree of protection IP20, P25 or IP33 They are products whose installation must be done indoors. On the contrary, products with protection IP44, IP54 or IP65 They are products made for outdoor installation. Products with IP68 protection are submersible without any operating problems.
2 IK protection grade
Like the IP code, this code is governed by an international standard (IEC 62262), so that comparisons can be made between different products. In this case, this degree indicates the mechanical resistance to harmful impacts that may damage the product. The IK grade varies from 0 (minimum resistance) to 10 (maximum resistance). In the following table, we can see in more detail the different IK grade values and the energy that the product is capable of withstanding.
