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Germany (0 91 87) 10-0 - USA (847) 827-7600 - UK (01296) 420336 - www.etacbe.com
Degrees of Environmental Protection for Electrical
Equipment
Terms such as drip-proof, water splash protection, waterproof and
dustproof are all in common usage but may be misleading unless
standard definitions are applied. The IEC has developed a standard
coding system defined in IEC 529.
Protection categories are identified by the prefix letters IP“ followed
by 2 digits, the first of which refers to the level of protection provided
against access by solid foreign objects and to hazardous parts; the
second digit shows the level of protection against water ingress.
Degrees of protection of electrical equipment
according to IEC 529
Example:
Code letters
First characteristic digit
Second characteristic digit
IP 4 4
First characteristic digit: Degree of protection against access
to hazardous parts and against solid foreign objects
Designation
Description
0
Non-protected
No specific protection of persons against accidental
access to live or moving parts. No protection of the
equipment against solid foreign objects.
1
Protected against
solid foreign ob-
jects of
≥
50 mm
Protection against accidental access to live or in-
ternal moving parts, e.g. with the back of a hand, but
no protection against intended access to these parts.
Protection against the ingress of solid foreign objects
of 50 mm dia. and greater.
2
Protected against
medium-sized
foreign objects
≥
12 mm
Protected against
small solid
foreign objects
≥
2.5 mm
Protected against
granular foreign
objects
≥
1 mm
Protection against finger access to live or internal
moving parts.
Protection against the ingress of solid foreign objects
of 12 mm dia. and greater.
3
Protection against access to live or internal moving
parts with a tool, or wires etc. of a thickness of > 2.5 mm.
Protection against the ingress of solid foreign objects
of 2.5 mm dia. and greater.
4
Protection against access of live or internal moving
parts with a tool, or wires etc. of a thickness of > 1mm.
Protection against the ingress of solid foreign objects
of 1 mm dia. and greater.
5
Dust-protected
Protection against access to live or internal moving
parts.
Protection against harmful dust deposits. Ingress of
dust is not totally prevented, but dust shall not
penetrate in a quantity to interfere with satisfactory
operation of the equipment.
6
Dust-proof
Full protection against access to live or internal
moving parts. No ingress of dust.
Second characteristic digit: Degrees of protection against
ingress of water
Designation
Description
0
non-protected
No specific protection
1
Protected against
water drops
falling vertically
Drops falling vertically shall have no harmful effects.
2
Protected against
water drops
falling vertically
when enclosure is
tilted up to 15
°
Protected against
water spray
Drops falling vertically shall have no harmful effects
when the enclosure is tilted at any angle up to 15
°
on either side of the vertical.
3
Water sprayed at an angle up to 60
°
on either side
of the vertical shall have no harmful effects.
4
Protected against
splashing water
Water splashed against the enclosure from any
direction shall have no harmful effects.
5
Protected against
water jets
Water projected in jets against the enclosure from
any direction shall have no harmful effects.
6
Protected against
high-pressure
water jets
Water protected in powerful jets against the
enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful
effects. *)
7
Protected against
the effects of
temporary
immersion in
water
Ingress of water in quantities causing harmful
effects shall not be possible when the enclosure is
is temporarily immersed in water under specified
conditions of pressure and time. *)
8
Protected against
the effects of
continuous
immersion in
water
Ingress of water in quantities causing harmful
effects shall not be possible when the enclosure is
continuously immersed in water under specified
conditions of pressure and time. *)
*) Certain equipment does not allow any ingress of water. If applicable,
this is included in the relevant equipment specification.
An Introduction to E-T-A Circuit Protection
Ambient temperature
°
C
-20
-10
0
+23
+40
+50
+60
Multiplication factor
0.76
0.84
0.92
1.00
1.08
1.16
1.24
To ensure optimum matching of circuit breaker performance to the system
requirements, E-T-A thermal and thermal-magnetic circuit breakers are
not normally compensated for fluctuations in ambient temperature. The
circuit breaker is usually subjected to the same heat source as the system
so will automatically track its protective requirements.
However, some applications require the circuit breaker to operate
continuously in either high or low temperatures. The following table
shows the correction factors that typically should be applied. The
performance of magnetic circuit breakers and type 1410 is not affected
significantly within this temperature range.
Ambient Temperature Influence
Specification Notes
Close Mounting of CBEs
When several devices are mounted together, an air gap between each
is recommended. If this is not possible, each device should carry only
80 % of its rating.
Horizontal installation is preferable.
Plug-in Mounted E-T-A Devices
The continuous rating capability of E-T-A sockets for plug-in circuit
breakers is a function of the total number of circuit breakers fitted and the
individual ratings of each. Please enquire with details of your application.