IP ratings are the standard for assessing an electronic’s resistance to external elements and are important to consider when deciding on the right product. They’re used in every consumer electronics like phones, as well as commercial products like LED screen trailers and video walls.
Here is everything you need to know, plus an online IP rating checker tool.
What is an IP rating?
An IP rating (or IP code) is a standard defined by the International Electronic Commission (IEC 60529) which measures the sealing effectiveness of an electronic enclosure.
“IP” stands for “ingress protection”, so the term “IP rating” means “protection from access rating”. It measures how protected electrical components are from access by potentially harmful external elements.
An IP rating is written as “IP” followed by 2 digits, with the first digit indicating the electronic’s protection from solids such as tools & dust, and the second digit indicating the electronic’s protection from liquids such as moisture or rain.
The first digit (protection from solids) is on a scale of 0 to 6, with 0 indicating no protection from solids and 6 indicating total protection from solids.
The second digit (protection from liquids) is on a scale of 0 to 8, with 0 indicating no protection from liquids and 8 indicating the highest level of protection from liquids.
The higher the digits in the IP rating, the better the protection. An IP65 rated product is more protected from solids than one rated at IP55. An IP67 product is more resistant to water than an IP65 product, and so-on.
IP rating values
| IP | FIRST DIGIT – PROTECTION FROM SOLIDS | SECOND DIGIT – PROTECTION FROM LIQUIDS |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | No protection from solids | No protection from liquids |
| 1 | Protection from objects larger than 50mm (1.97 in), such as the back of a hand | Protection from water drops at a 90° angle and moisture |
| 2 | Protection from solid objects larger than 12.5 mm (.49 in), such as touch by fingers | Protection from water drops when the enclosure is tilted up to 15° |
| 3 | Protection from solid objects larger than 2.5 mm (.10 in), such as tools and thick wires | Protection from water drops at an angle up to 60° |
| 4 | Protection from solid objects larger than 1 mm (.04 in), such as wires and small screws | Protection from water splashes at any angle |
| 5 | Some protection from dust | Protection from low-pressure water jets at any angle |
| 6 | Total protection from dust | Protection from high-pressure water jets at any angle |
| 7 | – | Protected from short periods of low-pressure water immersion (up to 1 meter depth for 30 minutes) |
| 8 | – | Protected from continuous immersion in water under conditions specified by the manufacturer (generally up to 3 meters depth) |
| IP | FIRST DIGIT – PROTECTION FROM SOLIDS | SECOND DIGIT – PROTECTION FROM LIQUIDS |
|---|---|---|
| IP00 | No protection from solids | No protection from liquids |
| IP01 | No protection from solids | Protection from water drops at a 90° angle and moisture |
| IP02 | No protection from solids | Protection from water drops when the enclosure is tilted up to 15° |
| IP03 | No protection from solids | Protection from water drops at an angle up to 60° |
| IP04 | No protection from solids | Protection from water splashes at any angle |
| IP05 | No protection from solids | Protected from short periods of low-pressure water immersion (up to 1 meter of depth for 30 minutes) |
| IP06 | No protection from solids | Protection from high-pressure water jets at any angle |
| IP07 | No protection from solids | Protected from short periods of low-pressure water immersion (up to 1 meter depth for 30 minutes) |
| IP08 | No protection from solids | Protected from continuous immersion in water under conditions specified by the manufacturer (generally up to 3 meters depth) |
| IP10 | Protection from objects larger than 50mm (1.97 in), such as the back of a hand | No protection from liquids |
| IP11 | Protection from objects larger than 50mm (1.97 in), such as the back of a hand | Protection from water drops at a 90° angle and moisture |
| IP12 | Protection from objects larger than 50mm (1.97 in), such as the back of a hand | Protection from water drops when the enclosure is tilted up to 15° |
| IP13 | Protection from objects larger than 50mm (1.97 in), such as the back of a hand | Protection from water drops at an angle up to 60° |
| IP14 | Protection from objects larger than 50mm (1.97 in), such as the back of a hand | Protection from water splashes at any angle |
| IP15 | Protection from objects larger than 50mm (1.97 in), such as the back of a hand | Protection from low-pressure water jets at any angle |
| IP16 | Protection from objects larger than 50mm (1.97 in), such as the back of a hand | Protection from high-pressure water jets at any angle |
| IP17 | Protection from objects larger than 50mm (1.97 in), such as the back of a hand | Protected from short periods of low-pressure water immersion (up to 1 meter depth for 30 minutes) |
| IP18 | Protection from objects larger than 50mm (1.97 in), such as the back of a hand | Protected from continuous immersion in water under conditions specified by the manufacturer (generally up to 3 meters depth) |
| IP20 | Protection from solid objects larger than 12.5 mm (.49 in), such as touch by fingers | No protection from liquids |
| IP21 | Protection from solid objects larger than 12.5 mm (.49 in), such as touch by fingers | Protection from water drops at a 90° angle and moisture |
| IP22 | Protection from solid objects larger than 12.5 mm (.49 in), such as touch by fingers | Protection from water drops when the enclosure is tilted up to 15° |
| IP23 | Protection from solid objects larger than 12.5 mm (.49 in), such as touch by fingers | Protection from water drops at an angle up to 60° |
| IP24 | Protection from solid objects larger than 12.5 mm (.49 in), such as touch by fingers | Protection from water splashes at any angle |
| IP25 | Protection from solid objects larger than 12.5 mm (.49 in), such as touch by fingers | Protection from low-pressure water jets at any angle |
| IP26 | Protection from solid objects larger than 12.5 mm (.49 in), such as touch by fingers | Protection from high-pressure water jets at any angle |
| IP27 | Protection from solid objects larger than 12.5 mm (.49 in), such as touch by fingers | Protected from short periods of low-pressure water immersion (up to 1 meter depth for 30 minutes) |
| IP28 | Protection from solid objects larger than 12.5 mm (.49 in), such as touch by fingers | Protected from continuous immersion in water under conditions specified by the manufacturer (generally up to 3 meters depth) |
| IP30 | Protection from solid objects larger than 2.5 mm (.10 in), such as tools and thick wires | No protection from liquids |
| IP31 | Protection from solid objects larger than 2.5 mm (.10 in), such as tools and thick wires | Protection from water drops at a 90° angle and moisture |
| IP32 | Protection from solid objects larger than 2.5 mm (.10 in), such as tools and thick wires | Protection from water drops when the enclosure is tilted up to 15° |
| IP33 | Protection from solid objects larger than 2.5 mm (.10 in), such as tools and thick wires | Protection from water drops at an angle up to 60° |
| IP34 | Protection from solid objects larger than 2.5 mm (.10 in), such as tools and thick wires | Protection from water splashes at any angle |
| IP35 | Protection from solid objects larger than 2.5 mm (.10 in), such as tools and thick wires | Protection from low-pressure water jets at any angle |
| IP36 | Protection from solid objects larger than 2.5 mm (.10 in), such as tools and thick wires | Protection from high-pressure water jets at any angle |
| IP37 | Protection from solid objects larger than 2.5 mm (.10 in), such as tools and thick wires | Protected from short periods of low-pressure water immersion (up to 1 meter depth for 30 minutes) |
| IP38 | Protection from solid objects larger than 2.5 mm (.10 in), such as tools and thick wires | Protected from continuous immersion in water under conditions specified by the manufacturer (generally up to 3 meters depth) |
| IP40 | Protection from solid objects larger than 1 mm (.04 in), such as wires and small screws | No protection from liquids |
| IP41 | Protection from solid objects larger than 1 mm (.04 in), such as wires and small screws | Protection from water drops at a 90° angle and moisture |
| IP42 | Protection from solid objects larger than 1 mm (.04 in), such as wires and small screws | Protection from water drops when the enclosure is tilted up to 15° |
| IP43 | Protection from solid objects larger than 1 mm (.04 in), such as wires and small screws | Protection from water drops at an angle up to 60° |
| IP44 | Protection from solid objects larger than 1 mm (.04 in), such as wires and small screws | Protection from water splashes at any angle |
| IP45 | Protection from solid objects larger than 1 mm (.04 in), such as wires and small screws | Protection from low-pressure water jets at any angle |
| IP46 | Protection from solid objects larger than 1 mm (.04 in), such as wires and small screws | Protection from high-pressure water jets at any angle |
| IP47 | Protection from solid objects larger than 1 mm (.04 in), such as wires and small screws | Protected from short periods of low-pressure water immersion (up to 1 meter depth for 30 minutes) |
| IP48 | Protection from solid objects larger than 1 mm (.04 in), such as wires and small screws | Protected from continuous immersion in water under conditions specified by the manufacturer (generally up to 3 meters depth) |
| IP50 | Some protection from dust | No protection from liquids |
| IP51 | Some protection from dust | Protection from water drops at a 90° angle and moisture |
| IP52 | Some protection from dust | Protection from water drops when the enclosure is tilted up to 15° |
| IP53 | Some protection from dust | Protection from water drops at an angle up to 60° |
| IP54 | Some protection from dust | Protection from water splashes at any angle |
| IP55 | Some protection from dust | Protection from low-pressure water jets at any angle |
| IP56 | Some protection from dust | Protection from high-pressure water jets at any angle |
| IP57 | Some protection from dust | Protected from short periods of low-pressure water immersion (up to 1 meter depth for 30 minutes) |
| IP58 | Some protection from dust | Protected from continuous immersion in water under conditions specified by the manufacturer (generally up to 3 meters depth) |
| IP60 | Total protection from dust | No protection from liquids |
| IP61 | Total protection from dust | Protection from water drops at a 90° angle and moisture |
| IP62 | Total protection from dust | Protection from water drops when the enclosure is tilted up to 15° |
| IP63 | Total protection from dust | Protection from water drops at an angle up to 60° |
| IP64 | Total protection from dust | Protection from water splashes at any angle |
| IP65 | Total protection from dust | Protection from low-pressure water jets at any angle |
| IP66 | Total protection from dust | Protection from high-pressure water jets at any angle |
| IP67 | Total protection from dust | Protected from short periods of low-pressure water immersion (up to 1 meter depth for 30 minutes) |
| IP68 | Total protection from dust | Protected from continuous immersion in water under conditions specified by the manufacturer (generally up to 3 meters depth) |
What does IPX mean?
The letter X in an IP rating simply indicates that no testing has been conducted for its respective placement.
For example, a product with an IPX6 rating would indicate an unspecified protection from solids and protection from high pressure water jets.
An IPX7 rating indicates unspecified protection from solids and protection from short periods of low-pressure water immersion, up to 1 meter for 30 minutes.
An IP5X rating indicates some protection from dust and an unspecified level of protection from liquids.
An IP 6X rating indicates total protection from dust and an unspecified level of protection from liquids.
And so-on.
IPX rating reference chart
| IP | FIRST DIGIT – PROTECTION FROM SOLIDS | SECOND DIGIT – PROTECTION FROM LIQUIDS |
|---|---|---|
| IPXX | Protection from solids unspecified | Protection from liquids unspecified |
| IPX0 | Protection from solids unspecified | No protection from liquids |
| IPX1 | Protection from solids unspecified | Protection from water drops at a 90° angle and moisture |
| IPX2 | Protection from solids unspecified | Protection from water drops when the enclosure is tilted up to 15° |
| IPX3 | Protection from solids unspecified | Protection from water drops at an angle up to 60° |
| IPX4 | Protection from solids unspecified | Protection from water splashes at any angle |
| IPX5 | Protection from solids unspecified | Protected from short periods of low-pressure water immersion (up to 1 meter of depth for 30 minutes) |
| IPX6 | Protection from solids unspecified | Protection from high-pressure water jets at any angle |
| IPX7 | Protection from solids unspecified | Protected from short periods of low-pressure water immersion (up to 1 meter depth for 30 minutes) |
| IPX8 | Protection from solids unspecified | Protected from continuous immersion in water under conditions specified by the manufacturer (generally up to 3 meters depth) |
| IP0X | No protection from solids | Protection from liquids unspecified |
| IP1X | Protection from objects larger than 50mm (1.97 in), such as the back of a hand | Protection from liquids unspecified |
| IP2X | Protection from solid objects larger than 12.5 mm (.49 in), such as touch by fingers | Protection from liquids unspecified |
| IP3X | Protection from solid objects larger than 2.5 mm (.10 in), such as tools and thick wires | Protection from liquids unspecified |
| IP4X | Protection from solid objects larger than 1 mm (.04 in), such as wires and small screws | Protection from liquids unspecified |
| IP5X | Some protection from dust | Protection from liquids unspecified |
| IP6X | Total protection from dust | Protection from liquids unspecified |
IP ratings & LED displays
IP ratings are the standard measurement for assessing the durability and longevity of LED video wall displays.
Outdoor LED screens can be found with IP ratings ranging between IP54 and IP68. While IP54 is considered acceptable for outdoor use, we suggest IP65 or higher. This will ensure successful long-term exposure to nature’s elements. In addition, front and rear service panels require a minimum IP code of IP65.
At Insane Impact, we offer IP65 on all outdoor LED screen rental products to withstand heavy rain during events and other temporary applications. Our installation solutions are offered in IP65 and IP67 for sustained exposure to the harshest weather environments.
The bottom line
The IP rating standards, established by the IEC, are important for assessing electronics’ resistance to solids and liquids.
The higher the number, the more resistant the product is to solids and liquids. For LED displays, you want IP65-IP68.
If you are looking for an LED video wall, Insane Impact has the right product guaranteed to withstand adverse conditions for long periods of time, backed by our industry leading warranty. Contact us today for more information.
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