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To maintain safety and performance under arduous operating conditions
and to reduce maintenance, products are designed to minimise the
ingress of dust and water. The test equipment is designed to assess
the degree of protection (IP rating) in accordance with IEC 598
(BS4533) and IEC 529 (BS 5490).
Dust ingress is evaluated by installing the product in a sealed
chamber in which talcum powder of a specified particle size is maintained
in suspension. The equipment constructed has a chamber measuring
1.2m2 to house the product on test, and uses a ducted blower to
maintain dust atmosphere. A vacuum pump monitoring apparatus produces
a controlled reduction of the internal pressure of the unit on test
so that a wide range of products besides luminaires can be evaluated.
Explanation of IP numbers for degrees of protection
The designation to indicate the degrees of protection consists
of the characteristic letters IP followed by two numerals (the "characteristic
numerals") indicating conformity with the conditions stated.
The first numeral indicates the degree of protection against the
ingress of solids, and the second numeral indicates the degree of
protection against the ingress of water.
| FCN* |
Objects 'excluded'
from the enclosure |
| IP
0 - |
No
special protection. |
| IP 1 - |
Protection against
solid objects of = 50mm Ø |
| IP
2 - |
Protection
against solid objects of = 12.5mm Ø |
| IP
3 - |
Protection
against solid objects of = 2.5mm Ø |
| IP
4 - |
Protection
against solid objects of = 1mm Ø |
| IP
5 - |
Protected
against harmful dust ingress (dust protected) |
| IP
6 - |
Totally
protected against any entry of dust (dust tight) |
* first characteristic numeral (FCN)
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