Ingress Protection ("IP")

The term Ingress Protection or IP rating is an international numeric classification and standard (IEC 60529) to describe the effectiveness of protection or sealing of an enclosure from the ingress of solids or liquids.

An IP rating is generally expressed as a two digit number with the prefix IP, where the first digit (1 to 6) represents the ingress of a solid, and the second digit (1 to 9) represents the ingress of a liquid.

• the ingress rating for solids generally relates to the physical size of the solid; where
• the ingress rating of a liquid relates to the force or level of immersion in which the enclosure is exposed to the liquid.