IEC 60529 – Degrees of protection provided by enclosures (IP Code) describes a system for classifying the degrees of protection provided by the enclosures of electrical equipment. The protection provided by enclosures of electrical equipment as described in this standard are as follows:
1) protection of persons against access to hazardous parts inside the enclosure;
2) protection of the equipment inside the enclosure against ingress of solid foreign objects;
3) protection of the equipment inside the enclosure against harmful effects due to the ingress of water.
IEC 60529 is essentially a classification of an enclosure limiting the entry or access of foreign object into the enclosure during normal operation. This standard does not provide classification on impact protection.
Impact protection for electrical enclosures is provided in IEC 62262 – Degrees of protection provided by enclosures for electrical equipment against external mechanical impacts (IK code).
Why do we need impact protection? The following photo of a switchboard is a good example why we need impact protection of electrical enclosures.
| IK code | Impact Energy, J |
|---|---|
| IK00 | * |
| IK01 | 0.14 |
| IK02 | 0.2 |
| IK03 | 0.35 |
| IK04 | 0.5 |
| IK05 | 0.7 |
| IK06 | 1 |
| IK07 | 2 |
| IK08 | 5 |
| IK09 | 10 |
| IK10 | 20 |
| * Not protected according to this standard. | |
|
Note 1 When higher impact energy is required, the value of 50 J is recommended. Note 2 A characteristic group numeral of two figures has been chosen to avoid confusion with some national standards which used a single numeral for a specific impact energy. |
|
To produce impact severity of 1 J, a 0.25 kg striking element shall be released from a 400 mm height (IEC 60086-2-75).
References:
- IEC 62262
- IEC 60078-2-75