Ingress Protection
Enclosure are rated according to the protection they provide against the ingress of solid particulate matter or liquids under different conditions
The ingress protection is denoted by the letters ‘IP’ followed by two digits. The first number following the letters IP refers to solid material protection and the second number liquid protection
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1st Digit
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Solids
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2nd Digit
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Liquids
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1
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> 50mm
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1
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Vertical drops
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2
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> 12.5mm
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2
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Vertical drops ±15°
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3
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> 2.5mm
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3
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Rain vertical ±60°
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4
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> 1mm
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4
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Water from all directions
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5
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Dust Protected
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5
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Hosing from all directions
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6
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Dust Tight
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6
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Swamping from all directions
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|
|
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7
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Immersion
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e.g. IP22 is a basic ventilated enclosure with slits punched such that water falling at an angle of up to 15° from the vertical will not enter the slit, and the slit aperture will prevent materials greater than Ø12.5mm entering (i.e. fingers)
IP55 will be a sealed enclosure preventing water and dust from entering from any direction
Transformer Heating
Transformers enclosed in IP22 boxes being ventilated are subject to the normal design for temperature rise associated with the external ambient temperature. However once transformers are enclosed into boxes with limited ventilation they suffer from the effects of the air temperature inside the enclosure rising significantly above the external ambient. For this reason such transformers have to be designed for a lower temperature rise than is normally associated with their Insulation Class rating.
When requesting a quote for an open style transformer that you will install in a high IP rated enclosure you will have to inform us of the enclosure size.
Generally enclosures with high IP ratings have to be significantly larger than the IP22 type used to house a transformer of a specific power rating. This is to create a large enough surface area to dissipate the heat generated internally
