IP65, IP66, and IP67 rated enclosures

It is often confusing for an engineer to know what type of rating they need to look for when they desire to have a “waterproof” enclosure.  Much like with watches or other sensitive information, there is a big difference between waterproof, water resistant, and other descriptive but not specific labels.  To help out, there are several rating systems that have been developed although and several testing agencies that verify the results. Among these, the two best known are NEMA and IP. This blog will deal only with the IP system.

For enclosures, the typical “waterproof” IP ratings are IP67, IP66 and IP65 enclosures.  The chart below gives the specifics of what these ratings mean and how they are measured.

IP ratings, or ingress protection, were developed by the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) and are most heavily used in Europe and Asia, with some adherents in North America as well.  Since these are international standards, the testing is often certified by the TUV instead of UL, although both provide stringent testing.  One area to note is that while these are developed to deal with harsh environments, they do not address UV protection standards (outdoor) and the engineer should look for or ask about the ability of the enclosure to include UV protection materials.