What is IP and IK degree of protection of LED Lighting ?
IP Degree of protection
IP means “Ingress Protection”. They are regulated by the IEC, in whose regulations (IEC 60529) the requirements for the classification of the different degrees of protection of the enclosures of electrical and electronic equipment against external elements are established. In this case, the degree of protection IP, indicates the resistance of the material to solid agents and water.
The degree of protection IP always consists of two numbers. The first one is indicative of the entrance of external solid agents, while the second one indicates the resistance to water. Therefore, the lowest degree of protection that we can find will be IP00 and the maximum IP68.
In the following table, we can find a summary of what was explained above.
| LEVEL | First digit (Entrance of solid agents) | Second digit (Entrance of water) |
| 0 | No protection | No protection |
| 1 | Protected against the entrance of solid elements of up to 50mm. | No water should enter when it falls from 200mm in height from the equipment, for 10 minutes (at a rate of 3-5mm³ per minute) |
| 2 | Protected against the entrance of solid elements of up to 12,5mm. | No water should enter when it falls, for 10 minutes (at a rate of 3-5mm³ per minute). Said test will be carried out 4 times at a rate of one for each 15º turn both vertically and horizontally, starting from the normal working position each time. |
| 3 | Protected against the entrance of solid elements of up to 2,5mm. | Nebulized water must not enter at an angle of up to 60º to the right and left of the vertical at an average of 11 liters per minute and at a pressure of 800-100 kN / m² for a time not less than 5 minutes. |
| 4 | Protected against the entrance of solid elements of up to 1mm. | No water should enter, thrown from any angle at an average of 10 liters per minute and at a pressure of 800-100 kN / m² for a time not less than 5 minutes. |
| 5 | Protected against the entrance of dust (the amount that enters does not interfere with the operation of the device). | Jetted water (from any angle) must not enter by means of a 6.3 mm diameter nozzle, at an average of 12.5 liters per minute and at a pressure of 30 kN / m² for a time not less than 3 minutes and at a distance not less than 3 meters. |
| 6 | Completely protected against the entrance of dust. | Jetted water (from any angle) must not enter by means of a nozzle of 12.5 mm in diameter, an average of 100 liters per minute and a pressure 100 kN / m² for a time not less than 3 minutes and at a distance that is not less than 3 meters. |
| 7 | The equipment must withstand without any filtration the complete immersion at 1 meter for 30 minutes. | |
| 8 | The equipment must withstand without any filtration the complete and continuous immersion to the depth and during the time specified by the manufacturer of the product with the agreement of the client, but whenever conditions are more severe than those specified for the value 7. |
IK Degree of protection
Just like IP protection, this code is governed by an international standard (IEC 62262), so that you can make comparisons between different products. In this case, this grade indicates the mechanical resistance to harmful impacts and that may damage the product. The IK grade varies from 0 (minimum resistance) to 10 (maximum resistance). In the following table, we can see in more detail the different IK degree values and the energy that the product is capable of supporting.
| IK Grade | IK00 | IK01 | IK02 | IK03 | IK04 | IK05 | IK06 | IK07 | IK08 | IK09 | IK10 |
| Impact height (cm) | - | 7.5 | 10 | 17.5 | 25 | 35 | 20 | 40 | 29.5 | 20 | 40 |
| Weight (gr) | - | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 500 | 500 | 1700 | 5000 | 5000 |
| Energy (J) | - | 0.15 | 0.2 | 0.35 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 20 |
WSL Lighting LED street lights are at least IP66 and IK08 degree of protection, some models even reach IK10 degree of protection, please contact us to get more information !
