About NEMA and IP Standards

There are two major electrical manufacturing organizations monitoring product enclosures and/or their degree of protection; each organization also publishes technical manufacturing standards. The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) Standard No. 250 – 2003 addresses non-hazardous locations, enclosure design and its environmental performance requirements. These are referred to as NEMA Types. (www.nema.org)

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 60529 Standard addresses Ingress Protection (IP); this describes the degree of enclosure protection provided, not the enclosure itself. The first digit of the IP Code designation describes the degree of protection against the ingress of solids; the second digit designates the degree of protection against the ingress of liquids. IP Codes support NEMA Type designations. (www.iec.ch)

Digital Systems Engineering designs sunlight readable sealed monitors to exceed Standard Sections NEMA 6 and IP67; these units incorporate a range of environmentally-sealed connectors and enclosures engineered to provide a safe and secure dust and waterproof environment in harsh rugged conditions, meeting NEMA 6 and IP67 summarized as: protection against objects (dust-tight) and ingress penetration against liquids at occasional temporary submersion, from depths of 15 cm (6 in) to 1 m (3 ft).

The following link provided to the left, is from both electrical industry Standards; it matches NEMA Ratings with its IP counterpart, with a brief description of each rating.