BS EN 60529 : 1992 BS 5372 : 1997

BS EN 60529 : 1992 describes a system for classifying degrees of The second numeral designates the degree of protection against the The scope of this standard relates to dimensions which should be
protection provided by enclosures of electrical equipment with a ingress of liquid. observed in the design of cable terminations, having uninsulated
rated voltage not exceeding 1000V ac and 1500V dc. It is intended It is intended to provide an indication of: conductor fittings, for external cables on electrical equipment to enable
to provide an indication of:- the cables to be connected satisfactorily. The standard is based upon the
(A) Protection of persons against access to hazardous parts inside
The markings used to indicate the degree of protection consist of enclosures and protection of the equipment inside the enclosure use of compression type conductor terminations and allows for the cores
the letter IP (Ingress Protection) followed by two characteristic against the ingress of solid foreign objects. to be crossed within the terminal enclosure because this combination
numerals. requires more space.
14 The first characteristic numeral designates the degree of protection
(B) Protection of the equipment inside the enclosure against harmful
ingress of water. The diagram and table below gives the dimensions quoted by this 15
with regards to solid objects. standard.

FIRST NUMBER - PROTECTION AGAINST SOLIDS SECOND NUMBER - PROTECTION AGAINST LIQUIDS
3 Core and 4 Core Terminations
Protection of persons
BS EN 60529 : 1992 - Ingress Protection

BS 5372 : 1997 - Cable Termination Dimensions

Protection against solid against access to Protection against Cable Size Dimension ‘A’
IP Example foreign objects - Tests hazardous parts with: IP Example Liquids - Tests Protection from water
(mm2) (mm2)

0 No protection. non-protected 0 No protection. non-protected 16 100

25 115
Protection against Protection against
Full penetration of 50mm 1 vertically falling drops of vertically falling drops of A 35 130
diameter sphere allowed.
II IIIII
III

water. water.
I

II
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

1 back of hand 50 155

Contact with hazardous
III

III III
III

Protection against vertically 70 180

III

parts not permitted. dripping up to 15° from

2 falling drops of water with 95 200
the vertical
enclosure tilted 15° from the
Full penetration of vertical. 120 210
2 12.5mm diameter sphere finger
not allowed. The jointed 150 230
Protection against sprays to
test finger shall have 3 60° from the vertical - limited spraying 185 255
adequate clearance from limited ingress permitted.
hazardous parts. 240 285
Protection against water 300 325
splashing from all
4 splashed from all directions -
The access probe of directions
limited ingress permitted.
3 2.5mm diameter shall tool
not penetrate. Protected against low pressure Dorman Smith work to these figures as a minimum. The standard does
5 jets of water from all directions
hosing jets from all
not take into account bunching or the difficulties which a contractor may
Termination Capacity
directions
- limited ingress permitted. experience in manoeuvring numerous cables, especially the larger sizes,
The access probe of Rated Circuit Cable Cross Solid or Stranded
4 1.0mm diameter shall wire Protected against strong jets within the confines of a distribution centre enclosure. Current (A) Section (mm2) Conductors
not penetrate. of water, eg. for use on strong hosing jets from To assist the contractor it is our practice to allow for as much space as is
6 Min Max
shipdecks limited ingress all directions practically possible, for the termination of larger conductors.
Limited ingress of dust permitted. The diagram above, serves to illustrate the importance of advising the 25 2.5 6
5 permitted (no harmful wire switchboard manufacturer, at the enquiry stage, of incoming and
Protected against the effects
deposit).
15cm min.
outgoing cable sizes to ensure that adequate provisions for terminating 32 2.5 10
7 of immersion between 15cm temporary immersion
are made.
and 1m.
Information regarding direction of incoming and outgoing cables is also 40 4 16
Totally protected against Protected against long essential to ensure the correct design of switchboard is offered.
6 wire 8 periods of immersion under continuous immersion 63 6 25
ingress of dust. BSEN60439-1:1994 clause 7.1.3.2 states:
pressure. ‘In the absence of a special agreement between manufacturer and 80 10 35
user, terminals shall be capable of accommodating conductors and
cables of copper from the smallest to the largest cross-sectional areas 100 16 50
BS EN 60529 : 1992 corresponding to the appropriate rated current circuit device’.
A summary of the sizes is shown in the table opposite. 125 25 70
For switchboard assemblies intended for indoor use BS EN60439-1 IP00 IP2X IP3X IP4X IP5X
: 1994 states that there is no requirement for protection against 160 35 95
ingress of water (clause 7.2.1.1) and that the IP references Where some degree of protection against ingress of water is required the If terminations are required for cables outside of these limits the
preferred for assemblies designated for indoor use are: following table gives the preferred IP combination numbers:- manufacturer may have to allow special cable termination facilities 200 50 120
within the switchboard. This could preclude the ability to offer a Form 4,
type 2 constructed assembly as this requires the cable to terminate 250 70 150
LIST OF PREFERRED IP REFERENCES integral to the circuit device compartment, but cable termination to type
7 could be offered. 315 95 240
First Characteristic Numeral Second Characteristic Numeral
Protection against contact and protection Protection against harmful ingress of water
against ingress of solid foreign 1 2 3 4 5
2 IP21
3 IP31 IP32
4 IP42 IP43
5 IP53 IP54 IP55
6 IP64 IP65

Supplementary Note: intended level of protection, ie protection against drips of

The specifier should be aware of the testing necessary in order for condensated water.
a manufacturer to claim compliance to an IP rating. BS 5490 however specified the test procedure to the second numeral
For the second numeral ‘ 1’ BS 5420 did not specify any test ‘ 1’ as resembling rainfall at a rate of 3mm to 5mm per minute for 10
procedures. minutes duration. The equivalent of 30-50mm of water. A condition
It accepts that the definition gives sufficient indication of the which an ‘indoor’ assembly is unlikely to encounter in situ.