IP Rating Explanation, What Does It Mean for A LED Grow Light
Many LED grow light manufacturers claim that their fixtures have an IP rating. IP65 and IP54 are the two most common IP ratings of LED grow lights. However, what is the IP rating? Is it important for a LED grow light?
Well, many growers misunderstand the IP rating as the waterproof protection of LED grow lights. In fact, IP rating refers to the ingress protection rating. It is more than water resistance. Furthermore, IP rating is critical for a LED grow light.
Why?
Just move on. We will explain the importance and definition of IP rating in this post.
Why IP rating is important
Lighting is essential for plant growth. Since natural light is not controllable, and it may be insufficient, growers adopt artificial lights to improve plant growth. The LED grow light is the most popular option in recent years. However, growing space can be dusty and moist, especially the commercial grow rooms. Commercial grow rooms may use spray-on fertilizers, which will cause the working environment of LED grow lights extreme wet. Wet, dust, and dirt can cause serious damage or failure of LED grow lights. They will cause a grow room fire even worse. To ensure the high performance of LED grow lights and the beneficial effects on plants, the LED grow lights should be robust enough to withstand the long term exposure to dust, moisture, etc. This is where IP rating makes sense. Higher IP rating means that LED grow lights are well-protected against premature failure and damage. As a result, plants can enjoy the stable artificial light, and growers can have a higher ROI.
What is IP rating
IP rating means the ingress protection rating. It is an international standard defined by EN 60529. IP rating of a LED grow light indicates the ability of an enclosure to protect the electrical components from the ingress or intrusion by foreign bodies (including solid and liquid), such as dust and water. In simple words, IP rating classifies the sealing effectiveness of a LED grow light.
The IP rating is composed of the letters “IP” followed by two numbers. The higher the number, the better the ingress protection of the LED grow lights. The first number indicates the resistance of an enclosure to solid objects from tools to dust, on a scale of 0 to 6. The second number indicates the protection against liquids, having a range from 0 to 8.
High IP rating can provide better protection for a LED grow light. But we should keep in mind that a LED grow light with lower IP rating doesn’t mean the light is of bad quality. Specific selection of IP rating depends on your growing environment.
Here is a picture shows the constitution of an IP rating.
IP rating explanation chart
A chart that explain the IP rating in more detail is as followed:
|
IP Rating Explanation |
||
|
Number |
Solids Protection Definition |
Water Protection Definition |
|
0 |
No protection |
No protection |
|
1 |
Protection against solid objects larger than 50mm |
Protection against vertical drops of water |
|
2 |
Protection against solid objects larger than 12mm |
Protection against vertical drops of water when the equipment tilted up 15° |
|
3 |
Protection against solid objects larger than 2.5mm |
Protection against vertical sprays of water at an angle up to 60° |
|
4 |
Protection against solid objects larger than 1mm |
Protection against water splashing from any angle |
|
5 |
Protection against most dust particles. Ingress of dust will not interfere with the normal operation |
Protection against water jets from any angle |
|
6 |
Dust-tight, complete protection against dust and solid objects |
Protection against strong water jets from any angle |
|
7 |
- |
Protection against the effects of temporary water immersion at a depth up to 1m for 30 minutes |
|
8 |
- |
Protection against the effects of long period of water immersion |
From the chart, we can find that IP65 is sufficient for most growing environment. Looking for LED grow light with IP rating for your grow rooms?
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