What are IP ratings?

Planning LED lighting into your bathroom can feel a bit daunting. We’ve always been told that electricity and water do not mix and so it can seem like a difficult task to undertake, but with IP rated LED products that’s not the case!

A vast majority of TLW’s LED products are IP rated, meaning that they are perfectly suited for use within the bathroom and in other areas of your home that may come into contact with water.

IP ratings are easy to understand and are crucial to help you safely install LED lighting into your home.

You can also watch our IP Ratings and Zones video below.

What does IP stand for?

This stands for ingress protection.

What does IP rating mean?

This simply indicates an LED product’s protection against the ingress of solids and liquids.

How do you understand an IP rating?

IP ratings will always contain two digits. These numbers have specific meanings: the first indicates the degree of protection from moving parts, as well as the protection of enclosed equipment from foreign bodies. The second defines the protection level that the product has from various forms of moisture, for example drips, sprays or submersion.

For example, if a product is IP44 rated this indicates that it is protected against solid objects greater than 1mm and water sprayed from all directions.

If a product is IP65 rated this indicates that it is protected against dust of all sizes and jets of water.

What are IP zones?

When it comes to selecting LED lighting for a bathroom it is important to also understand the IP zones and what each of these indicators in order for the lighting to operate safely. Every bathroom has certain areas that are more at risk of being exposed to water than others. When installing bathroom lighting it is vital that you consult an IP zone map as shown below to identify the level of protection you require in each area.

 

What does SELV stand for?

Separate extra low voltage.

At TLW we offer many IP rated products that are suitable for use in these zones. This information will always be detailed under each product on our website or in our brochure.

View our range of IP rated lighting or bathroom LED lighting. We also have a range of IP rated LED tapes.

For more information please contact the TLW team on 01302 238129, visit our VEWtube channel for informative videos, or email us here.

What are the differences between IP rated and standard LED tape? Read our blog to find out.

Download the PDF guide to IP ratings and IP Zones.

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