Have you looked at buying an AED and the IP rating appears to make no chronological sense, well you are not alone. IP ratings in short are a dust and water rating which classifies the level of protection an electrical item (in this case AED’s) have against the intrusion of dust and water But don’t be fooled into thinking that the higher the IP rating the better the performance of the product, this number has nothing to do with how well the product performs. It is simply just a code which stands for the ‘International Protection Rating’ or ‘Ingress Protection Rating’.
The first number in the code indicates the level of protection against solid particles such as dust or other matter.
| Number | Effective Against | |
| 0 | No protection against contact and ingress objects | |
| 1 | Any large surface of the body, such as the back of a hand, but no protection against deliberate contact with a body part |
|
| 2 | Fingers or similar objects | |
| 3 | Tools, thick wires, etc. | |
| 4 | Most wires, screws, etc. | |
| 5 |
Dust protected – Ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory operation of the equipment; complete protection against contact |
|
| 6 |
Dust tight – No ingress of dust; complete protection against contact |
The second numerical digit indicates the level of protection from harmful ingress of water.
| Number | Effective Against | |
| 0 | Not protected | |
| 1 | Dripping water | |
| 2 | Dripping water when tilted up to 15 degrees | |
| 3 | Spraying water | |
| 4 | Splashing water | |
| 5 | Water jets | |
| 6 | Powerful water jets | |
| 7 | Immersion up to 1 meter | |
| 9 | Immersion beyond 1 meter |
You can use this scale when purchasing your AED and when deciding where your AED will be situated most of the time so If you are purchasing for a public area i.e. a supermarket you probably do not need a high rated number for water protection. If you plan for the AED to live outside in a public space then you may want to consider a high rated number for both protection against solid particles and water.
Browse our selection of AEDs online here, feel free to call on 01952 56 56 56 if you need any further help purchasing your AED.