NEMA 4

What does a NEMA 4 rating mean?

NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) codes are numbers issued to enclosures of electrical equipment in regard to how much protection they offer from water, dust and other foreign bodies.

NEMA ratings are used predominately in North America as the European IP rating is adopted elsewhere. A NEMA 4 enclosure is constructed for either indoor or outdoor use to provide a degree of protection against falling dirt, rain, sleet, snow, windblown dust, splashing water, and hose-directed water; and will be undamaged by the external formation of ice on the enclosure.

NEMA ratings can be approximately compared to those of the IP system:

• IP56 = NEMA 4
• IP65/IP66 = NEMA 4X
• (IP54 = NEMA 3 or 13)

As other factors such as corrosion protection are involved in the NEMA system, please contact one of our [sales advisors] to discuss your requirements.