Today, LED lights are used widely in our everyday life. LED lights can be used in retail stores, warehouses, tennis courts, manufacturing or parking lots. They are energy-efficient and cost-effective. We are also concerned with the quality of LEDs and their impact resistance. To ensure the safety of both people and environment, lights must meet a variety of requirements.
In some areas, such as a football court, a street, a roadside, or stadia, it’s important to make sure that the lights work even if damaged by a certain amount of impact from balls and other objects. In the absence of light, people may be injured or trapped in darkness. There is an IK Code that indicates the protection against mechanical wear.
In general, IK rating is often written in the lamp’s parameters. IK rating is not well-known by many people. Today VKS will discuss what IK rating is for LED lights.
The anti-impact code was used before the IK code to indicate the impact protection level. For example, IP65(9). It is differentiated from the IP code by brackets. However, it has been canceled on an international level. The IK code is used and it is still used today.
IK is a digital code that has been internationally accepted to represent the level of protection for electrical enclosures from external mechanical impacts. Outdoor equipment must meet IK requirements, regardless of whether it’s suspended, buried or placed outside. The IEC standards IEC 62262 :2002 and IEC60068-2-75 :1997 define it as the ability of an electrical equipment’s shell to protect the internal equipment from external forces.
It is important to determine the IK protection level for outdoor floodlights, street lights stadium lights and special lights in the lighting industry. The use environment for these outdoor lights can be harsh. It is important to ensure that the lighting product shell meets industry and national standards. We usually use a spring-impact hammer or free-fall pendulum when hitting the lamp in order to determine its IK ratings. Joule is the unit for IK rating.
What are the IK ratings we use to rate led lighting?
The IEC62262 code for protection level consists of only two numbers: IK01. and IK02. IK03. IK04. IK05. IK06. IK07. IK08. IK09. and IK10. The 10 levels can be divided into two groups based on the different testing levels: the first is the spring-impact hammer tests from IK01 to IK06. The energy of this group of tests is relatively low (between 0.14J and 1J) which is suitable for indoor LED lamps like downlights or high bay lights.
Each IK Code number represents a different value of anti-collision. The table below shows the relationship between IK Ratings and their corresponding collision energies f.
Test requirements for mechanical resistance of IK code:
1. Tests should be performed at the specified temperature and pressure
2. The protection class is applicable to the entire enclosure. The housing must be new, clean and complete, unless otherwise specified in the product standard.
3. Tests must be conducted with all lights installed and fully assembled
4. There are no requirements regarding pre-treatment of samples or the lamp during testing.
5. The test should be conducted at the location where the luminaire is intended to be installed if the installation may affect the results.
6. A special luminaire may be used if the structure of the luminaire prevents the impact test from being completed. The lamp should not, however, be replaced in such a manner that it loses its mechanical strength.
IK Rating chart:
Applications of IK Code
Let’s discuss how to select the right fixtures for your application. The first thing to consider is the location. It is the same as IK code. For bedrooms, you may not require fixtures with high IK grades as there is unlikely to be an intense impact. For street, tennis and football court, high IK grade lights are needed to protect lights from unexpected impact. Outdoor fixtures are exposed to dust, water and extreme temperatures. The fixtures should be able to function even in extreme conditions. It is therefore important to choose the right fixtures for your location.
VKS offers fixtures with IK08/IK10 ratings to meet your needs for harsh environments. These include Roza Series LED Stadium Light, Lonny Series LED Stadium High Mast Lighting and Boller Series LED Sports Light. The lights are protected from a 20-joule mass impact. We are confident that the lights will add value to your warehouse, tennis court or soccer field.
Post time: Aug-04-2023
