Zone Ratings - what you need to know

When planning a lighting installation, you may choose fixtures that are exceptionally functional, fit-for-purpose and easily maintainable. But have you factored in safety? Is the installation in a classified area? What is the area classification? What regulations are applicable to this type of area?

It is important to ensure that all this information is obtained before deciding on the type of light fitting to be used and that the lighting meets certain rules and regulations to keep you safe.

This brief explanation of hazardous area classifications and IP ratings should help you make an informed choice. Please also note the classification of any hazardous area should only be undertaken by suitably qualified personnel or an accredited facility.

Classified areas are divided into Zones. The type of Zone will determine the type of luminaire to be used.

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Outside zone: This area is any area of the hazardous area not included in zones 0, 1, and 2. It’s a zone where no hazardous gasses or combustible dust are likely to be emitted. While there are no specific IP requirements for this zone, a rating of at least IP20 is recommended.

Now that you know the Zone rating, you might also need to know that certain IP ratings are required for the different zones, but what exactly does IP mean and why is it important?

IP stands for Ingress Protection and is a rating system used to define how protected the fixture is against dust particles and liquid engross.

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A quick guide to IP ratings to help you with your Zoned fixtures.

The first digit represents the level of protection against particles and the second digit represents the protection against liquids

Example: If a fixture is rated IP64

First Digit (Ingress of Particles)

• 0: No Protection
• 1: Protected against penetration by solid objects 50mm+
• 2: Protected against penetration by solid objects 12mm+
• 3: Protected against penetration by solid objects 2.5mm+
• 4: Protected against penetration by solid objects 1mm+
• 5: Dust Protected
• 6: Dust Tight

Second Digit (Ingress of Water)

• 0: No Protection
• 1: Protected from vertically falling drops
• 2: Protected from water drops falling at a max angle of 15°
• 3: Protected from water as in the rain at a max angle of 60°
• 4: Protected from splashing or projection
• 5: Protected from low-pressure jets
• 6: Protected from high-pressure jets
• 7: Protected from temporary immersion
• 8: Protected against long periods of immersion

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As leaders in the lighting industry, Magnitech understands the specific challenges in zone rated application. We have successfully designed and supplied numerous lighting solutions for many of the world’s most pre-eminent mining and Petrochemical Plants over the past 53 years. We work with various operations across the world and pride ourselves on our fit-for-purpose lighting solutions and our experience as leaders in the mining and industrial lighting sectors.

Magnitech offers a multitude of bespoke Zone rated fixtures including the Magled Gen II, Magled Mini, MagIS, MagIS Mini, Mag44 LED and the Mag45 LED to name a few All Magnitech’s lighting fixtures are specifically designed to be fit-for-purpose, easily maintainable, and available with various light distributions to suite any hazardous lighting application. Our lighting fixtures are available in standard configuration as well as Zone 21, 22, Zone 2 and even integral Zone 2 Emergency.

Call us on +27 11 618 2720 or email on tech@magnitech.co.za have one of our engineers help you with your hazardous lighting application.