What is a NEMA 5 Enclosure Rating?

The NEMA rating scale is a useful tool for understanding what types of protection an electrical enclosure can offer. Each NEMA enclosure rating has its own specific features and protective qualities, and it’s important to be familiar with the system before you purchase any NEMA rated enclosure. 

Although the NEMA 5 rating isn’t used as frequently as some others, it can still be important to understand, since you’ll find NEMA 5 enclosures used in many different kinds of indoor applications. In this TechTalk blog, we’ll discuss the NEMA 5 enclosure rating, what you can expect from a NEMA 5 enclosure, and Polycase’s NEMA 5 enclosure options. 

Source: Chinnabanchon9job/Shutterstock

NEMA Ratings Explained

The National Association of Electrical Manufacturers (NEMA) created the NEMA rating system as an easy way to rate the protective qualities of an electrical enclosure. The rating scale goes from 1 to 13, although higher ratings don’t necessarily represent a higher protection level.

NEMA ratings define an enclosure’s protection against ingress from sources such as:

• Flying dust or fibers
• Accidental contact with enclosure contents
• Dripping and splashing water
• Leaking and dripping coolant and oil
• Pressurized water spray 
• Submersion

You can learn more about NEMA ratings through our NEMA enclosure ratings guide, where we discuss each rating in detail. 

Features of the NEMA 5 Enclosure Rating

A NEMA 5 enclosure rating encompasses the following protective qualities:

• Protection against accidental contact with hazardous parts 
• Protection against settling airborne dust and debris
• Protection against falling dirt
• Protection against light splashing or dripping water

NEMA 5 enclosures are usually suitable as an indoor enclosure for electronics in environments such as retail spaces, offices, and light industrial settings. These environments often require a basic level of protection from dust and water ingress, but don’t usually need the outdoor-grade protection found in higher NEMA ratings. 

The NEMA 5 rating itself is considered an indoor enclosure rating. That means that an enclosure with a maximum rating of NEMA 5 is usually not suitable for outdoor use. However, many enclosures with NEMA 5 ratings also qualify for outdoor NEMA ratings such as NEMA 4 or NEMA 6P. 

Source: Phovoir/Shutterstock

NEMA 5 vs. NEMA 6

You might think that NEMA 5 and NEMA 6 enclosures would be similar, since their ratings are numerically close. However, remember that the NEMA scale doesn’t always go in ascending order. In fact, a NEMA 5 enclosure is actually closer to a NEMA 1 enclosure or NEMA 2 enclosure than it is to a NEMA 6 enclosure. 

NEMA 5 rated enclosures offer much of the same protection as NEMA 2 enclosures. Unlike a NEMA 2 enclosure, a NEMA 5 also provides protection against light splashing and dripping water. This protection is important for many work environments in which it’s possible for a device to come in contact with water. 

A NEMA 6 enclosure provides a far higher level of protection than a NEMA 5 enclosure. NEMA 6 rated enclosures must protect from pressurized hose jets, submersion, circulating dust and debris in the air, and several other factors. For applications requiring an outdoor-grade enclosure that can survive these factors, see our selection of NEMA 6 enclosures. 

NEMA 5 Enclosures from Polycase

Looking for a NEMA 5 enclosure for your electrical or electronics application? Polycase offers several NEMA 5 enclosure models that can suit your needs. Note that all of our NEMA 5 enclosures also feature higher protection ratings such as NEMA 4X and NEMA 6P, making them highly versatile and useful in a variety of environments. 

• Polycase HD Series: Polycase is an industry leader in polycarbonate enclosures, and the Polycase HD Series is the perfect example of why. These enclosures are NEMA 5 and NEMA 6P rated and offer a full device enclosure solution, complete with silicone gasket, mounting flanges, and PCB mounting bosses. 
• Polycase ML Series: The ML Series offers the toughest NEMA 5 and NEMA 6P protection available for either indoor or outdoor electrical devices. These enclosures’ impact-resistant polycarbonate design is weatherproof and waterproof, and they’re available with numerous optional accessories like pole mounting kits, DIN rail kits, and more. 
• Polycase ZH Series: Another extremely versatile series of NEMA 5 and NEMA 6P outdoor enclosures, the ZH Series are innovative hinged polycarbonate enclosure models from Polycase. The lid and gasket of these enclosures are precision molded for a watertight seal, with a tall and thick rib that’s made with no sharp edges to help keep the gasket safe. 

Polycase also offers fast, affordable, and highly flexible one-stop options for customized enclosures. We can customize any of our polycarbonate models using high-quality digital printing and precision CNC machining cutouts. 

Polycase ZH-0604 Polycarbonate Enclosure

Polycase’s team of electrical enclosure professionals are happy to answer all of your questions about NEMA ratings and beyond. Call us at 1-800-248-1233 or contact us online for more information.