What Are IK Ratings For CCTV Cameras?

As we’ve seen on the CCTVdirect blog, IP (Ingress Protection) ratings relate to protection from water and solid objects - click/tap here if you missed it! 

So. what do IK ratings mean? 
IK (Impact protection) ratings relate to impact resistance, the higher the number the better the protection against impact, it’s as simple as that! An IK10 rating on a camera, means that it’s protected against 20 joules on impact, making it extremely safe & vandal proof, giving you peace of mind. Whereas an IK01 rating would mean the camera could only withstand 0.15 joules of impact. We’ve put together a chart to show the difference between the IK ratings from IK01 to IK10 - see above.

There are several cameras available here at CCTVdirect that offer the highest IK rating of IK10. These include the Uniview IP dome cameras, making them great for environments with a high risk of vandalism. For more info on our Uniview IP dome cameras, head over to the product section of our website.

CCTV IK Ratings From IK1 To IK 10
Simply put IK ratings can be broken down by the joules of impact force a camera can take and still function. This isn't always a perfect representation, and shouldn't be seen as a guarantee. Hit an IK10 rated camera 5 X with an IK10 rated impact and it becomes increasingly more likely to fail. That said an IK10 CCTV Camera, is going to be effective as an anti vandal CCTV Camera.

What Joules Mean In IK Ratings
The image above is of course a handy guide, but if you prefer to read your information about IK ratings, then it breaks down as the following.

IK 10 Rating - This means a 10 joule impact, which in real terms the camera should survive a 10kg hammer with a swing distance of 40cm.
IK 9 Rating - This is equivalent to a 5 joule impact, which once more in real terms means a 5kg hammer, with a 20cm swing distance.
IK 8 Rating - This is equivalent to a 5 joule impact, which once more in real terms means a 5kg hammer, with a 10cm swing distance.
IK 7 Rating - This is equivalent to a 2 joule impact, which once more in real terms means a 500g hammer, with a 10cm swing distance.
IK 6 Rating - This is equivalent to a 1 joule impact, which once more in real terms means a 500g hammer, with a 20cm swing distance.

Once we get below this point we're starting to talk about smaller hammers, and or impacts, whilst the cameras should withstand small shocks, being hit by rocks etc, any deliberate attack, the camera is not too likely to hold up.