NEMA is the acronym for the National Electrical Manufacturing Association. To quote from their web site “NEMA is the trade association of choice for the North American electrical manufacturing industry, and is the largest trade association for manufacturers of electrical products in the United States,” and also for Canada.

We use a NEMA rating to identify the particular protection level of Machine Control Panel Enclosures.

NEMA ratings for control panel enclosures number 1 through 13 although the common ratings for enclosures are NEMA 1, 4 and 12. In this blog we will review the various control panel enclosure ratings.

NEMA 1
This is the lowest NEMA protection rating for a control panel enclosure. In order for the panel box to be considered as NEMA 1, it must provide a basic level of protection from persons coming into incidental contact with the contents of the panel box, and it must provide protection from the panel box contents being exposed to incidental contact with falling dirt.

Panels with NEMA 1 rating are general purpose because they lack gaskets. They should only be used indoors in a dry location.

NEMA 2
A panel with NEMA 2 rating must provide the protection as outlined under the NEMA 1 standard as shown just above, as well as providing protection for the panel contents from dripping or splashing liquids.

In the next blog we’ll look at other NEMA ratings for motor control panel enclosures.