It doesn’t matter which type of medical imaging facility you are using in your medical facility or how big or small the imaging facility you are running, understanding the different aspects of NEMA testing is essential for everyone. It is not like NEMA is an entirely new and alien concept, compliance, or rule, but many medical facilities are still sure about NEMA testing’s basic roles and requirements.
Well, if you are further planning to explore the world of NEMA testing in a detailed manner, then you have come to the right place. In this blog post, we are going to cover every aspect of NEMA testing so that you can manage your medical imaging facility in a much better way.
What is NEMA?
NEMA of National Electrical Manufacturers Associations is a type of trade association of choice for the entire industry that deals in electrical manufacturing. This trade association was started in the year 1926, and it is currently operating with its headquarter in Washington D.C.
One of NEMA’s best things is that it comprises more than 450 firms out there that deal in distribution and transmission, control, generation, and final use of electricity. All the products that such companies manufacture are used in industrial, commercial residential, and even institutional applications.
In addition to this, there is one more vital piece of information related to NEMA related to IHS Markit. You should know that IHS Markit carries all the standards associated with NEMA and those dealing with distribution, control, end-use, and electricity generation. It also includes many different electrical equipment types like electric baseboard heaters, oil burner controls, high-high voltage training fuses, industrial storage batteries, and much more.
There is no denying that the NEMA organization takes care of a wide array of responsibilities related to the electrical industry. Still, its main focus is always NEMA ratings and the different types of enclosures used to build electrical equipment.
NEMA rating vs. IP rating
Here, IP stands for International Protection, but in most cases, IP is referred to as Ingress Protection because it is the type of rating system given based on the ability of the device to stay protected from water and dust.
There will be nothing wrong in saying that the degree of protection provided to the device against specific agents is measured and analyzed adequately in both NEMA testing and IP rating. There are different types of ratings and parameters in both cases to a final result on the device. For example, in the case of NEMA testing, NEMA 250 is used, while in the case of IP rating, ICE standard 60529 is used.
With the help of NEMA testing, you can easily understand which type of device will suit which type of enclosure, and a similar kind of result is given in the case of IP ratings. But there is one thin line of difference between NEMA and IP. You must understand the fact that NEMA is used only in the enclosure case, but that is not the case with IP ratings.
Different types of NEMA enclosure
If you are exploring NEMA’s world, it becomes imperative to make sure that you go through the different types of NEMA enclosure as this will give you in-depth details about NEMA.
For all the non-hazardous locations, the NEMA rating starts from 1 and goes to 6, and then it starts from 11 and goes till 13. Based on different types of enclosures, it will become easy to understand which kind of device is suited for which kind of location. So, we can say that NEMA ratings act as a guide for all the people out there looking forward to buying electrical devices that fall in the NEMA rating category.
So, when you are checking NEMA ratings, it will become crucial for you to go through the NEMA enclosure given to that particular product. This is really important if you are not looking forward to getting bad surprises after buying an electrical device.
Well, till now, you have learned about what NEMA is and how it is different from the very popular IP rating. There might be a thin line of difference between NEMA and IP ratings, but both showcase the device’s performance or product in particular conditions. In addition to this, you have also understood why going through the different types of NEMA enclosure is crucial.
With a better understanding of NEMA enclosure, testing, and ratings, managing medical imaging facilities will become a lot easier for you and your staff members.