It's been raining here a lot recently in Indiana, and it's got me thinking about outdoor use of our products. You can't use most normal relays outside as they are only NEMA 1 rated. NEMA 1 is a rating defined by the National Electronics Manufacturers Association. In a nutshell (enclosure pun intended), NEMA 1 means that the device is protected from falling dirt and debris, and you are protected from the potentially harmful (voltage pun intended) electronics inside. However, NEMA 1 enclosures don't have any protection against the weather. Water can usually get inside a NEMA 1 with ease. If it does, water will cause damage to the electronics inside and possibly even to devices connected to it.
Luckily there is another type NEMA enclosure we offer: NEMA 4/4X. Unlike NEMA 1 enclosures, NEMA 4/4X enclosures are rated for outdoor use. They offer protection against rain, snow, ice, corrosion, and have the same protection against dirt and fingers that NEMA 1 enclosures have. We have a large selection of products with NEMA 4/4X rated housings, including the classic RIBU1C in the form of model RIBU1C-N4. We also have other enclosures that are NEMA 4/4X rated, so you can protect whichever device you have. Just look for the "-N4" at the end of a product name.
If you want more information on our products with NEMA4/4X rated enclosures, be sure to call or email us.
About Functional Devices, Inc.
Functional Devices, Inc., located in the United States of America, has been designing and manufacturing quality electronic devices since 1969. Our mission is to enhance lives in buildings and beyond. We do so by designing and manufacturing reliable, high-quality products for the building automation industry. Our suite of product offerings include RIB relays, current sensors, power controls, power supplies, transformers, lighting controls, and more.
We test 100% of our products, which leads to less than 1 out of every 16,000 products experiencing a failure in the field.
Simply put, we provide users of our various products confidence and peace of mind in every box.