Yes, if they are built for outdoors. A proper outdoor LED sign is sealed against rain and dust, and its IP rating tells you how well. Indoor screens are not built for weather, so an indoor screen or video wall should never be moved outside. Our FA2 outdoor series is sealed to IP68 against dust and heavy rain.
Here is what IP ratings mean, what to look for, and why heat matters as much as water.
What an IP rating means
IP is usually read as ingress protection. The code is set out in an international standard, IEC 60529, and it is used on everything from outdoor lights to phones and power points. It has two digits, such as IP65 or IP68.
The first digit is protection against solids, from fingers and tools down to fine dust. It runs from 0 to 6.
- 5 means dust protected: a little dust may get in, but not enough to stop it working.
- 6 means dust tight: no dust gets in.
The second digit is protection against water. It runs up to 8 on most products.
- 4 means splashing water from any direction.
- 5 means jets of water, like a garden hose.
- 6 means powerful jets of water.
- 7 and 8 mean it has been tested under water, with 8 covering longer or deeper than 7.
An X in place of a digit means that part was not tested. A light rated IPX5 has a water rating but no dust rating.
What rating does an outdoor LED sign need?
For a sign that stays outside all year, IP65 is a common starting point: dust tight, and protected from jets of water. Check the rating for the back of the cabinet as well as the front. Some screens quote one rating for the front and a lower one for the back, so ask for both.
Why it matters in Australian weather
Weather here is hard on electronics. Dust blows in off paddocks, gravel roads and building sites. Summer storms drive rain sideways into the face of a sign. Coastal sites get salt air and humidity as well. Once water or dust gets inside a cabinet, it can damage the power supplies, the controller and the LEDs.
Our outdoor signs are made for sun, wind and rain, with the brightness and pixel pitch chosen for the site.
Heat matters as much as water
A sealed cabinet also has to stay cool. Many outdoor screens rely on fans, vents or air conditioning to get through summer, and every vent is a way in for dust and moisture. Fans and filters also need cleaning and, in time, replacing.
The FA2 is fanless and runs without air conditioning up to 55 degrees. With no fans and no air conditioner, there is less to wear out or clog in a hot, dusty summer.
What about LED video walls?
Indoor video walls, like the two we built for a Tasmanian Government office, are made for dry rooms and are not sealed against rain. If you want a big screen outdoors, it needs outdoor cabinets.
For large outdoor screens, our FA2 Max range uses light aluminium panels that join into one big screen. It is also rated IP68, with front access, so the screen can be serviced from the front even when the back is against a wall. The FA2 is serviced from the front too.
The rating is only part of it
A sealed cabinet still has to be installed well. Cable entries, the frame, the pylon or wall it is fixed to, and where the water runs off all matter. We design, build and test every sign at our Welshpool workshop, and our own team installs it, so the same people look after the whole job.
One customer, Jim McLarty, put it this way in a Google review: “6 years and still going strong! Rain hail and shine. Good product. Thanks”
Ask us
See our outdoor LED signs and pylon signs, our outdoor LED screens and video walls and LED billboards. Send us a photo of the spot and tell us what the sign needs to show, and we will suggest the right screen for the site.
Get a free quote, or call Aaron on 0416 053 335 or the office on (08) 9335 7944.
