How Mount An Electrical Enclosure

As the name implies, an electrical enclosure is housing for electrical equipment. Electrical components such as knobs, switches, and displays are mounted inside the electrical enclosure.

Similar to other housings, the electrical enclosure protects the electrical components inside it from harsh weather conditions.

Also, the enclosures help to prevent instances of electrical shock.

Let’s look at ways of mounting electrical enclosures.

Ways Of Mounting Electrical Enclosure

The common mounting options for electrical enclosures include:

• Wall mount
• Tower/pole mount
• Pad/ Ground Mount
• Walk-In
• Free Standing

We will look at each of the above listed mounting options, but before that, let’s have a few ground rules:

1. Before mounting an electrical enclosure, ensure it is as per the required NEMA rating of the specific area. For example, a NEMA 1 enclosure is ideal for an indoor environment.

On the other hand, a NEMA Type 4 enclosure is suitable for an outdoor environment. Despite the difference in NEMA ratings, the mounting procedure will still be more or less similar.

1. Secondly, understand how the hardware can interface with the enclosure before you mount it onto any surface.

Notably, most enclosures have holes at their corners to ease the attaching of the required mounting hardware.

Wall Mount Electrical Enclosure

Wall mount electrical enclosure

To mount an electrical enclosure on the wall, you will require hardware such as external tabs, pre-punched holes, or mounting brackets on the enclosure’s back part.

Commonly, enclosures that require wall mounting usually have a Unistrut – which is typically a mounting strut.

The importance of the unistrut it offers a strong connection to the wall by attaching firmly to the enclosure.

There are many ways to achieve a goal; the same applies to wall mounting. You can carry out wall mounting of your electrical enclosure in various ways.

Below, we have outlined typical steps to mount an electrical enclosure on a concrete wall:

1. First, establish the mounting location and choose an ideal wall mounting procedure. The part of the concrete wall chosen should be strong and thick enough.
2. We advise that you use industrial concrete anchors to achieve a reliable and robust connection that will last. The anchors selected should be ideal for the specific concrete wall.

• When drilling the holes and installing the anchors, ensure that you are installing the enclosure at the right height and checking that it is level.

1. After installing the anchors, attach them to the mounting strut (which is already attached to the enclosure via a mounting hardware)

As you can see, installing wall mount electrical enclosures is simple and straightforward.

Tower/Pole Mount Electrical Enclosure

Pole mount electrical enclosure

Pole mount electrical enclosures and wall mounting electrical enclosures have one similarity; in both, you will use a mounting strut for strong mounting.

Usually, an electrical enclosure that requires tower/pole mounting usually has a mounting bracket for attachment to cylindrical objects.

In most cases, these mounting brackets are fixed to the enclosure through hardware or weld.

Some important considerations when carrying out pole mounting include:

• Ensuring the pole, you use for mounting is capable of supporting the enclosure’s weight.
• If the area you are carrying out the installation tends to get very cold at times, ensure that the footing is below the frost line.
• Lastly, the pole should be strong and rigid – preferably a two-inch galvanized pipe.

Below are the two typical steps for carrying out pole mounting:

1. First, secure the pole into the ground
2. Next, you can attach the enclosure’s mounting strut to the pole using struck clamps that match the pole’s size.

Pad Mount Electrical Enclosure/Ground Mount Electrical Enclosure

Pad mount electrical enclosure

Ground-mounted or pad-mounted electrical enclosures usually have an open bottom.

During installation, the open bottom is fixed onto a concrete pad. To secure the enclosure firmly on the concrete pad, slotted holes are added by punching.

The anchor bolts are then fitted into the slots or holes outside or inside the electrical enclosure.

Walk-in Electrical Enclosure

Walk in electrical enclosure

Walk-in electrical enclosures are large and have one or more entry doors to allow you to walk into them.

Typically, these enclosures have open doors for pad mounting. However, some come with full floors.

For those with full floors, their installation is straightforward. They have lifting hardware for easy placement on the required spot.

Free Standing Electrical Enclosure

Free standing electrical enclosure

The free-standing electrical enclosures take the design of a cabinet. They have legs that allow them to stand firmly on flat floors or ground.

There installation/mounting involves simply securing the legs to the floor. Also, the legs elevate the electrical enclosure, thus allowing easy access from beneath.

To easily relocate or move the free-standing electrical enclosures, you can add casters.

We have covered the standard mounting options for electrical enclosures. Notably, we offer customized electrical enclosures that may include more than one of the above mounting options.

In short, mounting an electrical enclosure is a simple and straight forward process.

For any questions or inquiry about how to mount electrical enclosure, contact KDMSteel.