What is Outdoor Pole Mount Enclosure?

Outdoor Pole Mount Enclosure: The Ultimate Guide for Importers

Mounting outdoor electrical enclosures requires close attention.

This is because of the additional structural and safety factors involved.

In some cases, standard outdoor electrical enclosures would suffice.

But, there are several situations in which a pole-mounted outdoor electrical enclosure are called for, specifically.

So, I’ve written this guide to help you understand a little about these type of enclosures.

I hope by the end of this read; you’ll know exactly what, how, when and where to import your outdoor pole mount enclosure.

What is an Outdoor Pole Mount Electrical Enclosure?

Well, this is primarily an electrical cabinet that’s designed to house outdoor electrical equipment.

These type of enclosures are usually attached to a pole outside the house in the backyard or the front lawn, wherever necessary.

Outdoor pole mount enclosure

Larger ones are also used to house outdoor control systems and other electrical equipment for industrial applications.

You should know that these cabinets are commonly found where there’s a warmer and more pleasant environment.

Wonder why?

Well, that’s when and where they’ll be able to function properly without the risk of damage.

Also, their primary use lies in the propensity at which people use their outdoor electrical outlets.

For instance, during barbeque dinners/parties, warming the swimming pool, and heating the patio.

This wouldn’t be possible if electrical outlets are installed during winter or in colder environments.

Is that all?

No!

There are more benefits to having an outdoor pole mount electrical enclosure.

Why do You Need Pole-mounted Outdoor Electrical Enclosure?

Before I tell you why I would like to share something with you:

This is that electrical enclosures are an advantageous invention which I tend to believe isn’t seen enough.

These cabinets allow you as a homeowner to have an electrical outlet connected to the mains electricity outside of your house.

Pole mount electrical enclosure

Now, some people will find these completely irrelevant.

They think that having an outdoor electrical outlet wouldn’t impact their daily lives.

Well, fine. Perhaps they rarely go outside,orthey don’t often need to use appliances when they’re in their backyards.

That’s them, a good number of you, however, have patio heaters and electric barbeques that you would want to use throughout the summer, effectively.

Well before, you could stretch out an extension to the backyard,and it would work but not effectively.

Plus, stretched extension cords are just an eyesore and stretching them over long distance is a piece of work.

You’d have to move a number of your outdoor furniture to pave the way and to avoid accidents.

And, that’s not even considering the trouble of locating the cord after stashing it away at the end of last summer.

So the best option today is to install an electrical outlet in the outdoors.

But then you can’t leave the equipment exposed just like that. Outdoor conditions are often harsh.

Exposing electrical equipment to these conditions can damage them severely.

Electrical enclosure for poles

You thus need a secure and robust cabinet to house your equipment in one strategic place.

And what better way than to use an outdoor pole mounted electrical enclosure?

Well, I guess the bottom line of all these is to understand that an outdoor electrical outlet is not just an ordinary cabinet.

It is a protective casing that’ll shield vital electrical equipment from the harsh outdoor conditions including vandalism.

Quality Standards for a Pole-mountedOutdoor Electrical Box

The business of importation is a tricky one.

It comes with a lot of rules, regulations, and processes that one must be keen to.

Well, some call it bureaucracy but it is what it is.

It is only wise that before importing any electrical or electronic equipment, specific measures be taken into consideration.

In this case, it is essential to ensure that the enclosure you’re importing conforms to all of the industry’s standards on performance, safety,and reliability.

Key things to look at are:

NEMA Rating

NEMA (national electrical manufacturers association) is a key regulator in this industry.

The association helps to ensure that manufacturers comply with the NEMA standardsfor design, construction,and performance.

This is to help ensure that users access quality products that are safe to use and are durable.

Therefore, it is important that before importing any electrical enclosure product, you look out for its NEMA rating.

And, not just any rating but the proper rating for your application as there are 13 different NEMA types.

For outdoor use nonetheless, you can get an enclosure with a NEMA 4 rating and above.

This will ensure maximum protection against rain, dust, ice,and other outdoor corrosive elements.

UL

UL is a quality standard marking that shows a product has been tested and proved to meet the set industry standards on safety, performance,and reliability.

Now, UL and NEMA tend to address the same points but differently.

While NEMA does not mandate compliance to design and quality standards via third-party testing, UL does.

The truth is you can prove the performance level of an enclosure built to NEMA standards.

This is because compliance to NEMA standards is often at the manufacturer’s discretion.

For UL listed products nonetheless, you can be sure that samples have been tested and proven to be compliant.

So which is the best? My opinion, get an enclosure that is both NEMA rated and UL listed.

At least then, you can be sure that it’s built to withstand the harsh outdoor conditions.

IP

Most outdoor electrical enclosures have some kind of weather/waterproofing.

And, the level to which they protect electrical equipment they enclose is covered by their IP rating.

IP (ingress protection) refers to a set of rating used to define the level to which a product protects against the ingress of foreign solids and water.

The outdoors as you know is predisposed to harmful elements of weather,i.e., rain, snow ice, dust humidity, etc.

For electrical equipment to survive these elements, it has to have some environmental proofing.

And you can determine this if you buy an outdoor pole mounted electrical enclosure with the proper IP rating.

This will assure you of the safety of your outdoor electrical equipment as well as that of users.

So since this enclosure is meant for outdoor applications, an IP 24 and IP66 would suffice.

Different sizes of an electrical enclosure

Other standards

Other standards to look out for are the CE and RoHS standard marks.

CE is a mark that expresses an enclosure’s compliance with the safety, health and environmental protection standards.

It is a mandatory requirement for products built and sold within the EU.

Like CE, RoHS is also a requirement for electrical and electronic products built and sold within the EU.

This mark ascertains that a product does not contain any hazardous materials listed with the RoHS.

These materials include mercury, lead, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium and polybrominated biphenyls.

Please note:

Quality standards on electrical enclosure vary from one country to another.

Some countries require that enclosures conform to NEMA standards while some like the US will require UL listing.

Others like those in the EU will require products to be CE and RoHS compliant while some will need all of these standards.

In all this, it is important to know the requirements of the importing country and make sure that your product adheres to them.

This will help you avoid clearance delays, fine/penalties among other customs-related problems.

Specifications for Outdoor Pole Mounted Electrical Enclosures

Choosing an outdoor pole mounted electrical enclosure is not as easy as it sounds.

This is because there isn’t a one size fits all.

The size, color,and variety of outdoor pole mounted electrical boxes differ based on application and user’s requirements.

Installing outdoor pole mount enclosure – Photo courtesy: IP Enclosures

So as you can already tell, there’ll be a lot of variations amongst the different specifications.

Due to this, I shall show you the different specifications to look out for when choosing a suitable pole-mounted electrical box for you.

Material

Outdoor pole-mounted electrical cabinets are usually made out of metal, aluminum, and steel to be specific.

There are some reasons for this, but the main one is that they’re built so strongly to withstand harsh environmental conditions.

Since they’re to be used in the outdoors, this type of enclosures needs to be very strong and durable.

They must be strong enough to protect against vandalism and durable enough to withstand weather conditions.

This includes both rare and extreme weather conditions such as constant freeze and thawing as well as high temperatures.

Most importantly, however, these enclosures have to be able to endure regular weather patterns and not just extremes.

This means that they have to be able to hold out against rain and wind continually battering against the electrical cabinet.

Mounting

Outdoor pole-mounted electrical enclosures come with a variety of mounting options.

Mostly, they come with mounting brackets that you can attach to outdoor support poles, to phone or light poles or any other outdoor cylindrical objects.

Dimensions

Of course, this type of outdoor enclosure is available in a variety of sizes.

Most of them, however,is a meter in height and around two-thirds of the height wide.

Rough estimates would put the dimensions at around 50 cm tall with around 30-35 cm wide.

You need to choose the right enclosure for your application – one that is sizeable enough to fit your electrical equipment.

Door

Most outdoor enclosures are designed with single doors that are either hinged or latched.

The difference between these is that hinges make doors easy to operate.

Latches, on the other hand, ensure proper sealing of doors.

Both opening mechanisms are good it just depends on what you find suitable for you.

Protection

Safety when it comes to electrical enclosures is vital.

Thus, when choosing these type of outdoor enclosures, you need to assess its protection capabilities.

You have to ascertain to which degree the product protects against access to enclosed hardware.

You also need to access the level of protection against ingress of foreign matter like dust, ice,and dirt as well as the intrusion of water.

Compartment

Another thing that you need to consider is how the enclosure is divided.

You need to choose an enclosure with the right number of compartments for your needs.

Make your choice based on the type, amount and dimension of the equipment you need to enclose.

Generally, these are the critical specifications you need to consider when choosing the right pole-mounted electrical enclosure for you.

Others include ventilation, frame, design, and earth.

Once you identify the right specifications for you, you can go ahead and find a reliable manufacturer to supply with what you need.

KDM Steel Pole Mount Electrical Enclosure Manufacturer

If you’re not sure where you buy your outdoor pole mounted electrical, I suggest KDM steel.

We have a variety of off the shelf designs that you can choose from depending on your needs.

These are built with the quality, strength,and durability that’s needed to endure the outdoors.

They are also built according to NEMA and IP standards and are UL tested.

We also provide custom design and manufacturing services.

Here, we can customize an enclosure for you based on your preferred dimensions, construction among other things.

Our expert designers will see the design and planning of your product to ensure that it fits your exact requirements and needs.

Note that at KDM steel we major in steel construction.

We use mostly stainless steel which is known to be a suitable material for the outdoor electrical enclosure.

So contact us and let us supply you with a top quality pole-mounted electrical enclosure at an affordable price.

Conclusion

Well, that’s it about outdoor pole mounted electrical enclosures.

So if you’re thinking of getting one or more, make sure that you the right one for your needs and that is acceptable in your country.

You can contact us today, and our team will be happy to help you.