You know that you need electrical enclosures for junctions in your circuits. What you might not know is which enclosures are the best for a given job. You have a lot of choices, and one thing that comes up, especially in industrial applications, is electrical insulation.
There are tons of guides for insulation to handle heat, but there is less information available for insulating against electricity itself. When do you need specialized insulation? How do you achieve it? This guide will take you through the basics.
Noise
This is a very common issue in many systems. Especially if the circuits transmit communication of any type, then the prevalence of noise and crosstalk is a big deal. While the individual wires and cables should have some shielding, when they are joined in an electrical enclosure, additional shielding goes a long way towards preventing noise.
Additionally, electrical shielding helps prevent noise from larger power cables that might be nearby from creating interference in the communication lines inside the electrical box.
Power
The more common reason to use heavily insulated boxes is in the case of high-power cables and systems. When power increases, you need additional insulation to prevent improper contact or grounding.
Any time a current is allowed to travel the wrong way through a circuit, it represents danger. When that circuit is handling significant power lines (120V, 100 amps, or higher), improper contact represents a substantial fire danger.
Additional electrical insulation in the electrical enclosure provides more protection for these important cables and reduces any shock or fire risks. In fact, every state has regulations regarding electrical enclosures that handle high power, and those regulations can be a guide to finding the right enclosures for the job.
Increasing Electrical Insulation
Knowing that you need boxes with more insulation is one thing. How do you achieve it? Which enclosures offer the best electrical insulation?
Fiberglass
Fiberglass is an excellent electrical insulator on top of being a very resilient material. It’s an ideal choice for many industrial applications, as fiberglass is impervious to most industrial solvents.
Fiberglass boxes can be used to reduce noise inside the enclosure, and they are rated for high-voltage and high-amperage circuits. They represent a powerful, affordable option for many uses.
Polycarbonate
Polycarbonate is another great industrial enclosure material. Its electrical insulation is on par with fiberglass. While polycarbonate is not resilient against industrial solvents, it is typically more affordable than fiberglass. When you don’t need chemical resilience, polycarbonate is a great choice for reducing noise inside of the enclosure and protecting systems that handle a lot of power.
Exploring Options With Allied Moulded
Whether you need high electrical insulation or any other metric for your enclosures, you can find a great option with Allied Moulded. We offer customization for electrical boxes, providing scalable solutions that conform to any project. No matter what you need, we have it, or we’ll design it.
Contact us today. We’ll work with you on your project to ensure that you are supplied with the right enclosures for the job at hand.
