Feature

Outdoor enclosures: The unsung heroes

Outdoor enclosures, the ones you see beside the road, on the pavement, trackside on the railways, the ones you walk past every day without giving them a second thought, these metal boxes, more often than not, contain highly critical equipment that is fundamental to our everyday life.

06/10/2021 17:15:46

Broadband connection, signalling on the railways, the important instructions on overhead motorway gantries: these functions, and many more, impact our daily activity. Whether we are working from home or travelling, the controls that make these things possible are housed out of sight and out of mind. That’s not a bad thing, they are designed to be inconspicuous to the public.

Outdoor enclosures need to be many things: functional and flexible to house various forms of equipment, aesthetically pleasing, and secure enough to be placed in both remote and busy public spaces. Surviving the elements is another critical feature, they could be placed outdoors for over 10 years, whilst dealing with the hottest summers and harshest winters. So, whilst outdoor enclosures may seem like fairly innocuous features, they actually require a great deal of design and innovation.

When equipment has to be placed outdoors, it’s not just one factor that has to be considered. Unlike indoor applications, there are so many more variables that must be taken into account.

Read the full article in DPA's October issue

Written By Sophia Bell

Sophia Bell is the Group Editor of DPA, Connectivity, and PBSI. She joined the team in 2020 as Assistant Editor after achieving a First-Class Honours BA in English Literature and Film Studies from the University of East Anglia. In her current role, she leads the editorial strategy, driving digital growth and ensuring each title continues to deliver trusted, relevant insight for engineering and manufacturing professionals.