Plastic boxes for wall mounting

Alexey Bogdanov - Technical and Commercial Director of TFS Company

Plastic boxes are the most popular and optimal option for organizing wall mounting of cabling inside buildings. They allow you to do this efficiently and, at the same time, aesthetically, when the cable laying cannot be carried out in a hidden way.
  
With hidden wiring, the cable is laid in the thickness of the wall, while built-in sockets are installed near the workplace. This method is good in that the wiring is reliably protected from external mechanical influences, and the walls serve as additional insulation. In addition, the entire system as a whole looks quite aesthetically pleasing. However, this is where the advantages of the hidden wiring method end and the inconvenience begins.

Firstly, access to the cable is extremely difficult, which can become a serious obstacle for its replacement or diagnosis. Secondly, the organization of a new workplace, its expansion or relocation is associated with the wall chipping, and this time-consuming and long process is accompanied by such unpleasant "side effects" as noise and dust.

In addition, mobility is extremely important in modern office environments. When hiring new employees, it is often necessary to organize new jobs, modify and expand old ones. In offices with a hidden wiring method, there is no need to talk about any mobility.

The problem is exacerbated when it comes to rental space. Each tenant makes his own layout, changing the location and number of desktops, but the location and number of outlets is not possible to change.

In such a situation, cable ducts represent a convenient, aesthetic and modern solution. When choosing this option, the wiring, as with the hidden method, is protected from external mechanical influences, and the box acts as additional insulation. The use of high-quality boxes significantly reduces the installation time and makes it easier. The system looks aesthetically pleasing and, importantly, provides easy access to the wiring. This allows you to quickly and conveniently replace the cable, it is extremely simple to organize or transfer workplaces. The sockets can be moved around the box or new ones can be installed on any part of it.

Quality or price?

Undoubtedly, over the past seven to eight years, the Russian market for cable support systems has made a significant step forward. Today, it presents the widest range of plastic cable channels - from the cheapest and most short-lived to premium quality products.

In order not to be mistaken with the choice, it is necessary to determine what goal should be achieved - to save on cable support systems or to purchase functional, aesthetically pleasing and fireproof boxes. For those who still prefer quality, we will tell you what you need to pay attention to in order to choose the right system of plastic channels.

Design

In office premises, several lines are usually laid at the same time: for example, power, telephone and computer lines. Modern wiring regulations require power and telecommunication lines to be separated and spaced at some distance from each other, the amount of which depends on the wiring categories. Recently, this circumstance has acquired particular relevance, since the market for structured cabling systems is constantly evolving and imposes new requirements on the wiring method. In addition to the SCS of Categories 5 and 5e, the systems of Categories 6 and even 7 are used, for which the requirements for installation methods are much stricter.
Lines must be separated to avoid signal distortion and loss. In modern boxes, special dividers are provided for this purpose, which are installed in the box during installation. The dividers are attached to the guides at the bottom of the boxes, which ensures the delimitation of the wiring along the entire length. However, this option is not always reliable. Unfortunately, it often happens that this rather important accessory is forgotten to be included in the project. Another common problem is the bad faith of installers who deliberately do not install dividers to save on project costs. The cost of the splitter is incomparably less than the total cost of the system, and the result of such savings is the inevitable deterioration of the signal quality and malfunctions of the computer network. Needless to say, the computer network itself is many times more expensive than the best cable support system.Thus, someone may decide to invest in the replacement and diagnostics of the network, not even suspecting that the cause of all the troubles is extremely simple and consists in the lack of a cheap accessory.
  
The use of boxes with forced separation will insure against all these expenses and troubles. Such boxes are good because the dividers are present in them from the beginning, they do not need to be purchased and installed. In the assortment of a number of manufacturers, there are systems in which even the corners are not just overlays, but full-fledged accessories with built-in dividers. This is a big plus, since in ordinary boxes, dividers are manually installed only in the body of the box, and at the corners of the joint the lines intersect again, which negatively affects the signal quality. In addition, when posting SCS Category 6, splitting is a prerequisite.

When a fragile fiber optic cable is to be routed, the conduit should have smooth corner connectors to ensure a large bend radius of the cable and prevent it from kinking.

In the case of forced separation of lines inside the box, it is preferable to have separate covers for power and telecommunication lines. This will allow SCS and electrical specialists to carry out installation at different times, without interfering with each other. Particular attention should be paid to the quality of the lid lock. It is unacceptable that when snapped in, it staggers, does not fit tightly to the box, or vice versa - it can be removed with difficulty. All of these requirements are due to the fact that the cover must allow multiple removal and provide easy access to the wiring. With frequent cable diagnostics, poorly made locks will quickly become unusable, which is why it may well be necessary to change the entire box system.

The functionality of the lid is also influenced by the quality of the plastic used. Fragile material can cause poor adhesion of the cover and box, as well as frequent damage to the lock. The type of plastic the box is made of is also of great importance during installation, when it has to be cut into pieces. If the quality of the material is low, chips and cracks can form. It is even worse when the box is generally difficult to saw. Due to too hard plastic or unreasonably thick walls of the box, additional efforts have to be made.

Installation can be more robust and quicker if there are cutouts in the duct dividers. They contribute to the convenient transition of the cable from one section to another and facilitate the task of supplying power and telecommunication lines when installing sockets in a box.

Security

The most important requirement for plastic boxes is to ensure a high degree of electrical and fire safety of the room. There is no need to worry about the first factor: plastic boxes initially provide additional insulation, unlike, for example, metal ones, which must be grounded. The degree of insulation becomes more important when, in addition to information, power cables are also placed in the box.

As for the second factor - fire safety, then when choosing a model, two main parameters should be taken into account: the ease of ignition and the speed of fire propagation through the product. The second parameter deserves more attention, since the main thing when extinguishing a fire is to localize the fire source. Boxes made of higher quality plastic with natural additives will always have the lowest possible rate of fire propagation through the product.

Aesthetics

When wall mounting is carried out in office and administrative premises, high demands are placed on the design of the boxes and accessories. The modern consumer in Russia, as well as throughout the world, wants to see not only safe, but also aesthetically pleasing cable support systems. Manufacturers respond to such a request with the release of new solutions, therefore, on the market you can find boxes with a streamlined shape and a glossy surface, which is easy to maintain (dust and dirt are removed quickly and efficiently).
  
One of the common operational problems is the yellowing of plastic under the influence of ultraviolet radiation, as a result of which it loses its attractive appearance. Modern manufacturers have solved this problem as well. Now, during manufacture, various components are added to the material to prevent such destructive effects. These can be lead-cadmium additives or natural ones, for example from Carrara marble chips. A big plus of the latter is that they are environmentally friendly and safe, and boxes with lead-cadmium additives during a fire can emit substances harmful to humans.

Special attention should be paid to rubber seals along the entire length of the product - a useful and always appropriate element that improves the overall aesthetic appearance of the box. Even if the wall on which the box is laid is absolutely flat (which, unfortunately, is quite rare), a small gap will inevitably form during installation. Dust accumulates in it, which is extremely problematic to remove. Thus, while remaining white and glossy, the box still loses its attractiveness. The compactor solves this problem by making cleaning more convenient and efficient. In addition, it noticeably smoothes the unevenness of the wall - the box adheres tightly to it, and the installed cable duct system looks much better after installation than similar systems without a seal.

Functionality

Today it is quite possible to choose systems of cable channels and accessories, which can combine external attractiveness, convenient design, as well as ease of installation and cost-effectiveness. Some models provide for the installation of information connectors and wiring products from various manufacturers. This allows you to make choices according to your preferences and effectively plan your installation budget. Ease of installation will also be a pleasant surprise - sockets from many manufacturers are installed by simple snapping.

Some solutions provide adjustable joints in the outer and inner corners. Thanks to them, any non-standard wall mounting solutions can be realized, even if the wall along which the cable is run is not designed at right angles.

One of the important requirements for the operation of plastic boxes is that their occupancy should not exceed 60%. This is due to the need to ensure efficient heat dissipation. In addition, box-mounted sockets take up a lot of space, and additional space must also be left for them. In order to satisfy various market demands, many manufacturers have significantly expanded the range of offered box sizes. Thus, knowing the requirements for occupancy and the number of cables to be laid, it is always possible to select the box of the optimal size.

If we are talking about one or two wires, the best solution would be microchannels with sizes from 12x7 (12x10) mm to 16x12 mm (15x10) (the most common channel sizes are given in brackets hereinafter - Ed.). Such a system looks aesthetically pleasing and fits well into any interior. If the channels are made of high-quality glossy plastic, the wall wiring turns into a decorative element. Such a solution also allows you to save money without spending money on bulky boxes, not only inappropriate for one or two cables, but also non-functional.

Mini-channels are slightly larger in size - from 22x10 (20x10) mm to 40x17 mm (40x16). They are convenient to use when you need to lay several cables - more than two. They will be correctly laid, and they will have the necessary space for the heat sink.

For laying even more cables on the Russian market, no less attractive boxes of standard and large sizes are presented. The standard ones are designed for the installation of sockets of the most common sizes. Therefore, most often their dimensions are 100x40 (100x50) mm or 100x60 (110x60) mm. Built-in sockets easily move around the box and are installed anywhere in the room.

Large products can be up to 200x80 mm. They have all the advantages of plastic systems for wall mounting and are able to accommodate a large amount of cable, while providing the necessary headroom for heat dissipation. However, when using such boxes, you should pay special attention to the quality of the plastic. A large yellowed box with loose lids can seriously and permanently spoil the impression of an office or any other room. Higher quality material with special additives retains whiteness longer and is pleasing to the eye. In addition, it is convenient to work with.

What's on the market?

The Russian electrotechnical market is actively developing, and the segment of cable support systems is growing along with it. If five to eight years ago only European cable channels were offered, and the choice was not great, and the price was clearly overstated, today many Russian manufacturers are ready to offer not only analogs, but also their own original developments. They turn out to be cheaper than Western ones and are in no way inferior in quality.

based on materials from LAN magazine (October 2006)