Outdoor Enclosures
One of the biggest challenges of terminating your telecommunications equipment outdoors is finding outdoor enclosures that will be able to properly withstand the elements. Temperature, moisture, ice, shock hazards, and UV damage are all potential dangers to consider before purchasing an outdoor enclosure or cabinet. On top of all that, network hardware generates excess heat on its own, meaning you might need to consider a temperature solution that manages airflow with cooling technology.
At American Products, we offer a variety of outdoor enclosures for telecommunications equipment. If one of our standard products doesn’t quite meet your application requirements, we can modify the design to create the ideal outdoor product for your needs. We can also collaborate with you and your team to create new products built to your specifications. Before you purchase any telecommunications cabinet, consider the following:
NEMA Ratings for Outdoor Enclosures
Finding outdoor enclosures that meet all of your application requirements is made simpler through NEMA ratings. Cabinets with a 3, 3R, 3S, 3X, 3RX, 3SX, 4, 4X, 6, or 6P NEMA standard are all properly made to withstand the outdoor elements to varying degrees. The key is to select the enclosure rating that best meets your environmental needs, and then find an appropriate enclosure with that rating. American Products manufactures metal cabinets and enclosures that meet or are designed to NEMA type 3R, 4, and 6.
External Features
Also, keep in mind that if you are going to connect external features, such as a cable or antenna, it may be necessary to modify your enclosure for the outdoors. Every cutout you add to the cabinet provides an opportunity for water or other contaminants to seep in. Using the right accessories, such as cable glands, can help seal out dust, dirt, and damaging liquids.
Outdoor Environmental Factors
Additionally, to ensure the performance and reliability of your equipment and to give it the best chance at a long lifespan, you must consider outdoor environmental factors. These factors include variations in the internal operating temperature with temperature extremes, water, and dust ingress at cabling connections. Other dynamic factors include moisture, condensation, chemicals, and corrosive gases that can affect internal component and material selection. Don’t forget about the panel layout and design and the need for environmental conditioning (cooling and heating).
Climate Control
For electronics to survive in an outdoor enclosure, they typically require climate control.
Whether you’re keeping your electronic systems and components cool in the summer or warm in the winter, outfitting your outdoor enclosures with the appropriate heating and cooling features will help protect your investment. Look through our catalog of products to learn more about your heating and cooling options.
Our Products
| AP FORT™ | AP MINIFORT® | INDEPENDENCE™ | FREEDOM™ | PATRIOT™ | MINUTEMAN™ | UTILITY™ | BATTERY™ | AP LIBERTY® | AP NAUTILUS® | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bays | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 - 3 | 1 | 2 - 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 - 2 | 1 | 1 |
| NEMA | 3R* | 3R | 3R | 3R | 4* | 4* | 3R* | 1* | 3R* / 4* | 3R* / 4* | 4* | 6 |
| ETL | 50 / 50E | 50 / 50E | 50 / 50E | |||||||||
| Indoor | X | |||||||||||
| Outdoor | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |
| Fiber / FTTx | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||
| CATV | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||
| Cellular Base | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||
| Satellite / Microwave | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||
| Gen. Industry | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||
| Headend | X | X | X | X | ||||||||
| OLT | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||
| PON Fiber | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |||||
| Active Fiber | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | |||||
| Radio/Basestation | X | X | X | X | ||||||||
| Curbside | X | X | ||||||||||
| DAS / Small Cell | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||
| CCTV | X | X | X | |||||||||
| Battery Backup | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||
| SAN / Edge | X | X | X | |||||||||
| Backhaul | X | X | X | X | X | |||||||
| *Designed To Spec. | ||||||||||||