Modular Electrical Houses (E-Houses) and Electrical Buildings
Walk-in electrical and control buildings laid out around your equipment, with HVAC, lighting and cable entries, on a skid, pad or inside your plant.
Call (800) 326-4403 or email Sales@MH-USA.com
Walk-In
Electrical Buildings
Skid or Pad
Mounting Options
4 to 8 Weeks
Typical Lead Time, Subject to Confirmation
Indoor & Outdoor
Configurations
What is a modular electrical house?
A modular electrical house, or e-house, is a factory-built, walk-in building that protects electrical and control equipment: switchgear, motor control centers, drives, transformers, PLC and communications panels. It keeps the gear dry, clean and within its rated temperature, and gives technicians a safe, lit place to work on it.
Planning a building specifically for an electrical substation? See our substation enclosures and control houses page for utility-site requirements, equipment replacement access, environmental systems and the enclosure scope checklist.
Compared with building an electrical room on site, a modular building arrives with its structure, panels, doors, HVAC and lighting already made, and can be set on a pad or skid in a short site window.
What we supply: the building, with doors sized for equipment, HVAC sized for the equipment heat, lighting, convenience power and cable entries laid out to your electrical engineer’s drawings. By others: the electrical equipment, its installation, terminations, testing and energization, done by your electrical contractor or integrator. E-houses are part of our in-plant and industrial modular buildings range.
Electrical building configurations
Small outdoor electrical buildingsWeather-tight buildings for panels, drives and controls at pump stations, wells and remote sites.
Skid-mounted e-housesBuildings on a steel skid with lifting points, delivered by truck and set by crane.
Equipment shelters with redundant HVACEnclosures with louvers and two wall-mounted HVAC units for equipment that must stay cool.
In-plant electrical roomsModular rooms inside plants for MCCs and control panels, with a roof for storage or access.
Control roomsOperator rooms with consoles and screens, alone or attached to an electrical room.
Two-level electrical and control roomsStacked rooms with a stair when floor space is limited.Welded steel or panelized: choose the building approach
Our manufacturer partner offers both welded steel-frame electrical houses and panelized wall-system buildings. Choose the construction method around the equipment, site and installation sequence, not appearance alone. The building can be supplied as a structural shell or with specified building services; the proposal should identify exactly what is included.
Electrical houses can ship fully assembled or in modular sections. A completed unit reduces building assembly at the destination, but its shipping envelope and handling weight need an accessible route and a planned lift. Sectional shipment introduces field joints and assembly work that should be coordinated before fabrication.
| Decision | What to confirm before approval |
|---|---|
| Welded steel-frame construction | Building dimensions, equipment/support loads, base arrangement, openings and handling provisions for the specified unit. |
| Panelized wall system | Wall and roof configuration, supporting structure, equipment access and the field assembly sequence. |
| Fully assembled or sectional shipment | Transport restrictions, unloading equipment, crane/forklift access and responsibility for joining and sealing sections. |
| Shell or fitted building package | List doors, insulation, HVAC, lighting, receptacles and building-service wiring separately from the electrical equipment. |
Forklift slots and crane lugs are available handling provisions, not permission to lift a loaded enclosure without a plan. Confirm the actual shipping condition, weight, lift points and rigging instructions for your building. Site support and anchorage still require coordination with the project’s structural design.
Equipment doors and cable routes: plan for replacement as well as installation
A personnel door may be sufficient for routine entry but not for bringing in or replacing large electrical equipment. Roll-up equipment doors are an available option. Establish the actual clear opening and approach space from the equipment supplier’s dimensions, shipping method and service requirements, rather than selecting a door from the finished cabinet width alone.
Check the full movement route: delivery vehicle, staging position, doorway, interior turning space and final equipment position. Include any removable parts, lifting equipment or service access needed later. Keep equipment access separate from required working space and exit paths; your engineer determines the applicable electrical and egress requirements.
Cable and ventilation openings can be coordinated before fabrication. Provide their reviewed locations and sizes while the equipment layout is being finalized. A late opening can conflict with a structural member, door frame, roof detail or HVAC location. The electrical contractor and designers should identify cable supports, bend space and the transition from site conduits or trays into the building.
- Confirm the clear equipment-door width and height, not just its nominal size.
- Leave a workable replacement route after all equipment and building services are installed.
- Assign responsibility for field penetrations and their final weather sealing.
- Show incoming cable routes and spare pathways on the coordinated drawings.
Roof, finish and interior options for your electrical building
Electrical buildings can be configured with single-slope, gabled, hip or flat roofs, along with industrial siding options and custom paint colors. Choose the roof and envelope with drainage, local exposure, maintenance access and surrounding structures in mind. Roof style alone does not establish a wind, snow or fire rating.
Insulation and HVAC options should follow the equipment’s operating requirements and the site climate. Wall-mounted or ducted systems can be considered as part of the design. Keep the equipment heat-loss information, cooling distribution and service clearances coordinated with the enclosure and cable-entry layout.
| Option | Project question to resolve |
|---|---|
| Exterior finish and paint | What exposure, corrosion conditions and facility appearance requirements should the proposal address? |
| Insulation and climate control | What equipment temperatures, heat release and outdoor design conditions must the building design accommodate? |
| Dedicated battery/auxiliary room | Does the equipment design require separation, ventilation, containment, detection or other protection for the actual battery system? |
| Building-service electrical package | Does the quote include only electrical preparations or specified installed wiring, and who makes final connections? |
Dedicated battery and auxiliary rooms are available project options, but their safety requirements depend on the equipment and battery chemistry. Have the electrical, mechanical and fire-protection designers identify the needed provisions. Likewise, specialized fire, wind, ballistic or shielding performance must be specified and documented for the actual project; it is not a blanket claim for every electrical house.
Designing the inside around the equipment
An e-house is laid out from the equipment out. Your electrical engineer’s drawings set the equipment lineup, the working space in front of it, and the cable routing. The building is then sized around that, with doors big enough to bring equipment in and out.
Working space and egress requirements come from the electrical code, and arc flash boundaries from your arc flash study. A second exit door is common in larger rooms.
| Design item | Who sets it | What it means for the building |
|---|---|---|
| Equipment lineup and dimensions | Electrical engineer | Building length, width and height |
| Working space and egress | Electrical code, engineer | Clear space in front of gear, door count and swing |
| Equipment heat | Equipment data | HVAC capacity and redundancy |
| Cable entry | Engineer, contractor | Floor or wall openings, cable trays, sealed entries |
| Fire detection or suppression | Your fire protection design | Space and penetrations for detection and suppression |
| Grounding | Electrical engineer | Ground connections at the building frame |
See the Torus case study below for how working space and arc flash boundaries shaped one plant’s layout, and electrical systems for modular buildings.
Keeping equipment within its rated conditions
Modular e-house vs. a site-built electrical room
| Question | Modular electrical building | Site-built electrical room |
|---|---|---|
| On-site work | Set and anchor, then terminate and test | Foundation, structure, envelope, then electrical |
| Schedule | Fabrication runs while site work proceeds | Sequential trades |
| Relocation | Skid buildings can be lifted and moved | Permanent |
| Best fit | Remote sites, phased projects, tight site windows | Large permanent substations within new buildings |
Delivered and set by crane
Skid-mounted buildings are lifted from the truck and set on a pad, piers or gravel in a few hours. Larger buildings ship in sections or as panels. See foundation options and lead times and delivery.
How an e-house project runs
Tell us the use
What happens inside the electrical building, how many people or what equipment, where it sits and when you need it.
Layout and drawings
We return a layout and drawings with doors, windows, HVAC and electrical shown, plus a quote with exclusions listed.
Fabrication
After drawing approval, lead times are typically 4 to 8 weeks, subject to confirmation, for fabrication and freight.
Delivery and install
Panels or finished units arrive by truck and are assembled or set in place, then your trades make the final connections.
What to send us for a quote
- Equipment list with dimensions and heat output, or your one-line and layout drawings.
- Location: indoors or outdoors, site, access and crane availability.
- Environment: climate, dust, corrosion and any classified area nearby.
- Mounting: skid, pad or piers, and whether the building may move.
- Timeline for setting and energization.
Electrical and energy projects we have supplied
In-plant buildings for energy-storage and power equipment manufacturers, and a remote mine delivery for an electrical contractor.
Torus: energy-storage manufacturingIn-plant offices where NEC working space, arc flash boundaries and a changing layout drive the design.
Trystar: power equipment plantIn-plant offices and test-area buildings for an electrical power equipment manufacturer.
GSL Electric: remote mine site buildingsFreight, pads and anchorage, high-desert weather and MSHA training rules for buildings delivered to a Nevada mine.Protect the Building: Bollards and Railing
Electrical buildings are quoted per project. Steel bollards and pipe safety railing that protect doors, corners and equipment pads from vehicles can be ordered online.
Request an electrical building quote
Send your equipment list or layout, site location, heat-load information and target setting date. Tell us whether you need a shell or a specified building-services package so the quotation clearly separates the building from electrical equipment and trade work.
Frequently asked questions
Do you install the switchgear and MCCs?
How is an e-house sized?
Can an e-house be relocated?
What HVAC does an electrical building need?
Can the building be used in a hazardous location?
How long does an e-house take?
Plan an electrical building
Send your equipment list or layout, the site and the environment. We will return drawings and a quote for the building.