inREACH™ Cord Reels Proving to be a Smart Power Option for Educational Facilities

Delivering temporary plug-in power conveniently to multi-user rooms in K-12 schools, colleges and universities, trade schools and similar venues has long been a challenge, with safety, convenience, reliability, cost, aesthetics, and robustness all important factors to balance.

Several trends, such as the escalation in the use of more and more sophisticated tools and devices demanding power, and the recent increase in building and renovations in the sector, have made optimally outfitting a science lab; metal, auto or woodworking shop or similar educational space an even more top-of-mind issue for stakeholders in the last couple of years.

For example, think of the most common go-to lab power solutions that have been out there like worksurface pedestals aka “tombstones” rising from the workstation tables, long power strips along the floor, non-moveable cord drops or less-durable cord reels hanging from the ceilings. All have their common failure issues, from spilled coffee to errant mopping, to damage from foot and equipment traffic to, let’s face it, students playing Tarzan with the hanging cords. No wonder then that “out of order” signs, visibly damaged receptacles and even safety situations have long been endemic to academic facilities in this regard.

inREACH Cord Reels Bring Industrial Strength to Academic Settings

Not too long ago, Hubbell had a bright idea, offering our best-selling super robust industrial strength inREACH™ cord reels , originally built for the factory floor, to our educational customers. They “got it” right away, clearly seeing the benefits, and, in retrospect I’m not at all surprised. It’s certainly not too much of a stretch to note that the industrial strength aspect is perhaps even more apropos to academia than to industry—as noted, no one is tougher on these cords than K-12 and college students! We see inferior cord reels with dinged, rusty and cracked housings; wiring devices broken off and reels pulled from ceilings as much or more in schools than in factory situations.

It’s worth noting that, unlike any other temporary power delivery options, cord reels in general give the ultimate in flexibility, with the ability to pull the cord anywhere you need it and spool it back up towards the ceiling when you’re done. But unlike any other cord reel, Hubbell offers unique features like heavy duty, corrosion resistant metal housings; impact-resistant outlet boxes, and reinforced cord connectors which can withstand a high degree of pullout force.

Further, as always, Hubbell keeps safety top of mind with tamper resistant receptacles that fully comply with NEC 406.12 and ground fault protection that protect users in case of a spill, immersion, or similar mishap.

Plus, Hubbell inREACH cord reels are colorful, contemporary, and cool looking compared to the generic looking reels of yore—no small factor in this market.

Raising the Bar Further— Now Hide the Cord Reels in the Ceiling

Besides making them safer and more robust, one of the major wish-list features mentioned by potential users of ceiling-mounted cord reels had been the ability to hide them in the ceiling altogether, keeping the overhead area clean, smooth, and aesthetic without the reels jutting out. For safety reasons, electrical codes made this impossible. Until now!

Hubbell has introduced the first-ever plenum-rated enclosure for reels , a UL 2416 listed, specialized metal box which allows easy installation of the cord reel in drop ceilings while isolating it safely from the ceiling space as demanded by national and local building codes, such as NEC 300.22. A well-thought out, unique and proprietary solution, the enclosure is engineered with strategically placed punch-out's and brackets and is easily and quickly secured to the building structure using threaded rods.

No wonder the inREACH™ Plenum Rated Cord Reel Enclosure recently won the Electrical Construction & Maintenance (EC&M) Product of the Year in the Racks & Enclosure Category—and, even better, is winning accolades from users including more and more schools and universities around the country.

More to Come from the inREACH Cord Reel Line

The inREACH Cord Reel Line is an exciting product category for Hubbell’s education customers as well as other users, and I can tell you that there is a lot more innovation and new solutions in the pipeline. So, stay tuned!

But in the meantime, check out inREACH for your K-12 or university facilities and get the robustness, reliability, and safety your students and other users deserve. Whether on the ceiling or in the ceiling, they will stand up to whatever your students can dish out and keep providing trouble-free service for years to come. Contact your Hubbell distributor or representative for more information today.