What is pluggable electrical installation?

Compared to conventional installation, pluggable electrical installation is a relatively new technique in the installation industry. Isolectra spearheaded the introduction and rise of pluggable electrical installation in the Netherlands. We are therefore confident in calling ourselves the top specialist in the field of pluggable electrical installation in the Netherlands. 
But how ‘new’ is this technique actually? What exactly does it involve? And where is this installation technology used in particular? Read all about it in this blog. 

History of pluggable electrical installation 

With pluggable electrical installation, many people still think of a ‘new’ form of installation. However, this is a misconception. The plug system used by Isolectra is the GST18 plug. This system comes from the inventor of pluggable electrical installations and world market leader Wieland, and was launched in the 1980s. Wieland initially devised this system for office furniture, kitchen systems, lighting and wall outlet sockets. 

Isolectra was the first to use this plug-in system in plant engineering and buildings. This too has its origins back in the 1980s. At the time, the first pluggable electrical installations were supplied by Isolectra for Matura homes. These were the first (concept) houses with prefab walls, prefab floors and pluggable electrical installations. In the 1980s, though, this was still a real exception. 

From the early 1990s, pluggable electrical installation really took off and Isolectra started using it extensively in buildings, especially in the utility market. During this period, Isolectra installed pluggable lighting at the Haagse Hogeschool and the Maanplein in The Hague, among others. This gradually grew further after which, from about 2008, entire buildings were made pluggable. It is since this period that almost all hotels, supermarkets and hospitals have been installed with pluggables, from the distributor to the last socket. In recent years, pluggable electrical installation in residential building has been booming.

What is a pluggable electrical installation? 

The conventional method of laying systems is through a wire in a conduit or with loose cables and cable boxes. With pluggable electrical installations, this is no longer an issue. Cables are used to which connectors are pre-attached at the factory. It also uses distribution blocks consisting of input connectors and output connectors. So this gives you access to ready-made parts that are clicked together to form a system. 

Applications of pluggable electrical installations 

As described earlier, we at Isolectra started with pluggable electrical installation in the utility market. Contrary to what many people think, pluggable electrical installation is certainly interesting for more than just large utility buildings. 

It is being applied in more and more places, ranging from large to small projects. Even on small projects, a lot of time can be saved with pluggable electrical installation. Therefore, it’s not only hospitals, offices and hotels that are using pluggable electrical installations. Supermarkets have also followed suit in large numbers, and there are now numerous other markets where pluggable is the norm. Examples include: shipbuilding (Royal Navy frigates), greenhouse construction and industrial plants. Nowadays, pluggable electrical installation is also increasingly used in residential building. This includes timber frame construction as well as prefab concrete construction and tunnel concrete construction. 

Specialist in pluggable electrical installation