How Utilities Buried in Fiberglass Conduit Protect the Infrastructure We Depend On

Throughout the pandemic, we’ve experienced firsthand the importance of utilities for continuous power and telecommunications when working from home. Parts of the country are in the midst of hurricane season now and we’ve already seen customers across the U.S. lose power due to weather.

It has been suggested that municipalities bury utilities in outdoor electrical conduit to minimize disruptions from extreme weather events, namely wind in hurricanes and wildfires. Transmission lines buried in fiberglass duct conduit could also be a solution to protect population-dense areas from wildfires in California, where exposed lines can spark dry, overgrown vegetation.

For these projects, buried fiberglass conduit provides protection from wind. The cable runs through the electrical duct which can be encased in a concrete duct bank for more protection. Often, buried cable is installed below streets and roads because it contributes less disruption to roadway traffic.

Fiberglass conduit is recommended for buried utility and data center projects for several reasons:

• It protects cabling and infrastructure with the broadest range of corrosion resistance compared to other underground ducting products. The conduit is resistant to many chemicals.
• To safeguard against extreme weather conditions, the temperature range of fiberglass conduit is a broad -60℉ to 250℉.
• Excellent shape retention prevents impact or compression of conduit encased in concrete.
• Fiberglass elbows are resistant to cable burn-through thereby speeding up the installation and eliminating damaged conduit.
• Rodent-proof fiberglass conduit provides protection from animals digging near trenches.
• Electrical conduit manufacturer Champion Fiberglass has the lowest NECA man/hour installation rates of any material type of conduit sized 1 1/4“ and above.

For more information on how fiberglass duct industrial conduit has contributed to success in utility projects, visit our utilities application page.