For many years, wooden power poles were the only ones in local service. People wouldn’t have imagined that other materials would come into play except for high-tension wires used on long runs. Faced with an increasingly complex choice, engineers are increasingly looking at several factors when deciding on which technology to go with. Here are three tips to help you decide between wood or steel power poles.
1. Look at a Replacement Schedule
Utility companies will sometimes develop detailed replacement schedules that predict how long a particular pole will last. They’ll then set aside funds to replace it at that later date. Wooden poles need to be replaced much more often than steel ones do, but they usually carry a far lower upfront cost. Considering that some organizations have had to replace literally thousands of poles all at the same time, these cost of ownership calculations have been getting more coverage.
Residential communities usually feature wooden poles either way, because these are easier to maintain if they’re on local land parcels. Maintenance estimates should always be factored into any calculations involving the overall cost of ownership of a particular installation.
2. Give Some Thought to Wildfire Probabilities
As the risk of wildfires continues to grow in many areas, utility companies are rethinking the way that they install wires. Look over the most recent charts and see if the chances of a fire breaking out have become more serious in recent years. That will help you decide between wood, steel, and even concrete poles as each of these competing technologies has different capabilities when it comes to standing up to natural disasters. Hurricanes and other maladies could potentially take poles down as well, so it’s important to consider these when planning an installation. It’s likely that different areas of a particular sector of a power grid are going to need poles made from various types of materials.
Locations with a heavy amount of brush are going to be more at risk from fires, so utility company managers will need to plan accordingly.
3. Consider the Impact of Coatings
Environmental experts have long considered wood a relatively green building material, but wooden telephone poles have to be treated with chromated copper arsenic or another preservative to keep them from rotting away in the elements. In general, wooden utility poles are supposed to have a service life of 50 years. In some cases, they’ve lasted as long as 70 years because of these coatings and being positioned in a good area. Depending on how well they held up, technicians might have to make small repairs to them on a regular basis. Think more about the kind of surroundings you’re installing them in as well as how long you’re going to need them to remain standing while supporting a great deal of weight.
It’s quite possible that any power grid-related project is going to need materials of several different types. That means the question of who will be supplying the poles might be even more important than the exact type of ones in use.
