What is an eHouse? Packaged substations, kiosks and electrical houses explained
The same steel building gets called an eHouse, a packaged substation, a substation kiosk or a containerised substation depending on who is specifying it. The terms overlap, and the differences are worth knowing before you put one out to tender. Here is what each means from a project-delivery perspective, and the steel decisions they share.
eHouse, or electrical house
An eHouse is a prefabricated steel building that houses electrical equipment — switchgear, protection and control, sometimes transformers — assembled and often tested in the factory, then craned onto a prepared base on site. The point of it is to move the build off the critical path: the electrical fit-out happens in a controlled workshop rather than in a hole in the ground. eHouses tend to be the larger, walk-in end of the range.
Packaged substation
A packaged substation brings the transformer and the LV and HV switchgear together as one integrated unit in a single housing. It is a complete substation delivered as a package rather than built up from separate parts on site. The steel housing has to suit the transformer's heat and weight as much as the switchgear's access needs.
Substation kiosk
A kiosk is the smaller, distribution-level end: a single-function housing for a transformer or a switch unit, often at street or site level. Kiosks are sometimes GRP where the loads are light, and steel where they are not, or where security and durability matter more.
Containerised substation
Containerised simply means the housing is built on, or to the footprint of, an ISO shipping container so the transport and handling are well understood. The label describes the form factor, not the function — a containerised unit can be an eHouse or a packaged substation underneath.
The steel decisions they share
Whatever the label, the same questions decide the housing. Ventilation has to carry away transformer and switchgear heat, naturally or forced, without letting weather in. Cable entry, gland plates and internal access are set around the equipment supplier's drawing pack. The unit has to be lifted safely, so the frame and lifting points are designed in. Coatings, weather protection, IP performance and any security, fire or blast requirements are agreed to the project brief.
Choosing between them
The right answer follows the voltage level, the equipment package, the site and the programme, not the name on the enquiry. A distribution job may want a kiosk; a substation or grid connection may want a packaged unit or a full eHouse. The sensible move is to describe the equipment and the constraints and let the housing follow from them.
How we approach it
Garendon can coordinate switchgear enclosures, transformer housings, electrical houses and packaged substation enclosures to an agreed equipment drawing pack and project quality plan. If you have a substation or switchgear project and are not sure which form fits, we are happy to work through it early.