Cables and desk layout

Should Your Power Strip Go in a Cable Tray or a Cable Box?

Published · By Ergocrew · Specs and guidance as of that date, from the pages under Sources

Summary

It depends on where the power strip is going to live. If it can be fixed under the desktop, a tray holds it off the floor and, on a sit-stand desk, carries it up and down with the top. If it stays on the floor or a shelf near the outlet, a box hides it, provided the strip fits inside with everything plugged in. Some desks use one of each.

Measure the power strip with its plugs in

Box sizes are given for the strip, and the plugs sit on top of it. Bluelounge's CableBox is a clear example of how the numbers are stated. Its page gives the outside as "approximately 16" L x 6.25" W x 5.25" H" and says it takes "any grounded UL-approved power strip up to 15" L x 5-1/4" W x 2-1/2" H in size." The intended use is to "drop the surge protector with everything all plugged in and close the lid."

So measure your strip's length, width and height, then plug in the bulkiest charger you own and measure how far it stands above the strip. A strip 12 inches long is inside that 15-inch limit. Whether the lid closes over a tall adapter is the second check.

What box makers say about heat

Bluelounge raises heat on its own page: "With so many cables concentrated in one spot, there is bound to be heat." Its answer is the material, "high-density flame-retardant plastic." The page doesn't describe ventilation openings, so the product's own instructions are where to look for what may go inside.

ESFI, the US Electrical Safety Foundation, makes a related point about cords: "If a cord is covered, heat cannot escape, which may result in a fire hazard." It is also firm on heaters: "Never plug a space heater or fan into an extension cord or power strip." A small heater under the desk in winter plugs into the wall, not into the strip in the box.

What a tray does differently

A tray is fixed to the desk, so the questions are weight and mounting. UPLIFT's FlexMount Cable Manager is rated to "support up to 10 lbs of wires & adapters" and goes in "with just two included screws and pre-drilled holes in most UPLIFT desktops." A kitchen scale answers the weight question: put the strip and the power bricks on it together. On a desk without pre-drilled holes, the screws go into the underside of your desktop.

On a standing desk, a tray fixed to the top moves with it, and only the strip's own cord has to reach the wall. Our standing desk cable guide goes through the height test.

When one of each makes sense

One way to divide things is a tray for the equipment that never leaves the desk, like the monitor's power, the laptop brick and a dock, and a box by the outlet for phone and camera chargers. That gives you two power strips. ESFI says strips "must be plugged directly into mounted electrical receptacles; they cannot be chained together," so each one needs its own wall socket.

Browsing for one? Browse cables and power in the feed →

Related guides

Sources

  1. Bluelounge, CableBox
  2. UPLIFT Desk, FlexMount Cable Manager
  3. ESFI, Extension Cord Safety Tips
  4. ESFI, Electrical Safety While Working From Home

We have not tested these products. Specs and guidance are as published on these pages on the date above and can change; the manufacturer's page for your model has the current details.

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