Floor boxes, table power modules or batteries: which to choose for your spaces?

For fixed desks, the outlet remains the right answer. For every space where people move around (meeting rooms, work cafés, informal spaces, training rooms), shared batteries are the only option that doesn't fix the layout.

So the choice isn't made between products, but space by space, based on one simple question: will this space change in the next five years?

The four options

The floor box. An outlet set into the floor slab, under the table. Neat once installed, but placed for one specific arrangement. Moving the table means opening up the floor again or leaving a cable across the room.

The table power module (top access). A block of outlets built into the tabletop. Practical, but connected to the floor by a cable or a cable trunking. It breaks, it gets damaged, and it ties the table to its position.

The extension lead and power strip. The stopgap solution. Quick, but it means cables on the floor, possible trips and daisy-chained power strips that nobody has really approved.

The shared battery. Power comes with the person. Nothing on the floor, nothing in the table. The space can change with no construction work.

What each option costs over time

The purchase price of a floor box says nothing about its real cost. What costs is what it prevents.

• Reconfiguration. Across our network, we see that an electrical reconfiguration costs €15k to €25k and takes 4 to 6 weeks. With batteries, you move the tables.
• Maintenance. Damaged table power modules, broken floor boxes, torn-out cables: it is maintenance work that never stops.
• Actual use. In an office building, 70% of outlets are used less than 20% of the time. You pay for infrastructure that sits unused most of the time.
• Chargers. An outlet charges nothing without a charger. Chargers disappear, and IT buys them again.

Which option for which space?

• Fixed desk: outlet and USB-C monitor. Nothing to change, but the charger stays there.
• Meeting room: batteries. U-shape, island or theatre-style layouts work with no cables.
• Work café and informal spaces: batteries. These are the spaces you don't want to wire.
• Training room: batteries, with fast charging between sessions.
• Boardroom or client suite: batteries, without badges if you wish, for a frictionless welcome.
• Auditorium and large events: batteries, deployed for the duration of the event.

The right question isn't “how many outlets?”. It's “which spaces will need to change?”.

What if the building is already wired?

It often is, and that is often the problem. An over-wired space is a fixed space: you can no longer change it without touching the floor. Batteries don't replace what is already there. They avoid adding more, and make usable the spaces that were never wired.

Why “batteries” isn't enough

Batteries left in a room, with no control or maintenance, disappear or run flat within a few months. To hold up in a company, you need a managed network: every removal linked to a person, every battery tracked, every fault anticipated. That is the subject of Batteries alone or a managed network.

Frequently asked questions

Should existing floor boxes be removed?
No. You keep them where they are useful. A shared battery network for the workplace avoids installing new ones and serves the spaces that don't have any.

Can a battery really charge a laptop?
Yes. The Pico charges any USB-C laptop up to 100 W, including the most powerful ones, and has an outlet for other devices. It lasts a full working day.

How much does a floor box cost compared with a battery?
The purchase price matters little. What costs is the construction work at every reconfiguration, €15k to €25k and 4 to 6 weeks based on what we observe, and maintaining the outlets over time.

Can the solutions be combined?
Yes, that is the most common case: outlets at fixed desks, batteries everywhere people move around.