AED Wall Cabinets

A cabinet does more than hold the defibrillator. It keeps the device visible, protected from dust, moisture and tampering, and easy to reach in the first minutes of a cardiac emergency. The right cabinet depends on three things: the AED it has to fit, the wall it mounts on, and the environment it works in. The sections below walk through the choices.

An alarmed AED cabinet sounds a siren (some models reach 90–120 dB) and often flashes a strobe light when the door opens. The alarm does two jobs: it alerts people nearby that an emergency is in progress, and it discourages tampering or theft the rest of the time. Non-alarmed cabinets are simpler and quieter, and are common in small offices and staffed locations where the AED is already in plain sight. If your AED sits in a public or semi-public space — a school corridor, gym, lobby or house of worship — an alarm with a strobe is the configuration most facilities choose.

Surface-mount cabinets attach directly to the wall face and project the full depth of the cabinet into the room; they are the easiest to install and the standard choice for concrete, block and finished walls. Recessed cabinets sit inside the wall cavity so only the door and frame sit proud of the surface. Semi-recessed cabinets split the difference, projecting only a few inches. Slim and recessed profiles are commonly chosen for hallways and corridors, where how far an object projects from the wall can matter — check your local building and accessibility requirements before choosing a mounting style for a corridor.

Cabinets are sized by their interior dimensions, and your AED has to fit with its carry case on, the way it will actually be stored and grabbed. A common standard cabinet interior is about 17 × 17 × 7 inches, which fits most major AED brands, but larger devices, devices stored with a pediatric pad pack, and units kept in hard cases can need more room. Before ordering, measure your device in its case (height × width × depth) and compare against the cabinet’s listed interior dimensions. If you are between sizes or run an unusual device, call us at (800) 239-1797 and we will confirm the fit.

An AED that serves a pool deck, sports field, parking area or job site may need outdoor-rated storage. Outdoor cabinets are built with weather-sealed construction; in cold climates, heated cabinets keep the device and its battery and pads within their operating temperature range through the winter. Indoor cabinets are not a substitute — if the device lives outside, choose a cabinet designed for it.

Placement guidance is general practice, not a legal determination: mount the cabinet in a visible, unobstructed location on a normal path of travel, mark it with AED signage so it can be spotted from a distance, and keep it close to the areas your AED program is meant to cover. Many programs aim for a retrieval time of about three minutes from anywhere in the facility. Your organization’s AED program requirements — and any state or local rules that apply to your building type — govern final placement, so confirm against those before installing.