For summer only deployments, special and costly, heavy insulation is not needed since the temperature at that time of the year remains high enough that the electronic equipment and batteries will continue to operate normally without a heat source.

The PASSCAL Polar Group's summer only enclosures are made of molded,  heavy-duty, lightweight polyethylene on the outside and have closed cell foam liner inside, cut to accommodate the equipment and batteries.  They were designed with portability in mind and their outside dimensions are 24 in x 21 in x 11 in.

To ease deployment, the case was designed to contain all the equipment necessary as long as the sensor is an L28 or smaller.  At the site, only the seismometer needs to be installed and the solar panel needs to be mounted on top of the case.

The Solar Charge Controller is responsible to properly charge the batteries when solar energy is available.  The GenaSun GV-4 controller, which is used for summer only experiments,  is a very efficient charge controller that uses the MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) to maximize the power available at the solar panel, increasing the efficiency by 10 to 30% over traditional solar regulators.  It also uses very little power in low or no light conditions.

The type of seismic sensor vault and the amount of sophistication it requires, is dependent on the type of seismometer.  A geophone does not require a “vault” per se, it can be buried in dirt or snow and be kept reasonably level in the process. A sensitive broadband seismometer requires a quiet, temperature stable and level vault.  In the Antarctic two main styles of vaults are used for broadband seismometers:  the rock vault and the snow vault.

In rocky environments where digging is nearly impossible, a weatherproof enclosure with a rigid bottom, typically aluminium, is secured to the ground.  The seismometer is then set inside, oriented properly and leveled.

To reduce noise caused by wind, and to thermally stabilize the vault and protect the instrument from flying debris, a double walled dome is placed on top of the vault and anchored to the ground as well.