Condensed Consolidated Statement of Income (Unaudited) (USD $) In Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011
Condensed Consolidated Statement of Income [IncomeStatement]
Net Sales	$ 778.4	$ 709.2	$ 1,502.2	$ 1,367.3
Cost of good sold	518.6	479.3	1,008.3	932.2
Gross Profit	259.8	229.9	493.9	435.1
Selling & administrative expenses	135.3	124.8	267.7	246.4
Operating income	124.5	105.1	226.2	188.7
Interest expense, net	(7.1)	(7.5)	(14.3)	(15.0)
Other (expense) income, net	(1.3)	(1.7)	(1.2)	(3.8)
Total other expense, net	(8.4)	(9.2)	(15.5)	(18.8)
Income before income taxes	116.1	95.9	210.7	169.9
Provision for income taxes	38.1	30.2	69.1	53.5
Net income	78.0	65.7	141.6	116.4
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	0.5	0.5	0.9	0.9
Net income attributable to Hubbell	$ 77.5	$ 65.2	$ 140.7	$ 115.5
Earnings Per Share Disclosure [Abstract]
Basic	$ 1.31	$ 1.08	$ 2.37	$ 1.91
Diluted	$ 1.29	$ 1.07	$ 2.34	$ 1.89
Cash dividends per common share	$ 0.41	$ 0.38	$ 0.82	$ 0.76