Tale Of The Tape: EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems vs. Air To Air Coolers

Published on by Russ Bowman

As summer heat continues to rise, so does the volume of inquiries we get for EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems.  Many callers want to know what differences they can expect in using our products versus other methods they’re considering…or even using…right now.

One very common method is the use of a fan to draw cooling air into the panel, from the surrounding environment.  This is the simplest, and least expensive option, but it has two main drawbacks:

  • Components inside the panel are now exposed (albeit in a controlled manner) to the very same environmental elements that putting them inside a panel was supposed to protect them from.
  • Since the air surrounding the panel is the cooling medium, the temperature inside the panel will never be lower than the temperature outside the panel.  Fan cooling in hot environments will still allow overheating.
If a computer’s fan in the family room can get this dusty, imagine how much worse a control panel on a factory floor can get.

Two key benefits of EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems take direct aim at these drawbacks:

  • Once properly installed on a sealed enclosure, all the air entering the enclosure comes from your compressed air supply.  It’s also been through the Automatic Drain Filter Separator that comes with every EXAIR Cabinet Cooler System, so it’s clean and moisture free.
  • The air generated by the Cabinet Cooler is refrigerated, thanks to the Vortex Tube phenomenon.  It doesn’t matter how hot it is in the area; the air going into the panel is about 50F colder than the compressed air supply.  
Cold air from your compressed air supply, with no openings to the environment, eliminates any environmental effects on cooling capabilities.

Fans are one of the two methods of “air to air” cooling – the other is a closed loop system commonly known as a heat pipe:

*Hot air (inside the panel) causes refrigerant in heat pipe to flash to a gas.
*Cold air (from the environment) causes the refrigerant to condense to a liquid.

While this eliminates the environmental contamination concerns of dirt & humidity, it’s still limited.  Just like fan cooling, this method cannot make it cooler inside the enclosure than the ambient temperature in the surrounding area.

Despite this limitation, heat pipes (first column, below) are generally quite cost effective.  But, considering a total cost of ownership difference of less than $15/year, it’s clear that EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems, which aren’t limited by ambient temperature, are a strong contender for favorite selection.

Reliable, durable, and cost effective: the EXAIR Cabinet Cooler System.

EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems provide up to 5,600 Btu/hr worth of cooling power.  Regardless of your environment (even Classified/Hazardous locations,) we’ve got a system to keep your electronic and electrical panels safe from heat, humidity, and contamination. If you’d like to discuss enclosure cooling and the benefits of EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems, give me a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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Computer Fan image courtesy of tico_24 Creative Commons License

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