At EXAIR we are very familiar with the benefits of our Cabinet Cooler Systems, and we would be more than happy to tell you about the many advantages. Our Cabinet Coolers are not the only method of cooling an enclosure, so when there are alternative methods, it is often beneficial to compare and contrast them directly. In this blog I want to take a look at air-to-air heat exchangers, and how they stack up against EXAIR’s panel coolers.

An air-to-air heat exchanger works by exchanging (as the name would suggest) the heat from the air inside the enclosure, with the ambient air outside the cabinet. In order for these to be effective, there needs to be a difference in temperature of the two different volumes of air. A closed loop system will continue to exchange heat to maintain a desired set internal temperature. The heat exchange of most air-to-air units relies on a heat pipe, a heat-transfer device which converts an internal refrigerant liquid into vapor by placing one end of the pipe in contact with the hot environment.  The heated vapor travels to the other end of the pipe which is in contact with a cooler environment.  The vapor condenses back into a liquid (releasing latent heat) and returns to the hot end of the pipe and the cycle repeats.

So, how does our system compare to the exchanger? First, as mentioned, the effectiveness of a heat exchanger is directly tied to the temperature difference (ΔT) between the inside of the cabinet, and the ambient temperature of the environment. The lower the ΔT, the less effective the cooling will be. If the temperature in your facility begins to rise, in the summer, for example, the more issues you can run into. Increased cooling can be achieved with larger air-to-air heat exchangers, but these may be even larger than the enclosure itself.

EXAIR Cabinet Coolers rely on the ΔT between the cold air temperature produced by the Cabinet Cooler (typically ~20°F) and the desired internal enclosure temperature (normally 95°F).  Changes in the ambient temperature will not affect the cold air temperature of the Cabinet Cooler. With our systems, the cooling capacity is only affected by the volume of compressed air supplied (and consequently the volume of cold air produced). This means we can dramatically increase the cooling capacity without affecting the overall physical footprint, which is already much, much smaller than an air-to-air type of unit. It also means that our systems can function at ambient temperatures higher than the desired internal temp. Our High Temp models can operate in environments as hot as 200°F, which is not possible with an air-to-air heat exchanger.

Second, dirt in the ambient environment will impact cooling performance with an air-to-air heat exchanger.  In order for the air-to-air unit to effectively remove heat, the heat pipe must have access to the outside environment. This allows for the possibility for the ambient end of the heat pipe to become covered in contaminants such as dust.  This dust will create an insulation barrier between the heat pipe and the ambient air, decreasing the ability for the heat pipe to condense the vapors within.  Because of this, most air-to-air devices use filters to separate the heat pipe from the ambient environment.  But, when these filters become clogged, access to ambient temperatures is reduced, and the cooling capacity of the air-to-air unit is reduced as well.

EXAIR’s NEMA 12 and NEMA 4/4X Cabinet Coolers are dust and oil tight. In addition, with no moving parts to wear out, or any need to be in contact with the ambient air for the purpose of cooling, a dirty environment poses no problem. As long as only clean, moisture-free compressed air is supplied (which can be achieved with the use of a filter separator), our coolers will run maintenance free for many years.

Finally, air-to-air heat exchangers can have very large dimensions. These bulky solutions can be prohibitive when there are space constraints around the enclosure. On top of that, the time involved, and the modifications to the enclosure that are required to install a large air-to-air unit, and the “solution” may end up bringing additional problems related to installation.

As mentioned earlier, the footprints of EXAIR’s Cabinet Coolers are small, and do not change regardless of cooling capacity. The installation is also very straightforward.

There are many advantages to choosing an EXAIR Cabinet Cooler over an air-to-air heat exchanger. I would love to discuss with you about how an EXAIR Cabinet Cooler can solve problems in your facility. Feel free to give me a call!

Al Wooffitt, Application Engineer
EXAIR LLC

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