Tag: control panel air conditioner

Cabinet Cooler Accessories: Adding to Efficiency and Effectiveness

Published on by jasonkirbyLeave a comment

Accessories can add much needed enhancements to assist in making your application as efficient and effective as possible. The same is true when it comes to our Cabinet Cooler Systems. Among the most essential accessories for our products are compressed air filters and regulators, which we highly recommend using with all our offerings, as well as with other brands. The Filter Separator effectively eliminates water, dirt, and rust from your compressed air system, while its 5-micron filter element prevents contaminants from clogging or damaging your equipment. For even more precise filtration, an Oil Removal Filter should be installed downstream of the Filter Separator; this filter utilizes a 0.03-micron element to remove oil and solid particulates. Additionally, our Pressure Regulators allow you to set the desired operating pressure, and we advise maintaining the minimum pressure necessary for optimal performance. This not only conserves air consumption but also fine-tunes the efficiency of EXAIR products in various applications.

From left to right; a few value added accessories for your Vortex Tube: Hot Muffler, Cold Muffler, Automatic Drain Filter Separator, Oil Removal Filter, and Solenoid Valve/Thermostat Kit.

A Cold Air Distribution Kit is an additional accessory available with our Cabinet Cooler Systems that enhances their efficiency. This kit features a length of flexible vinyl tubing designed to channel cold air for optimal circulation or to target specific hot spots. It also includes tubing connectors and adhesive-backed clips to secure the tubing in place.

Solenoid valves and thermostats are effective tools for conserving compressed air. Cabinet Cooler Systems equipped with thermostat control utilize a solenoid valve and thermostat to regulate the flow of compressed air, activating it only when cooling is necessary. The thermostat is preset to 95°F (35°C) and typically maintains a temperature within ±2°F (1°C) inside the cabinet. Solenoid valves are available in various voltage options, including 120V at 60Hz, 110V at 50Hz, 240V at 50/60Hz, and 24VDC. All solenoids are CSA Certified and either UL listed or recognized.

EXAIR’s Side Mount Kits facilitate the installation of cooling systems on the sides of electrical enclosures, particularly beneficial in scenarios where vertical or top mounting is impractical. It is important to note that NEMA 4 and 4X Cabinet Cooler Systems must be installed in a vertical orientation. These kits preserve the NEMA ratings for both large and small enclosures classified as Type 12, 4, and 4X, and they fit into standard electrical knockouts measuring 1-1/2 NPS. The Side Mount Kits designed for NEMA 12 Cabinet Cooler Systems are constructed from aluminum, while those intended for NEMA 4 and 4X systems are made from either Type 303 or Type 316 stainless steel.

If you have questions about the Cabinet Cooler Systems accessories, or anything regarding EXAIR and our products, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Jason Kirby
Application Engineer
Email: jasonkirby@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jk

ATEX Cabinet Coolers for Dependable Heat Protection in Explosive Areas.

Published on by jasonkirbyLeave a comment

EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems have been delivering dependable heat protection for electrical and electronic panels for many years. These systems feature no moving parts or electrical components that can fail, ensuring a long lifespan as long as they are supplied with clean, moisture-free compressed air. This design allows them to function nearly indefinitely without the need for maintenance.

EXAIR’s ATEX Cabinet Cooler® Systems provide an effective and cost-efficient solution for maintaining optimal temperatures in electrical enclosures located in hazardous ATEX classified environments. Now offered in robust aluminum construction, these coolers are specifically designed for use in Zones 2 and 22. They have undergone UL testing, are CE compliant, and adhere to rigorous ATEX standards for purged and pressurized enclosures.

ATEX Cabinet Coolers, with cooling capacities reaching up to 5,600 BTU/Hr., are specifically designed to prevent overheating in electrical cabinets located in explosive environments. These systems are suitable for a variety of applications, including industrial control panels, specialized electrical enclosures, and sensitive electronics in hazardous areas, ensuring that your equipment remains cool, safe, and fully operational. The ATEX Cabinet Cooler is easy to install, fitting through a standard electrical knockout while maintaining NEMA 4 integrity in challenging conditions. Additionally, optional thermostat controls help minimize compressed air consumption, and cold air distribution kits promote uniform cooling throughout the cabinet.

EXAIR offers a comprehensive lineup of Cabinet Cooler Systems for NEMA 12, 4, 4X, hazardous location and ATEX applications. Built with no moving parts, every system is CE compliant, UL-listed, and designed for long-term reliability in the most challenging conditions. From control panels and motor centers to laser housings and surveillance equipment, EXAIR Cabinet Coolers protect your investments and keep your operations running smoothly. Prices start at $1,615.

If you have questions about the ATEX Cabinet Coolers, or anything regarding EXAIR and our products, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Jason Kirby
Application Engineer
Email: jasonkirby@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jk

Protecting Electrical Enclosures Safely and Reliably with Cabinet Cooler Systems

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

As summer temperatures increase, so does the volume of calls we get about Cabinet Cooler Systems. A typical call goes something like this:

“One of our control panels has a drive in it that’s overheating. If it goes down, so does the whole line. How soon can I get a Cabinet Cooler System?”

All of our Cabinet Cooler Systems — including the UL Classified HazLoc and ATEX models — are in stock and available for same day shipment.

“Great! How do I get one?”

With just a few key pieces of information, I can quickly and accurately calculate the heat load of your panel, and specify the right Cabinet Cooler System. You can input that information into our Sizing Guide online, or you can call me. It only takes a minute to do the calculations, and we do it over the phone all the time. Here’s what we need to know:

  • Panel dimensions: Grab your favorite tape measure & write down the height, width, and depth of the panel. We’ll calculate the heat transfer surface area from that.
  • Current internal & external air temperatures: Take a thermometer to where the panel is. Write down what it reads when you get there — that’ll be the ‘external’. Then, put it inside the panel, and write down what it reads after a few minutes — that’ll be the ‘internal.’ We use those to calculate the internal heat load — how much heat is being generated by the components inside the panel.
    • Optional: if you have accurate heat dissipation data for the housed components, we can use that instead of the temperatures. This is how we do it if the panel isn’t currently in operation.
    • Important note: if we ARE using temperatures, it’s important to measure the AIR temperatures, as opposed to using a heat gun to ‘shoot’ the surface temperature of a component. The formulas we use are based on tried-and-true HVAC formulas, and we’ve been proving their accuracy for decades.
  • Maximum external air temperature: How hot does it get on the hottest day of summer? We’ll use that to calculate the external heat load — how much heat the panel absorbs from the environment.
  • Desired internal air temperature: Many electrical/electronic component manufacturers specify a maximum operating temperature of 104°F (40°F), so the ‘industry standard’ in panel cooling is to maintain an internal air temperature of 95°F (35°C), so that’s where we pre-set our Thermostats. If you know for a fact that the components inside your panel need a cooler environment to operate in, the Thermostats can be reset. Keep in mind, we may need to provide a Cabinet Cooler System with a higher cooling capacity in those cases. Or, if you know for a fact that your equipment can handle a higher operating temperature, the Thermostats can be adjusted…and you can save on your compressed air usage.

If there are fans circulating outside air through the panel, we’ll need to know about them too. They’re providing a finite (sometimes substantial) amount of cooling, and they’ll have to be removed, and their holes covered, for proper operation of the Cabinet Cooler System. If not, that’s like running your air conditioner with a fan in the window.

The other considerations are all about where the panel is, and what it’s exposed to:

  • NEMA ratings are all about keeping the environment out of the panel:
    • NEMA 12: Oil tight, dust tight, indoor duty
    • NEMA 4: All that, and splash resistant, indoor/outdoor duty
    • NEMA 4X: All that, and stainless steel construction for corrosion resistance.
  • If it’s a UL or ATEX Classified area, we have systems for that:
    • HazLoc systems are UL Class I Div 1, Class II Div 1, and Class III rated.
    • ATEX systems are rated for use in ATEX Zones 2 & 22.

If you have an electrical or electronic panel that needs reliable, durable heat protection, you might need an EXAIR Cabinet Cooler System. To find out more, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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Freon-based Air Conditioning Units or Cabinet Coolers for Electrical Panels

Published on by John BallLeave a comment
Whatever you do, DON’T do THIS to your panel.

These hot summer months can bring some elevated temperatures within electric control panels.  With freon-based coolers, higher ambient conditions make them less efficient; and opening the electrical panel to have a fan blow inside creates a dangerous electrical hazard.  For every 10oC rise above the operational temperature, the life of an electrical component is cut in half.  To reduce loss in productivity and premature equipment failures, it is important to keep your electrical mechanisms cool.  The EXAIR Cabinet Coolers are designed to do just that.

From right to left: Small NEMA 12, Large NEMA 12, Large NEMA 4X

We receive many questions when it comes to panel cooling as the Vortex technology is relatively new in this area.  The main question is the comparison between the Cabinet Cooler System and the Freon-based A/C panel units.  In short, the Cabinet Coolers have no moving parts to wear, do not use Freon, and require no maintenance.  But they do require clean compressed air to operate.  The Freon-based A/C units do not use compressed air, and only need electricity to operate.  In this blog, I will cover a term to consider: Total Cost of Ownership.

What do I mean by Total Cost of Ownership?  I mean that you not only take into account energy use, but also other, very real issues of owning the system.  There are some significant financial impacts on the bottom line when one considers the need for using electrical Freon panel coolers.

Initial Unit Cost – The initial cost to acquire a vortex-style Cabinet Cooler is between 1/3 and ¼ the cost to acquire a Freon-based air conditioner system. And if we consider that a typical life span for a Freon-based cooling solution is 5 years, then the yearly cost is $500.00/year.  An EXAIR Cabinet Cooler system, by comparison, will have a 20-year life span as there are no moving parts to wear out. That makes for a yearly cost of $36.45 / year. Quite a large difference between the two. Also note that over the 20-year life of an EXAIR Cabinet Cooler, the Freon unit will have to be replaced four times. We’re not taking that into account for our calculations, but assuming the cost remains the same over that time.

Installation – Because it is so easy to install an EXAIR Cabinet Cooler system, the estimated time to install is only 1 hour. One small hole to mount the unit on the top of the panel and another hole to route the thermostat to the solenoid.  With some small amount of plumbing for the compressed air and cold air distribution kit, the extent of the installation is complete. Compare that to the estimated 3-hour minimum time in order to install a Freon-based solution. With this unit, it will come with very large cut-outs on the panel to allow for the airflow to process through.

Maintenance – In this comparison, we are stating that there are no maintenance or downtime requirements for EXAIR Cabinet Cooler systems. This is another area where the EXAIR Cabinet Coolers really pull ahead of the Freon-based solutions. Yes, there is some small amount of annual filter maintenance for the compressed air supply, but a quick washing and re-installation of the sintered bronze element, and you are back in business in a very short time.  The Freon-based solution, by comparison, will require a minimum of 4 hours per year (one time per quarter) for charging Freon (due to any leaks), cleaning and replacing filters, washing the condenser, and performing compressor checks. At an estimated $80.00/hour, that is $320.00 per year for labor plus any parts. 

Operations – Here we can compare the energy use.  If we use a simple estimate for the cost of compressed air at $0.25/1000 Standard Cubic Feet, then over the course of a year of operation, a vortex-style cooling solution will run about $338.00 / year to operate. For a comparable Freon-based cooling system, it will be about $56.38 / year to operate.  But with a Freon-based system, it will need to be oversized for ambient conditions over 95oF (35oC), which will make this more comparable. 

Electrical shutdowns are expensive and annoying, and if you do not maintain the Freon-based systems regularly, the shutdowns can occur often.  In showing the Total Cost of Ownership, it shows that the EXAIR Cabinet Coolers are a great purchase.  With no moving parts, Freon, or costly preventative maintenance required, they can operate for decades by keeping your electronics cool.  For our U.S. customers, we are offering a promotion.  You will receive a1104SS Super Air Nozzle, a $197.00 value, for free as a promotional item from now until the end of August 2026 with a qualified purchase.  How can you not give them a try?  If you have any questions about Cabinet Coolers or the Sizing Guide, you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR.  We will be happy to help you.  Remember whenever you make a purchase, you should always look at the Total Cost of Ownership to get the entire story. 

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb