EXAIR‘s Cabinet Coolers are a low-cost and reliable way to cool and purge your electrical panels. They incorporate our Vortex Tubes to produce cold air from compressed air. With no moving parts, our Cabinet Coolers can run maintenance free for many years.
When selecting which Cabinet Cooler is right for your application, there are a few things for you to consider:
First, is your cabinet in a hazardous location? We have HazLoc Cabinet Cooler models that are rated for UL Classified areas, including Class I Div 1, Groups A, B, C, and D; Class II Div 1, Groups E, F, and G; and Class III; as well as ATEX rated units that are approved for use in Zones 2 and 22. All of our hazardous location Cabinet Cooler Systems need to be used in conjunction with a purged and pressurized control system.
From right to left: Small NEMA 12, Large NEMA 12, Large NEMA 4X
After this you will need to determine what NEMA integrity your enclosure requires. We have NEMA 12(IP54) models, which are dust and oil tight. These are ideal for most industrial environments where no liquids or corrosives are present. Our NEMA 4(IP66) options can be used inside and outside, and are splash resistant as well as dust tight and oil tight. The low-pressure relief valve will ensure the integrity of the NEMA 4 enclosure is maintained. Finally, our NEMA 4X(IP66) option offers all the same protection as the NEMA 4X, but is constructed of stainless steel for food service and corrosive environments.
Next, you need to decide if you need continuous operation or thermostat control. The thermostat control systems are the most efficient way to operate a Cabinet Cooler. They save on compressed air by only activating the cooler only when the internal temperatures approach critical levels. The standard thermostat control systems include an adjustable thermostat factory set at 95°F. We also have our Electronic Temperature Control (ETC), which allows for precise temperature control that can be adjusted with the touch of a button.
ETC Electronic Temperature Control can be used in a wide variety of applications.
Finally, you will need to calculate the heat load to determine the cooling capacity. We have a calculator on our website that can help with this. However, if you speak to any of our Application Engineers, we can perform these calculations for you. If you would like to discuss your Cabinet Cooler application, feel free to give us a call!
EXAIR currently offers TWO styles of cabinet coolers designed and certified for classified areas. Both UL Classified and ATEX!
Hazardous locations are a tricky opponent for electrical panels and controls. To safely be in a HAZLOC, they either have to be rated for that environment or they need to be enclosed in a Cabinet that is purged and pressurized to keep any explosive gases, fumes, or dust out of the Cabinet. This is no new thing, however, as the Industrial revolution 4.0 continues to grow and progress, products are continually being added to HAZLOC areas. For example, robotic controls, analyzers, motors and switch gears now use electronic accessories to meet the needs for speed, process control and energy efficiency, which often renders the equipment unsuitable for use in hazardous locations. While the demand for these new devices continues to grow, not all of these items are able to be made intrinsically safe. And the items that are not will need to be enclosed in a cabinet where heat will build, and you need to manage that heat load while retaining the positive pressure purge and pressurization.
HazLoc Cabinet Coolers are designed for hazardous locations and are mounted to NEMA 7, 8, and 9 enclosures. EXAIR catalogs these Cabinet Coolers as NEMA 4 (IP66) or NEMA 4X (IP66), as mentioned above. But their registration for UL classification is for Class I, Class II, and Class III hazardous areas, both Div 1 and Div 2. The reason that they do not match the NEMA rating of the hazardous panels is because they require an X-type or Z-type purge system. In combination, they will not sacrifice the integrity of the hazardous electrical panels.
ATEX Cabinet Coolers have similar attributes to HazLoc Cabinet Coolers except this type of registration is popularly used in Europe. These area classifications fall under the EN/IEC 60079-2 international standard for explosive zones. It covers three zones in two hazardous areas; gas/liquid and dust. The ATEX Cabinet Coolers can be used in Zone 2 for gas/liquid and Zone 22 for dust. Like the HazLoc Cabinet Coolers, to keep their classification, the ATEX Cabinet Coolers require a Zone 2/22 purge system. The ATEX terminology is as follows:
Gas – CE EX II 3 G Ex h IIC T3 Gc
Dust – CE EX II 3 D Ex h IIIC 200oC Dc
EXAIR offers a variety of Cabinet Coolers in stock with different cooling capacities, materials of construction, and operational locations. We also offer them in 316SS, high temperature versions, and non-hazardous purge. We do have a Cabinet Cooler System Sizing Guide to help determine the best product for your application or a Cabinet Cooler System Calculator to do it yourself. For any hazardous location, we do recommend contacting us for clarification. If you have any questions, an Application Engineer at EXAIR can assist you.
EXAIR’s HazLoc Cabinet Cooler Systems have been set apart from the competition by achieving the UL classified designation for Div 1 environments. Thermostatically controlled systems are recommended for the highest efficiency and include UL-listed solenoids, also for hazardous environments. EXAIR Cabinet Cooller systems will install on your purged enclosure in minutes, require little to no maintenance and operate under the roughest of industrial conditions. If you require low cost, ease of use and reliability, a HazLoc Cabinet Cooler system will meet your needs.
In the United States, the National Electrical Code (NEC) defines these areas in a system of Classes, Divisions, and Groups, depending on the nature of the material that presents the hazard (Class), whether it normally exists or if it’s just possible in abnormal situations (Division), and the specific type of the subject material (Group). Today’s blog is all about what would classify an area as Class I, Division 1, and which Group the specific hazardous material falls under.
A Class I location means that the hazard is a flammable gas or vapor which is present in the area in a high enough concentration to be considered ignitable. These were the locations that we were required to use non-sparking tools within, and for good reason. Some examples of Class I locations are:
Petroleum refineries
Gasoline storage or dispensing areas
Aircraft hangars and fueling stations
Spray finishing rooms or booths
Division 1 means that the flammable gas or vapor that makes the area a Class I location is present in the atmosphere during normal operating conditions and/or when the gas or vapor is released to the atmosphere during maintenance or repair work. These gases & vapors aren’t present in ALL areas of the above-listed Class I examples during normal operation, so only the areas where they ARE present during normal operations would be defined as Division 1. For example:
Areas where a gasoline tank (in a refinery or gasoline storage/dispensing station, for example) is vented to the atmosphere are Class I Division 1, because the vapor coming out of the vent is doing so by design…you can’t pump a liquid into a non-vented tank.
Only the parts of an aircraft hangar where fuel is actually being handled are Division 1. That wouldn’t necessarily apply to a stock or communications room in the hangar, though.
The interior of a paint booth is Division 1 because the spray is volatile, as is the immediate vicinity adjacent to an open spray booth.
Class I designation is further divided into four groups, based on two specific characteristics of the gas or vapor that express how easy it is to cause (or how hard it is to prevent) an explosive hazard:
Maximum Experimental Safe Gap (MESG) – The gas is put in the interior chamber of a vessel with an adjustable gap that leads to the outer chamber. MESG is the largest gap between the chambers that will prevent ignition of the gas.
Minimum Igniting Current (MIC) ratio. This is the ratio of the minimum current from an inductive spark required to ignite the gas, divided by the minimum current from an inductive spark that will ignite methane under the same conditions.
Group A: Acetylene
MESG = 0.25 mm
MIC ratio = 0.017
Group B: Hydrogen, butanedione, ethylene oxide, Propylene oxide, and acrolein
MESG <0.45mm (except acetylene)
MIC ratio <0.4 (except acetylene)
Group C: Ethylene, cyclopropane and ethyl ether
MESG = 0.45mm to 0.75mm
MIC ratio = 0.4 – 0.8
Group D: Acetone, ammonia, benzene, butane, ethanol, gasoline, hexanes, methane, methanol, methane, naphtha, natural gas, propane and toluene
MESG >0.75mm
MIC ratio >0.8
EXAIR HazLoc Cabinet Cooler Systems are engineered and approved for use on electrical enclosures in these areas, as well as Class II and Class III. Our ATEX Cabinet Cooler Systems are compliant with the European Union’s ATEX Directive (Zones 2 and 22).
Both the HazLoc (left) and ATEX (right) Cabinet Cooler Systems are available from stock in NEMA 4 and NEMA 4X ratings.
Wherever the panel you need cooling for is located, we’ve very likely got a reliable and safe solution. If you’d like to find out more, give me a call.
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.
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 little 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 about owning a system. There are some significant financial impacts on the bottom line when one considers the need for using the electrical or electronic 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 4 times. We’re not taking that into account in 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 a 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 panels 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 with Freon (due to expected 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 energy use. If we use a simple estimate for the cost of compressed air at $ .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 over-sized 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 needed, they can operate for decades to keep your electronics cool. For our U.S. and Canadian customers, we are offering a promotion. You will receive an AC Sensor, a $76.00 value, for free as a promotional item from now until the end of August 2024 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.
