Much of the news cycle these past few weeks has covered this massive “heat dome” that’s elected to hang out over much of the Central and Midwestern US. As a result, temperatures for much of the US (and elsewhere in the world) have reached or exceeded record highs far more often than we’d expect from a typical summer. To add insult to injury, an El Niño weather pattern emerged in July that’s exacerbated the problem due to warming ocean temperatures in the Pacific.
While this heat has led to a wonderful pool year at the Daniel household, it’s not exactly an ideal situation for control panels in an industrial facility. As temperatures rise inside your plant, this can begin to cause issues with your electrical panels. Rather than letting the heat buildup inside, EXAIR offers our Cabinet Coolers to address this heat before problems arise.
Utilizing Vortex Tube technology, the Cabinet Cooler produces cold air from an ordinary supply of compressed air. This cold air keeps the enclosure free of debris and moisture and is easily installed in minutes through a standard electrical knockout. Here is a short video that shows just how simple it really is. The Cabinet Cooler Systems are available with NEMA 12 (IP54) ratings and are also available in Aluminum, 303 Stainless Steel, and 316 Stainless Steel construction for NEMA 4/4X (IP66) rated enclosures. For systems that are not able to be mounted on top of the cabinet, we also have Side Mount Kits available in Aluminum, 303 Stainless, and 316 Stainless.
I recently worked with a customer in the brewing industry that experienced a myriad of issues with their electrical panels last summer. Their maintenance manager came up with the idea to place a 5mm ID tube (operating at 4 BAR, or 58 psi) to keep the air purged with compressed air. While certainly wasteful, it did work for them for a period of time as temperatures began to creep up in their plant. However, as soon as temperatures began to rise to around 90°F inside, the warm compressed air was no longer effective. As high heat alarms began to sound throughout the shop floor, they began looking for an alternative solution.
They landed on the EXAIR website and filled out a Cabinet Cooler Sizing Guide. We were able to determine that our Model 4830 2000 Btu/hr system was more than enough to keep things at a safe temperature. Not only were we able to reduce their air consumption, but rather than blowing hot compressed air into the panel we were now delivering air 50°F cooler than the supplied compressed air. The vent that was permitting the compressed air to exhaust was sealed off, which helps keep the panel clean during months where cooling is not needed.
A 5mm ID tube operating at 4 BAR (58 psi) will consume 40.08 SCFM of compressed air. Our Model 4830 comes in at 30 SCFM at a pressure of 100 psi for rated operation. A 33% reduction in compressed air usage wasn’t necessarily their goal, but a welcomed result nonetheless. The Cabinet Cooler was installed in minutes and immediately solved their overheating issues. With several more panels in the facility using the same ineffective method of cooling, they plan to outfit all their panels with an EXAIR Cabinet Cooler.
Don’t wait until you have a line down to start fixing the issues with your electrical cabinets. Contact an EXAIR Application Engineer today. We’ll help ensure you’re able to operate year-round WITHOUT heat-related shutdowns.
Tyler Daniel, CCASS
Application Engineer
E-mail: TylerDaniel@EXAIR.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_TD
