4 Ways to Cool a Cabinet
24 September 2019
Ensuring a cabinet is well ventilated and cool is vital for protecting the equipment it houses.
There are four main ways to achieve this in terms of airflow, one of which uses natural convection and the others employ fans to create forced convection. Which one you choose depends on the space around the cabinet and the temperatures inside and outside the cabinet.1. Natural Convection
If the thermal load (amount of heat to be removed) inside the electrical cabinet is relatively low, the use of two exhaust filters can be an effective solution. However, this offers a limited cooling effect compared to forced convection.
The installation of two filters, one at the bottom and one at the top, allow the electrical cabinet to be cooled by natural convection, since the hot air tends to rise upwards.
The same effect is achieved by positioning a filter in the lower part of the cabinet and a roof exhaust unit without a fan at the top of the cabinet.
When the internal thermal load is greater (if the equipment gives off a more considerable amount of heat), it is necessary to use a forced ventilation system. The following three different configurations boost airflow to better ventilate and cool the cabinet.
2. Standard Airflow (fan at bottom of cabinet)
The most commonly recommended solution is to use a standard flow filter fan unit to suck cool air into the enclosure from the bottom of the panel, combined with an exhaust outlet at the top mounted on the opposite wall. The fan forces the cool air to move inside the cabinet whilst the exhaust filter ejects hot air to the environment by induction.
This configuration takes in the air from the outside, generating a slight overpressure compared to the external environment. The positive pressure kept inside the enclosure helps expels dust from any gaps. Furthermore, the life of the fan is extended as cool external air is passed over the motor within the fan rather than the warmer air from inside the cabinet.
The temperature distribution inside the cabinet with a thermal load dissipated in the middle of the cabinet. The airflow is more natural thanks to convection.
3. Reverse Airflow (fan at top of cabinet)
An alternative method to effectively control the temperature in an enclosure is to pull the warm air out near the top using a reverse flow filter fan, while cooler air is drawn in through a standalone filter at the bottom of the cabinet on the opposite wall.
This configuration greatly improves the air flow rate compared to the previous two methods, in fact the total air flow rate is comparable to that declared in open air.
The airflow is more even throughout the enclosure, because of a constant negative pressure. This means there is less turbulence in the airflow and a more consistent pressure, but the lifetime of the fan will be reduced as it only extracts warm air.
4. Roof Mounted Extraction
The final option is to mount a roof extraction unit to the top of the enclosure, creating forced convection with an integrated fan or relying on natural convection without a fan. Cool air is drawn inside through one or more filter inlets allowing a change of air and heat dissipation.
When used with a fan inside the roof mounted unit, this provides a highly effective solution to improving internal airflow. The roof fan units are equipped with a backward curved centrifugal motorised impeller which outperforms standard axial fans of a similar size on filter pressure loss.
A roof unit is particularly beneficial when space is restricted; when some side walls of the cabinet are covered by obstacles, walls or other panels.
Whichever option is best for the circumstances, it is important to filter the air entering the cabinet to prevent internal components from being damaged by dust or other polluting agents. It is also key to correctly calculate the required airflow in relation to the thermal load, as an internal temperature that is too high will drastically reduce the life of the components. This will determine which of the discussed solutions is required.
Take a look at our enclosure climate control solutions available for next day delivery.
Other Press Releases By This Company
- 11/01/2024 - Advanced Digital Tools to Enhance Precision in Fan Specification for Fume Extraction Systems
- 15/11/2023 - BREEAM Indoor Air Quality with EC Plug Fans for Air Handling Units
- 07/09/2023 - ATEX S50 Polypropylene Fans for Fume Extraction Systems
- 04/05/2023 - Reducing Scope 2 Carbon Emissions with AHU Fan Upgrades
- 27/04/2023 - Understanding Corrosion Resistant C3, C4, C5 and CX Paint Grades
- 27/04/2023 - Energy Saving EC Forward Curved Fans for Air Curtains
- 27/03/2023 - Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) – Basic & Quality System Differences
- 27/03/2023 - ATEX Fans Crowned Winner of The Net Innovation Award 2023
- 24/03/2023 - ATEX Concepts: What is BS EN 14986:2017?
- 24/03/2023 - Zone Two ATEX Fans Designed to Equipment Category 3G
- 09/02/2023 - Corrosion Resistant Fans for Oxygen Rich Environments
- 25/01/2023 - The Complete School Fume Extraction Fan Kit
- 25/01/2023 - Centrifugal Blower Fans for Combustion Burning of Medical Waste
- 25/01/2023 - Zone One ATEX Fans for Category 2 Gas Environments
- 25/01/2023 - A Comprehensive Plug Fan Range
- 14/11/2022 - EC Fanwall Q&A for Engineers
- 24/10/2022 - The Role of the Industrial Blower Fan in Residual Waste to Energy Incineration
- 24/10/2022 - Corrosion Resistant Stainless Steel Fans – Robust & Hygienic
- 12/09/2022 - Combustible Dust Explosions in Industrial Processes
- 01/09/2022 - Exhaust Fans for Petrochemical Production in the Oil & Gas Industry
- 13/07/2022 - NIMUS Fans Improve Efficiency and Cost Reduction at UK Biomass Gas Site
- 28/06/2022 - Fans for Power Electronics Cooling
- 23/06/2022 - Replacing a Fan in a Fume Cupboard – Choosing the Right Plastic Fan
- 06/06/2022 - IIC Hydrogen Exhaust & Effective Battery Room Ventilation
- 01/06/2022 - Combustible Dust & Textile Industrial Fans
- 24/05/2022 - Ecofit Forward Curved Centrifugal Fans with AC or EC motors
- 09/05/2022 - New Launch: I-Series Backward Curved EC Plug Fans
- 05/05/2022 - Corrosive Fume Extraction Case Studies
- 21/04/2022 - Industrial Fans for Maximum Combustion in Waste Wood Renewable Energy Systems.
- 14/04/2022 - Transformer Cooling Fans
- 28/03/2022 - Air Measurement Tools for SprayBooth & Refinishing Applications
- 11/03/2022 - Industrial Fan Impellers & Fans for Spray Booth Ventilation
- 09/03/2022 - Axair Support the Development of Mobile Incineration Units
- 03/03/2022 - The advantages of multiple fans in parallel vs. a single fan in ventilation systems
- 03/12/2021 - Balanced Airflow in Heat Recovery Systems with Constant Volume Fans
- 11/08/2021 - High Performance Cooling for High Power Control Panels
- 19/07/2021 - A Fresh New Website & A Fresh New Team – How Axair Fans Has Changed
- 13/07/2021 - The Evolution of the Plug Fan
- 07/06/2021 - Extraction Fans for Indoor Swimming Pools & Chlorine Ventilation
- 18/05/2021 - Axair Partner with Buy Social Enterprise MSS-CKD
- 15/07/2020 - How to effectively protect your office spaces?
- 17/01/2020 - 5 Common Mistakes in Enclosure Cooling
- 03/01/2020 - Enclosure Cooling: Things to know about Airflow
- 14/11/2019 - Efficient Cooling Power Delivered to Rolling Stock Yard
- 15/10/2019 - The Importance of Chemical Storage Ventilation
- 09/08/2019 - New Heights in Heat-Resistance: CLIBOS High Temperature Fan
- 04/07/2019 - Commercial Kitchen Extractor & Supply Air Fans
- 28/06/2019 - 4 Myths about Electrical Enclosures
- 03/05/2019 - Flexibility in Commercial Ventilation
- 11/04/2019 - Process Cooling in Factories
- 25/07/2017 - Alerting Live Enclosure Voltages with The Flash Signal Device
- 05/06/2017 - The Axair Group Launch The First ATEX IP68 Frame Axial Fan
- 24/03/2017 - Quiet fans score in laboratory environment
- 16/03/2017 - Understanding Fan Laws
- 17/02/2017 - Axair Donate to The Little Princess Trust
- 07/02/2017 - Selecting Industrial Fans For Biomass Applications
- 11/11/2016 - All About Smoke Control
- 25/10/2016 - New Product Release: Digital Electronic Speed Controller
- 06/10/2016 - Focus On Smoke, Pressurisation & Evacuation
- 09/09/2016 - Axair Fans Increase Company Portfolio
- 24/08/2016 - Getting To Know Axair Fans
- 22/07/2016 - Warehouse Ventilation | Centrifugal Roof Fans
- 02/06/2016 - Axair Fuel Fans For Efficient, Clean & Safe Biofuel Drying
- 18/04/2016 - Axair Fans UK Limited | Entering the World Of E-Commerce
- 12/04/2016 - Introduction to Mechanical Smoke Control
- 30/03/2016 - An Inland Of Revenue For AC Fans….
- 08/03/2016 - Axair Become Even More Responsive with A New Mobile Friendly Website..
- 14/01/2016 - “E” is for Energy Efficient - introducing the new E-Wheel
- 09/04/2013 - New ErP compliant Rosenberg fan
- 19/02/2013 - Rosenberg EC in-line duct fans from Axair
- 29/01/2013 - Inch blowers from Axair Fans
- 03/10/2012 - Axair offers the key to flexibility
- 06/08/2012 - Axair present new colour for enclosure cooling
- 24/02/2011 - Axairs' fans resist hazardous fumes
- 14/07/2010 - Axairs' high efficiency EC fans for installers
- 09/02/2010 - Kitchen extract fan now easy to clean
