Electronics Protection - March/April 2013 - (Page 29)

Feature Stahlin continued from page 7 1. Solar: Rooftop Installation The enclosure for this application is located on an industrial rooftop in sunny California. There has not been any change to the original color and gloss since the installation several years ago. As a result, the customer was convinced that non-metallic materials would survive successfully in this harsh environment for their customers. Today, the company continues to use this non-metallic enclosure series for many additional renewable installations located in harsh environments throughout the world. The enclosure for this application is located on an industrial rooftop in sunny California. There has not been any change to the original color and gloss since the installation several years ago. As a result, the customer was convinced that non-metallic materials would survive successfully in this harsh environment for their customers. Today, the company continues to use this non-metallic enclosure series for many additional renewable installations located in harsh environments throughout the world. 2. Field Water Testing Instruments Placed in Florida Enviro Tech Instruments chose fiberglass for their AutoLAB 4 product line. Their data telemetry, via low-cost radio or cellular modems, provides customers with complete real-time visibility of field conditions for monitoring and early warning. Because AutoLAB’s applications always require placement in environments characterized by extreme conditions - the critical controls and instrumentation must be properly protected to ensure high level functioning and to maintain optimum reliability in the transfer of critical data from field-to-customer. In order to safeguard these essential instruments, AutoLAB relied on a nonmetallic enclosure. Kooltronic continued from page 13 Air conditioners should be sized for a maximum allowable temperature from which the BTU/H is determined. The maximum enclosure air temperature should be limited to the lowest maximum operating temperature for each specific device. Typically the most susceptible devices are variable frequency drives and computers. System Design and Economic Considerations Avoiding Condensation In order to avoid a build-up of condensation, internal heaters are an important accessory to consider when designing a cooling system for an application. In outdoor applications, during the night or off peak hours, the internal enclosure temperature may drop below the dew point. This causes condensation to accumulate on sensitive electronics and electrical contact surfaces, leading to corrosion and ultimate failure. To prevent this problem, an internal heater should be used to maintain the temperature of the enclosure. Heaters are commonly incorporated into air conditioners and are also available as individual devices. NEMA Enclosure Ratings NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) enclosure ratings are placed on enclosure cooling units and electrical enclosures to designate the environmental hazard from which the contents are being protected. NEMA defines the standards for different levels of protection of electronics enclosures. Typical examples of NEMA ratings include: NEMA 12 for indoor use, protection from dust and dripping liquids; NEMA 3R for outdoor use and rain-proof applications; and NEMA 4X for indoor/outdoor use to provide protection from wash-down and corrosive environ- Conclusion: New Non-Metallic Formulas Succeed in Outdoor Environments By now, electrical component specifiers for outdoor applications should have a clear understanding of the development of non-metallic materials for enclosures and why some formulations fail while others succeed. Learning how a new material for enclosures was developed and tested should improve the proper specification of products. In addition, knowing the importance of color, gloss and strength of materials in these extremely harsh environments should provide specifiers with the expertise to question suppliers about non-metallic materials. Finally, by seeing some successful applications of other specifiers in renewable energy applications, who have made a material switch, that they can confidently do the same. Not all SMC material formulations are the same. While all manufacturers in the enclosure industry strive to meet the minimum thresholds set by governing bodies such as UL, CSA and IEC, there are significant differences between manufacturers. Through the development of SolarGuard, the SMC formulation has proven to outperform comparable fiberglass materials by as much as 60 percent in Color and Gloss loss while maintaining a non-halogenated system ensuring no harmful or toxic chemicals in the event of an unfortunate fire in addition to maintaining the highest Class A(I) flame spread rating. Performance matters and SolarGuard has proven to meet the performance expectations for outdoor environments. For more information please visit www.stahlin.com. ments. The NEMA rating on an air conditioner should be matched to the NEMA rating on an enclosure being cooled. Investment in Enclosure Cooling Yields High Return The installation costs of an enclosure housing a variable frequency drive and associated controls, together with the cooling system designed to cool the application can range from under $50,000 to more than $100,000. This application could be part of a manufacturing process or service generating considerable revenues. The cost of installing an enclosure cooling system designed for a specific application is very low when compared to the cost of the overall system, ranging from 2 percent to 4 percent of the entire equipment cost. This low cost percentage per application is also true of large signage, kiosks and computer servers. The economic and safety related consequences of improper heat dissipation for systems used in critical infrastructure as well as other possible service interruptions should be considered at the design stage. Lost revenue due to heat related failures can quickly justify the expense for enclosure cooling. It is important to think about cooling in the early stages of the design process, whether designing a new system or retrofitting an existing system. If you configure your enclosure to run cool and dry from the beginning, you can enjoy reliable system operation and avoid the cost and frustration of system failure. Kooltronic is a manufacturer of air conditioners, heat exchangers, fans and blowers designed specifically to cool the interior of enclosures containing heat sensitive electrical/electronic components. For more information visit www.kooltronic.com. March/April 2013 www.ElectronicsProtectionMagazine.com 29 http://www.stahlin.com http://www.kooltronic.com http://www.ElectronicsProtectionMagazine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Electronics Protection - March/April 2013

Electronics Protection - March/April 2013
Newer Technology Releases Next-Generation Power2U AC/USB In Wall Charging Solution
Specifiers of Enclosures for Components in Outdoor Applications: Be Aware of Material Selection Issues
How to Protect Electronic Circuits from Power Surges
Testing for Ingress Protection of Portable Electronic Devices
Increasing the Lifespan and Reliability of Electrical Components
From the Inside: The Configurable Plastic Enclosures Revolution
Tips for Selecting and Designing a Membrane Switch
HP Intelligent Series Rack Models Available for Networking and Demanding Server Requirements
Polyonics Antistatic Tapes Solve ESD Problems Before They Damage Static Sensitive Devices
OptoTherm Introduces IR LabMate Infrared Camera Solution
Falcon Electric Offers NEMA 3R/4 Enclosures with SSG UPSs
PEM SpotFast Fasteners Enables Flush Joining of Two Sheets
Industry News
Calendar of Events

Electronics Protection - March/April 2013