Marine Vienney

The Advantages of Air To Water Heat Exchangers for Thermal Management in Harsh Environments

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Money-saving approach yields longer service life while conserving energy.

Control Panel Cooling Technique Helps Mitigate Hydrogen Sulfide Corrosion Problems with Wastewater Pumping Systems

Air To Water Heat Exchangers provide an energy efficient and reduced manintenance method for cooling electrical control panels.

Enclosure Cooling Units offer a straightforward active-cooling technique for pump control panels, however, they are not necessarily the best choice for all installation locations. Dirt, dust, and other airborne contaminants can clog condenser coils; while corrosive gasses in the environment can lead to premature failures.On the other hand, Air To Water Heat Exchangers can satisfy the same requirements without circulating ambient air within the housing, thereby eliminating the clogging and corrosion problems associated with airborne contamination.

A common threat to organic wastewater handling and treatment systems is the presence of hydrogen sulfide gas. Not only is this gas toxic to humans, but it also contributes heavily to corrosion problems in pipes, structures, instrumentation, and electrical systems. Lift stations and pumping systems are particularly vulnerable as H2S sour gas readily attacks copper used in wires, electrical contacts, and cooling units used on motor control centers (MCC’s).

Electronics cooling is vital for MCC’s containing the variable frequency drives (VFD’s) that are used to maintain efficient operation by conserving energy through regulating the speed at which pumps operate. Since VFD’s generate a considerable amount of heat, it is necessary to employ an active enclosure cooling technique in order to keep VFD’s operating within acceptable temperature limits. The absence of effective cooling will quickly allow VFD’s to overheat, shut down, or even catastrophically fail. In addition to being an economic loss, such outages disrupt production and affect the efficiency of plant operations.

Effective electrical enclosure cooling for environments where H2S gas is present must utilize a closed loop technique to ensure that sour gas is not introduced into the enclosure where it could harm wiring, electrical connections, switches, and other components. In fact, for many installations it is advantageous to deploy an air or nitrogen purge system which creates a positive pressure within the enclosure in order to keep undesirable ambient elements, including sour gas, outside of it. As opposed to an open loop system that uses fans to draw ambient air into and push heat out of the enclosure, a closed loop system maintains isolation of the ambient air and permits the NEMA rating of the electrical enclosure to be maintained. Examples of closed loop cooling equipment for electrical enclosures include cooling units (also known as enclosure air conditioners or enclosure AC) and Air To Water Heat Exchangers.

Cooling units offer the advantage of a being a plug and play solution – they simply hang onto the outside of the enclosure and are connected to power already available inside the enclosure. However, these compressor-based refrigeration systems consume a fair amount of energy and require periodic maintenance. Additionally, to endure the sour gas environment, exposed copper pipes and condenser coils must be treated with a conformal coating – which is not necessarily standard. Over time, the need to clean condenser coils – which may require partial disassembly of the cabinet – can lead to scratched paint, compromised coatings, and eventual corrosion.

Air To Water Heat Exchangers offer several advantages making them the preferred method for closed-loop, electrical enclosure cooling. Acquisition and operating expenses are significantly lower than those of a compressor-based cooling unit.

Additionally, this product is virtually maintenance free and since there is no ambient air circulation within the unit, there is no risk of H2S sour gas corrosion to internal components.

There are, however, two challenges with acquiring and implementing these units:

  • The units must be specified as the solution of choice with the MCC or pump system integrator.
  • The units must be connected to a viable source of clean water or coolant to circulate through the heat exchanger coil.

Another viable implementation is to consider retrofitting cooling units with air-to-water heat exchangers. This modification can be readily accomplished without difficulty since some units share the same enclosure cut-out. For dissimilar cutouts, an adaptor plate may be required to reduce the size of the opening.

Click here to download the Case study in PDF

Need more information on Pfannenberg’s PWS Air to Water Heat Exchangers? Click here and discover all the advantages of this product!

Topics: Air To Water Heat Exchangers, Enclosure Cooling, Thermal Management, Water Cooling, Water Treatment, Wastewater Treatment

Marine Vienney

New Thermal Management Solutions with Cloud-Based Remote Monitoring

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On the way to Industry 4.0 with Pfannenberg’s innovative Thermal Management Solutions

Pfannenberg will unveil its Thermal Management Solution with cloud-based remote monitoring at Europe’s leading exhibition for electric automation, SPS IPC Drives in Nuremberg, Germany.

Communication is provided by a compact device with an integrated SIM card, which receives the relevant data from the connected cooling units via Modbus – a Building Management Protocol – and transmits it to the cloud over a secure mobile telecommunication link without any need for access to the company’s IT infrastructure.

The solution developed in cooperation with T-Systems enables users or systems to retrieve status data, diagnostic information and alarm notifications from the cooling units, live and independent of location, through a web browser, or to integrate the data directly into their applications.

From November 24-26th,  visitors will have the opportunity to see a working model on display at Stand #339 in Hall 5, and discuss this innovative Thermal Management solution with experts from Pfannenberg to learn more about its functionality and deployment options.

“The smart factory is the wave of the future. As an innovative medium-size company with over 190 patents worldwide, making our cooling solutions fit for networked products is a natural choice”, says Andreas Pfannenberg, Managing Director of the Pfannenberg Group. “With the premium controllers of the newest generation, our cooling units are able to provide a wealth of relevant data. Thanks to the cloud solution, employees in production management, the service department or the maintenance department, as well as higher-level monitoring systems, receive information about possible malfunctions or imminent failures promptly, wherever they are. This enables them to respond quickly before a serious incident occurs, which helps increase machine availability.”

Next-generation of Thermal Management

The Thermal Management demo system on display at the trade show will consist of a two-compartment switchgear cabinet with a semi-recessed DTI cooling unit on one side and a semi-recessed PWI series Air to Water Heat Exchanger on the other side, each equipped with a premium controller. There are three heaters in each cabinet compartments, which can be turned on individually at the front using door-mounted switches to simulate heat loads. On an external monitor visitors will be able to observe how the Enclosure Cooling Unit reacts to changes in the heat load or when opening the cabinet door.

Contact us today to learn more about this innovative solution!

Topics: Air Water Heat Exchangers, Enclosure Cooling, Cooling Units, Thermal Management

Marine Vienney

Pfannenberg becomes a proudly member of BEMA association

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BEMA (Bakery Equipment Manufacturers and Allieds) is an international, non-profit trade association representing leading Bakery and Food Equipment manufacturers and suppliers, whose combined efforts in research and development have led to the continual improvement of the baking and food industries.

This affiliation confirms our commitment to the Baking Industry with our specifically designed Liquid Cooling Solutions perfectly adapted to aggressive ambient air environments and systems that require a very high IP class (up to IP 65).

To avoid operations grinding to a halt, specifically those with flour and high particulate in the air, Pfannenberg’s PWS Series Air to Water Heat Exchangers are an ideal solution for efficient, trouble free cooling for electrical enclosures.. Use an existing glycol or cool water source already available in the factory to cool your electrical cabinets.

If you need a cool liquid source, Pfannenberg also has a complete line of Chillers to complement our Air/Water Heat Exchangers.

 

Click here to learn more about the BEMA association

 

Topics: Air Water Heat Exchangers, Enclosure Cooling, Thermal Management, Company News & Annoucements

Marine Vienney

How to Choose the Proper Enclosure Cooling Product

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Reliable Thermal Management:

Understanding the proper thermal management of your electrical enclosures is critical in keeping your production process up and running. Trouble-free production is only guaranteed if the sensitive climate inside your electrical enclosures is maintained, even the slightest overheating of the electronic component units can result in serious consequences such as production downtime and premature aging of parts. It’s important that you choose the proper enclosure cooling

Choosing the Best Solution for Enclosures and Electronics Cooling:

Before choosing the best cooling solution you need to know your environment. Is the control cabinet placement in an environment where the air is full of dust or oil? Is the equipment to be cooled exposed to the weather, i.e. moisture and sunshine? How large are the designated dimensions of the required cooling units? Once these questions have been clarified completely, you can move on to choosing the best cooling solution for your application.

Common Thermal Management Products:


FilterFans®

  • If the ambient temperature is always lower than the temperature required in the electrical enclosure, then  Filterfans® represent an economical solution for thermal management of electrical enclosures.


Enclosure Air Conditioner

  • If cooling cannot be accomplished by the outside air
  • If the temperature required inside the electrical cabinet should be equal to or lower than the ambient temperature
  • If the ambient air is strongly contaminated with oil or conductive dusts
  • When higher ingress protection is required (Type rating)


Air to Water Heat Exchanger

  • If a chilled water supply is available
  • If aggressive ambient air restricts the use of conventional cooling units
  • If a very high IP class is required (up to IP 65)
  • If a maintenance-free cooling unit  is required
  • If energy efficiency is considered at a plant level concern

Need Help choosing the correct cooling solution?

If you need help choosing the proper cooling product for your application check out our Pfannenberg Sizing Software, it’s a free tool for you to use.

Marine Vienney

Pfannenberg New PWS 3000 Series Air to Water Heat Exchangers

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Save energy & safely cool your enclosures even under harsh conditions.

Lancaster, NY, May 13, 2013- Pfannenberg, Inc. introduces a new line of air to water heat exchangers designed to meet the unique requirements of industrial enclosure cooling applications. Our new PWS 3000 Series Air to Water Heat Exchangers offer a complete solution for recirculating water cooling systems for control enclosures especially under harsh conditions. With cooling capacities ranging from 2,218 BTU (650 W) to 34,121 BTU (10,000 W) these units are specifically engineered to allow safe, efficient use of liquid coolant to cool enclosure electronics. Additionally our sloped horizontal cover surfaces and optional NEMA Type 4X stainless steel type rating make the PWS 3000 series perfect for wash-down applications.

About Pfannenberg, Inc.

Pfannenberg, Inc. is a global manufacturer of thermal management, water cooling solutions and signaling technologies. Pfannenberg’s enclosure thermal management products help some of the largest companies worldwide stay cool and safe, protecting and keeping electronic equipment running to avoid costly downtime. In addition to our thermal management products Pfannenberg also manufactures visual and audible signaling devices for security, fire, building, industrial process, disaster warning, hazardous areas, light art and illumination. Pfannenberg is proud to provide solutions as a single source to its customers. Our business philosophy – Safety for man, machine and the environment

You can find more information about Pfannenberg, Inc. at: www.pfannenbergusa.com

Marine Vienney

Enclosure cooling. But how and where?

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Pfannenberg Paper Featured in May Design World:

When it comes to keeping electronics cool, you have several choices. For enclosure cooling, industrial air conditioners cool internal electrical components. The conditioners mount directly to the enclosure and are selected based on the amount of heat gain, interior air temperature requirements and, since the heat from the interior is rejected by the condenser of the air conditioner into the area adjacent to the enclosure, are also selected based on the ambient air conditions in the immediate vicinity.

Many industrial applications involve harsh environments including air laden with dust, grit, and/or oil mist, packaged air conditioners are not always easily applied and a remote cooling solution is required. Remote cooling moves the enclosure heat to a location away from its installation site – allowing the control enclosure to be sealed against the operation environment.

Remote cooling may involve using the air conditioner with a remote condenser or “split” refrigeration system. Here, the refrigerant compressor and evaporator remain packaged in the locally installed air conditioner. But the condenser is located in a more environmentally favorable location. Because the refrigerant gas from the compressor must be sent to the remote condenser, and the condensed refrigerant liquid must be returned to the conditioner’s evaporator, the piping between the local and remote components becomes an important part of the split system. If piping size and geometry are not properly engineered, the cooling system will be under capacity and the potential for problems with lubrication can cause premature compressor failure. Split systems also require charging the cooling circuit with refrigerant in the field and one remote condenser for each local condition is needed.

Another option for remote cooling involves equipping the control enclosure with an air to water heat exchanger that uses chilled water and a fan to condition and re-circulate the air within the cabinet. In this case, the entire refrigeration system is installed in a remote location and chilled water or a water-glycol combination is circulated to the enclosure-mounted device to remove the heat. Circulating a single-phase fluid makes the connecting piping a less critical element of the system.

An air to water heat exchanger can be beneficial for industrial applications. Because the heat exchangers use chilled water instead of vapor comp-ression refrigeration, it provides a sufficient cooling in a small package. In some cases, a single air-to-water heat exchanger can take the place of two or more air conditioners.

Air-to-water remote cooling can also offer increased energy efficiency when compared to using local air conditioners in environments where high ambient temperatures result in high refrigerant condenser pressures. As the refrigerant condensing pressure increases, the energy input for the compressor increases resulting higher operating costs. Contaminate-laden ambient air contributes to this situation by fouling the condenser coil and reducing its heat transfer efficiency. These problems are avoided by using a system where the refrigeration source is remote. If the chiller is located outdoors, there are additional efficiency gains to be made when seasonal changes in ambient air temperature allow lower refrigerant condensing pressures and lower operating costs.

The remote chiller-based system allows several enclosures to be cooled with a single chiller reducing equipment and installation costs. The chillers are selected to circulate the water flow rate required by the total number of air to water heat exchangers and programmed to maintain a fixed water temperature. Each enclosure-mounted heat exchanger controls the amount of coolant that it receives from the common coolant loop based on its own local temperature controller. The controller can be programmed to either maintain a fixed temperature or a variable temperature relative to the dew point temperature inside the enclosure to avoid condensation.

This coolant loop setup also provides an easy method of increasing reliability through redundancy. A second full-capacity chiller, installed in parallel with the primary chiller will provide up to 100% back-up for the cooling system. Simple controls are available to allow the back up chiller to be brought on line automatically in the event of a cooling failure. These controls can also rotate the lead and lag chillers to provide even duty cycles and ensure that the off line chiller is always ready.

Click here for more info on our Chiller range!