Liquid Cooling – A powerful companion for your equipment
Liquid cooling and chillers can be written off as ‘complicated’ and ‘hard to understand’ but this cannot be further from the truth, In this blog I want to reassure you that you are missing out on a powerful tool, if you overlook this type of product on your projects.
In many cases, due to factors such as the location of industrial equipment, the amount of equipment involved, or physical space restrictions, traditional cooling methods such and fans or Cooling Units are unviable or simply not especially effective.
Liquid cooling, however, is an option open to all, and one that is much more effective than air at removing waste heat and reducing the temperature within the enclosure.
Liquid Cooling, as the name suggests, utilises a supply of chilled water to perform the cooling of the enclosure. An ‘Air to Water Heat Exchanger’ is mounted to the enclosure to deliver the cold air, which in turn is then connected to an industrial Chiller which takes the hot water and chills it down to a reasonable temperature and is then delivered back to the heat exchanger.
The beauty of Liquid Cooling is that it is ‘Active Cooling’ which means that we can make the internal temperature lower than that of the ambient. Therefore, in the height of summer with the factory in full swing, electrical equipment will be protected.
Many industrial sites already have an operational chilled water supply to service other procedures and equipment. Where this is the case, it can be tapped off and used for the cooling of enclosures.
Liquid cooling requires hydraulic hoses (Cold Water In, Hot Water Out) to be connected between the Heat Exchanger and the Chiller, therefore the logistics of enclosure placement and where hoses will need to run must be considered to ensure a smooth commissioning and operation of the system.
Much like the Air Cooling, regular maintenance of the system is also strongly recommended to ensure the cooling equipment can provide you years of uninterrupted service and protection of your electrical equipment.
The main takeaway is that, writing off Liquid Cooling as a valid solution is depriving yourself of a powerful weapon when protecting your equipment from the rigours of the factory. Therefore, take at look around at your environment, ambient conditions and other factors which may play a part in preventing your equipment from operating effectively, and you may find Liquid Cooling is your new best friend.
For more information on our product range, we have a series of ‘Climate Club’ videos where I discuss Liquid Cooling in more detail and also talk with my colleagues from Rittal HQ about our brand new Chiller Range and the features that will benefit you.
Find the videos at the links below –
- Liquid Cooling Overview
- Rittal’s Blue e+ Chillers with Hakan Tuere (Rittal Germany)
- Rittal’s Blue e Chillers with Ralf Schneider (Rittal Germany)
- Spec your Chiller easily – Rittal’s Chiller Configurator
