Roof-mounted energy efficient cooling units

Roof-mounted climate control units are the top choice in control and switchgear applications where there is a lack of space on the front and side panels. This could be due to physical location of the enclosures and minimal gangway clearance, but could also be due to interlocks, switches or other controls preventing adequate space for a wall mounted cooling unit.

Air routing within the enclosure is also optimised; the cold air is blown down the front of the enclosure and drawn back up the mounting plate, thereby effectively dissipating the heat from top-mounted components such as frequency inverters.

The new roof-mounted cooling units of the Blue e+ series, like the existing wall-mounted units, work with a combination of heat pipe and conventional compressor technology.

Energy consumption is very low because neither a compressor nor a pump is required when the cooling units are operating on the heat pipe; only the fans that circulate the air by the heat exchangers need an electricity supply. This cooling method works particularly well if there is a large temperature difference between the inside of the enclosure and the surroundings.

The additional compressor within the cooling units only kicks in when a larger cooling output is required. All the active components operate with speed-controlled drives so the cooling output always matches what is required, ensuring less energy is consumed.
Overall, depending on the ambient conditions and the application, the cooling units of the Blue e+ series use on average 75% less energy than conventional compressor cooling units do. Lower temperature deviations within the enclosure means that the service life of the components installed is extended.

In addition, the new units have a multi-voltage supply making them easy to operate at all common mains voltages and frequencies. Blue e+ roof-mounted systems use a touch display for basic settings and to read status messages. The touch display can also be integrated into the door of the enclosure if required.

Another option is the IoT interface, which makes it simple to integrate the cooling unit in an Industry 4.0 (IoT) environment.

The Blue e+ cooling unit is a feature in the new Rittal integrated solution which consists of an enclosure with built-in climate control.

The cooling unit is installed in the upper section of the VX25 enclosure as a plug & play. The touch display is built into the enclosure door and the unit can be easily removed for maintenance.