Factory floors have always been relatively hostile spaces for all types of electrical equipment including the PLCs and drives responsible for keeping the lines moving. Their components don’t react well to high levels of moisture, dust, and heat in the atmosphere. It’s an uncomfortable fact that as we get closer to summer, our Service teams start seeing a sharp increase in calls about equipment failures and system malfunctions. As temperatures go up, many production teams try to protect their drives by adjusting the system’s climate control units (i.e. increasing the level of cooling) and ironically, this can be the trigger for operations to slow or even stop. If the cooling units are poorly maintained, for example, then the increase in demand can cause them to trip or fail completely, leaving panel temperatures to rise unchecked. Alternatively, if units haven’t been correctly specified, or the company has installed new electrical drives without upgrading its cooling system, then lowering the setpoint is not only a risk, it can also be in vain as units are simply not able to deliver the required amount of cooling. So, the cooling equipment fails at precisely the time when the company most needs it. If your cooling system crashes, your critical automation equipment will shut down to prevent further damage to its components, and without functioning electrical controls, your production lines will grind to a halt. Not only will this have an immediate impact on productivity, but there will also be further substantive costs to get the plant up and running again. However, this type of production line breakdown is almost always entirely preventable. Why does electrical equipment need cooling? All electrical equipment generates heat as a by-product of its activities, and this heat needs to be removed. For every increase of 10oC in your panel temperature, it’s estimated that the life of your expensive equipment, including PLCs, and variable speed drives, is halved. The cost of replacing equipment that has failed due to overheating can be substantial. Large drives can cost more than £10,000, meaning the annual bill across even a small site can be many times this figure – although, arguably, the availability of replacement parts is of more concern currently than their cost. Process, Controls & Plant Focus on: Cooling 24 | Plant & Works Engineering www.pwemag.co.uk June/July 2023 The Heat is on: How to prevent your electrical drives having a meltdown Although there’s no doubt that inflationary pressures and supply chain delays continue to cause concern to manufacturers, what isn’t perhaps so widely appreciated is that last year was also reported to be the hottest year on record by the Met Office. Without being alarmist, that is another serious issue that we cannot ignore. Rising temperatures are a global trend and they will have a major impact on your electrical equipment. Christian Westwood, Rittal UK’s Service Manager, explains further.
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