Six times as cool

Your company has invested in telecom equipment, which you have installed in outdoor power system cabinets. You know that optimum temperature in the cabinets is an essential feature affecting telecom equipment, both operation reliability and expenses.

Traditional methods of climate control include AV (air ventilation with fans and filters), as well as AC (active cooling) and HEX (heat exchanger). All of these cooling options can be used in outdoors solutions.

But – and there is a but – climate control costs, whatever your abbreviation. For the costs to be optimised, modern solutions are needed. A traditional AC solution, for example, will in the long run turn into a significant cost factor.

At Delta we think that where things can be done cheaper they should be. And now they can.
As a solution, Delta now offers two hybrid systems: a combination of air ventilation and active cooling (AV + AC) and a combination of heat exchanger and air ventilation (HEX + AV), revolutionising the cost structure of climate control.

What’s your cut?

How does a hybrid system work, then? In an AV + AC configuration, air ventilation takes care of things as long as the temperature remains low or moderate. Only when the temperature rises does active cooling kick in.

If your operations happen to be in Frankfurt, for instance, where the ambient temperature rises above +25°C a mere 3.71% of the year, this means you can save as much as 83% on energy.

In other words, cooling your system now requires almost six times less energy. No typo there – almost six times less!

“These are significant figures, indeed,” says Andrzej Chaberek, Product Manager at Energy Solutions EMEA & SA Business Unit. “The less the AC unit has to work converts directly into huge savings. This is exactly the kind of benefit we want to give our customers.”

The Frankfurt estimate is based on a typical 1.8 m outdoor cabinet with 1.5 kW heat generated inside, with the target temperature set at +30°C.

“Naturally, if it’s OK for the temperature inside to be higher, the savings are even more dramatic,” Andrzej continues. “Yet with the AC unit inside your cabinet, the system remains protected at all times. It’s a simple yet beautiful solution.”

Hybrid solutions curb capital and operational expenditure

Where purity of air outside the cabinet is a consideration, air ventilation is not an optimal choice. For such circumstances Delta has come up with another hybrid solution, combining heat exchangers with air ventilation.

HEX works as the main cooling unit up to +30°C. The AV kicks in at +20°C, operating periodically to keep the temperature down. If this is not enough, at +30°C the AV goes into continuous operation.

From the cost savings point of view, the good thing about the hybrid setup is that the HEX units can be smaller. If the system creates 1.5 kW of heat, a HEX-only system would require a cooling capacity of 150 W/K.

“With a hybrid setup the capacity can be brought down to 100 or even 75 W/K. This results in cost savings of 10 to 15 per cent!” Mr. Chaberek explains.

Air in such a system will be significantly cleaner, since air from outside is only used for a few percent of annual time.

Life in control

A hybrid solution reduces the need for maintenance which, of course, means further savings. Similarly, cost cuts accumulate since AC operating time in hybrid solutions is relatively low. The need for investment diminishes radically.

There are various options for controlling both hybrid solutions. At their simplest, control duties can be carried out by standard thermal switches.

A far more sophisticated alternative, though, is the PSC 3 power system controller. For advanced system management, the system comes equipped with fan speed regulation as well as state-of-the art monitoring features.