electrical enclosure – STEGO, Inc.

STEGO USA is based in Atlanta, Georgia, smack in the middle of the Southeastern U.S. It’s March, and spring is right around the corner. Many employees have been using individual office heaters for the winter season to stay comfortable. Facilities managers have strict regulations on the types of heaters that may be used, as there is a risk of fire or high power draw inside an office building.

We have personally experienced this hazard in our own office building. One of our office employees is cold-natured and uses two space heaters to keep her office warm. Recently, on a very cold day, between the draw of extra space heaters and our office thermostat, it tripped our local circuit, cutting power to the heaters, the computer monitors, lamps, printers, etc. for our section of the office. Until someone from maintenance could reset the panel, we could not work.

In electronics enclosures, designers include heaters to avoid temperature drops inside the cabinet, preventing the formation of condensation.

Condensation, if not controlled, can lead to safety or reliability issues for the electronics contained within.

Reliability is sometimes better stated as downtime avoidance – kind of like our office example above. As users, we expect uptime – and so do your customers.

There are many choices in cabinet heater technologies, but the two most prevalent are Resistive and PTC. Both accomplish the same task but in different ways.

Resistive heating is the process of converting electricity into heat energy. Fixed wattage heaters are typically manufactured with resistive wires or etched circuits. A toaster is a great example of resistive heating where the wire in a fixed wattage heater must reach a very high temperature to dissipate the desired temperature across the area to be heated. A thermostat or temperature sensor is used to keep the heater from overheating. This single point sensing method remains one of the crucial problems with fixed wattage heaters.

Any sensor or circuit failure can lead the heater to reach dangerously high temperatures, thus becoming hazardous to the user. Furthermore, the heater will continue to draw power if the temperature sensor does not detect the malfunction.

Other potential failure modes associated with fixed wattage heating include hot spots, broken conductors, and overheating.

PTC

STEGOs Touch safe PTC heater — The CSF 060 is a touch-safe PTC heater for use in enclosures.

Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) heaters are self-regulating heaters that run open-loop without any external diagnostic controls. While traditional fixed-resistance heaters employ wires and coils to generate heat, PTC heaters use conductive inks printed on thin, flexible polymer-based substrates.

Scoring high on reliability and efficiency, PTC heaters are ideal for products that require safer, faster, and more uniform heating.

The material properties allow the PTC heater to act as its own sensor, eliminating the need for any external feedback controls. As a result, the heater inherently removes the risk of overheating.

Electronics cabinet designers have multiple competing priorities – uptime, cost efficiency, risk mitigation, and others. By selecting PTC heaters, you’re picking the right solution for you and your customers, reducing your headaches in the short term, and in the long term.

Designing complex electronics that perform perfectly outdoors is, well, complex. At STEGO, we believe that protecting those complex projects from extreme climates should be the simplest part of your design. That’s why we use German engineering to create the highest quality thermal management components to protect your designs from anything Mother Nature throws at it. We’ve been pioneering Thermal Management for over 40 years now. With STEGO parts installed, you can rest easy that your complex design is reliably protected for the long haul.

Many factors come to mind when considering the best working conditions for humans. Key conditions include ergonomics, environmental conditions, and lighting. Studies show that a well-lit workspace can improve employee morale by 78%!

Though they often go overlooked, enclosures and electrical cabinets are workspaces that benefit from good lighting in several ways. Just like your desk or workstation, you should strive to provide suitable lighting which allows for around-the-clock clear visibility in your electronics cabinet.

So. What is “good lighting”?

Let’s consider the evolution of lighting technology: we have progressed from the simple candle to incandescent, then fluorescent, and now LED. LED technology has gone through decades of improvements to bring us to its modern, state-of-the-art level.

Did you know that Nick Holonyak, Jr. (the “Father of the Light-Emitting Diode”) invented the first LED that produced visible red-light while working at General Electric in… 1962?

Manufacturers have continued to refine LED technology since the early 1960s, and it is now the best lighting technology on the market. Let’s go through a few reasons and compare the modern LED to its predecessor: fluorescent.

STEGOs LED 025 Econoline light source — The LED 025 light series is suitable for all types of panels and enclosures, especially where space is at a premium.

Components

LED is manufactured using modern techniques and materials. The primary components include plastic, aluminum, and electronics. Compare and contrast the fluorescent solution, which contains metal, glass, and mercury, and you get a safer, sturdier, longer-lasting solution.

Working Life

LED typically lasts up to ten (10) years and includes a warranty. Fluorescent usually lasts a maximum of five (5) years, so LED generally has double the useful life.

Recyclability

LED’s aluminum and plastic components can be recycled. The electronics circuit board can be e-cycled. However, the fluorescent solution requires proper and careful disposal as hazardous waste due to the mercury contained in the tube.

Visibility

Finally, and most importantly –LED provides a far superior quality of light output. Fluorescent lights only produce a limited color spectrum of red, green, and blue light, creating an “artificial” look and feel.

LED produces a full spectrum of color that more closely resembles sunlight.

Also for consideration: LED is a directional light source, emitting light at a 120˚ pattern versus the 360˚ pattern with fluorescence. This means a more efficient transmission of light to where it is directed.

Beyond these easily measurable differences, LED also offers several anecdotal benefits, including:

Flicker-free light quality: no hum or flicker during use,
Instant-on: no need to wait for warm-up time to reach full brightness,
Easy installation, including a magnetic attachment option.

When spec’ing out designs, it’s a no-brainer when you consider the whole package. LED offers better light quality and is the most efficient, longest-life choice for enclosure design. Pick the STEGO solution, knowing you’ve got the best lighting for your installation, maintenance, and monitoring.

Designing complex electronics that perform perfectly outdoors is, well, complex. At STEGO, we believe that protecting and lighting those complex projects should be the simplest part of your design. That’s why we use German engineering to create the highest quality components. With STEGO parts installed, you can rest easy that your complex design is reliably protected for the long haul.

Install. Maintain. Monitor.

Any person involved in industrial work environments is working with some version of these on a day-to-day basis. It might be an employee looking to install a new component into the electronics enclosure or a worker checking on the function of the electronics to make sure it is running efficiently. Monitoring is something we ALL do in B2B, but it is a particularly vital function in a manufacturing environment.

What do all these functions (installation, maintenance, monitoring) have in common? They all need efficient lighting to ensure faster, better work. To give your business the edge, you need to consider the functionality and the quality of available light inside your electronics enclosure.

At STEGO, we know enclosures and enclosure lighting requirements. We design our lighting solutions from the ground up to be 1) efficient in terms of power consumption 2) meet required North America certifications and 3) easy to install.

Efficiency

Using the latest in mid-power LED technology, STEGO electronic enclosure lighting has several key benefits versus older, traditional technologies, including:

Durability – LED is considered maintenance-free
High luminous flux (if this term is new to you, don’t worry – it’s pretty simple. It refers to the perceived power of light. In other words, low power consumption to deliver impressive visibility).
Three options for triggering the LED
1. A simple on/off switch
2. A sensor that triggers off movement,
3. An external door switch that triggers when the door opens.

Even though LED is quite efficient at “sipping power,” there’s no need to have it on when nobody can see it!

Ease of Installation

Your installer will have no trouble implementing a STEGO lighting solution into your electronics enclosure. STEGO offers:

An integrated receptacle (saves time)
An integrated power unit (saves effort)
Daisy-chaining (easy, repeatable)

With an integrated STEGO lighting solution, a maintenance technician will have a bright, ergonomic light source to wire relays and perform other tasks. Keep your installers and maintenance technicians in mind! Safety and efficiency in their role lead to happy employees and bottom-line savings.

For questions about installation, please reach out to us via our website. At a minimum, always check the operating instructions, – it’s ok to read the manual even though it goes against your DNA 😉

Choose the right solution for your installers and users. Pick the STEGO solution to know you’ve got the best lighting for your installation, maintenance, and monitoring.

Are you a wizard? If you watch pro football, you’re probably familiar with Tony Romo. He’s the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback who has seamlessly transitioned into broadcasting. Tony has an uncanny gift for predicting plays before the snap, so much so that people joke that he must be a wizard. Check out this clip https://tinyurl.com/4rr5khbe from the Patriot’s win over the Chiefs in an AFC Championship Game, and prepare to be amazed.

Much of Tony’s gift comes from his experience under center, coupled with an ambiguous term called “Football I.Q.”

When it comes to designing cabinet enclosures, especially when doing thermodynamic calculations – there’s a bit of wizardry. Some of what is considered best practices are things you learn in university. But the lion’s share of knowledge comes from experience. Like in most industries, electronics design is going through an upheaval in the workforce as veterans of the trade retire, while young engineers enter the workforce to pick up and carry the workload.

Today we’re going to talk about cabinet thermostat heaters – the “do’s and don’ts” we’ve collected over our years of experience from talking directly with customers around the world. Allow us to impart some of our wizardry:

You may ask yourself – did someone violate the last “DO NOT” instructions and mount their heater near a flammable surface? The answer, believe it or not, is YES. No one was injured, but on a recent field visit, we found a thermostat heater mounted on a wooden 1×4. Yikes!

While there will still be those that cut corners, touch-safe heaters from STEGO are manufactured with safety in mind. The design of the heater utilizes natural convection, which results in a circulating current of warm air. The surface temperatures on the accessible side surfaces of the housing are minimized because of the heater design. This STEGO heater is suitable for permanent operation. If you follow the operating instructions, you can install a touch-safe heater and know you’ve done all you can to protect anyone working near the cabinet internals.

We’re not wizards, but hopefully, this information helps you keep your design safe from spells and incantations!

When it comes to designing enclosures that contain electronics for maximum longevity, many factors must be considered, including geographic location, temperature, moisture exposure, and the risk of induced condensation. Some designers assume that their NEMA enclosure is waterproof, and so…why worry about all that?

In a recent Stack Exchange web post (https://tinyurl.com/4cmzph46), the author asked for help regarding a sealed electronics enclosure that “had the top cover … screwed on properly, and there was no way water (could) get in.” However, there was clear evidence of condensation after investigation of an intermittent functional failure.

How did this happen?

There is a misconception that NEMA 4 enclosures provide all the protection needed to prevent moisture-related failures. Even though NEMA 4 is recognized as the standard for keeping moisture from entering an enclosure – it does NOT prevent condensation-induced risks.

Condensation is caused by warm moist air coming into contact with a surface that is colder than the air’s dew point. Most designers know to account for extreme temperature swings and relative humidity; great designs also account for the condensation-induced use case.

Induced condensation can stem from two scenarios:

high humidity in combination with day-to-night temperature swings (in some parts of the world, temperatures exceed +50°C. In others, they fall to –40°C), or
heat generated from running electronics in combination with ambient cold temperature (less widely known).

Either scenario above could result in undesired condensation. Over time, the electronics exposed to this scenario could lead to potential device failure, manifested as a short circuit, corrosion, or contamination by mold and other organisms. These could also lead to unexpected water drainage from enclosures and the potential risk of shock to employees.

Beyond the physical issues created, consider the time and resources spent finding a malfunctioning terminal or other electrical components that have been affected by moisture is somewhat difficult as any related problems are not always critical in the first place. As the malfunction triggers inconsistent product performance, the maintenance team must manually check all the electrical components. If there are a hundred electrical boxes to check, the time required to go through all of these can be extensive and result in increased operational costs.

There are different tools to minimize condensation inside enclosures. The most effective tool is a comprehensive design, taking into consideration temperature and condensation. To protect the user and technician, enclosure designs must include devices to compensate for temperature (i.e., thermostat) and condensation (Hygrostat).

Don’t assume that NEMA fixes all that ails you. If you aren’t sure about your design and withstanding pesky condensation, reach out to one of our experts.

As we get ready for all things Fall & Winter, it’s time to start thinking about things like football, Halloween decorations, and cooler temperatures. Not everyone likes these cooler seasons as much as I do (my wife, for example, would prefer only two seasons: Hot and Hotter), but whether you like it or not, Old Man Winter comes every year.

When it comes to your electronics enclosure, we encourage our clients to think holistically. You need to consider both temperature extremes and condensation risks. Today’s post will focus on cold temperature exposure, but with a wary eye on the risks associated with condensation.

Cold Weather Packages For Your Outdoor Enclosure

If you’ve forgotten more than you remember about thermodynamics, that’s ok, because we’re here to help. Beyond simple online heat dissipation calculation tools, there are other questions to consider so that you have a complete solution set for your unique application.

Can one wattage/voltage design work in all geographical locations?

A solution that works only on the test bench but doesn’t consider regional power connections could be problematic. We suggest customized solutions that are specific to your location.

Will AC power always be available?

You may need to consider backup / DC power to maximize uptime.

Have you considered Touch-Safe / maintenance crew safety?

“Even minimal-voltage installers can still be subjected to alarming jolts, especially if they are working in a hazardous environment such as when they are ungrounded or standing on a wet spot…” says the NECA Executive Director of Standards and Safety.

Does my design need two heaters?

Sometimes one heater is not enough to keep electronics safe in frigid temperatures.

The answers to these questions will determine how best to design a solution that can likely handle anything Mother Nature throws your way. Depending on how you answer these queries will help us guide you down the right hardware path, a path that might lead to a solution involving a:

Our goal at STEGO is to make sure your design avoids potential blind spots. We offer a comprehensive review that takes into consideration both temperature and condensation. We want to minimize the risk of failure, allowing for maximized uptime. Contact us today for a consultation, so you know you’ve selected the right thermal management solution, despite temperature and condensation exposure.