Enclosures

We get it. We’re in the thermal management business, and we’ve heard the jokes about fans versus air conditioners. Usually, it’s someone asking about, for example, getting in a vehicle on a hot Summer day in the South and instead of turning on the air conditioner… why not just crank up the fan instead (cue laugh track)? When it comes to controlling the environment inside an enclosure, it’s a similar question:

Aren’t you just replacing hot air with more hot air?

Geek humor! But seriously, we do get this question from enclosure designers, who want to know why they don’t just go ahead and design in an air conditioner. In this case, the temperature desired for a human body is much different than what is necessary to maintain the integrity of electrical and electronic components. So essentially, an A/C is overkill for most NEMA enclosures needing environmental control.

STEGO offers a wide variety of Filter Fans that provide a net cooling effect via forced air circulation. The interior temperature of an enclosure can be reduced by channeling cooler, filtered outside air into the enclosure, thus expelling hot inside air. The resulting airflow prevents the formation of localized hot pockets and protects electronic components from overheating.

So, no, our technology doesn’t just move hot air. Instead, it modulates the air inside the enclosure to a cooler state. This, in turn, enhances the longevity of the components inside and the working life of the overall enclosure. Furthermore, with the addition of new air-flap technology on the air outlet side, we have achieved an unparalleled high degree of airflow.

What’s the difference between FPI or the FPO system (FPI = “in”, FPO = “out”)?

This is another question our tech support teams get asked regularly.

There are two distinct filter fan options. The FPI system is the more commonly utilized installation system. A filter fan located in the lower part of the enclosure draws cleaner, cooler air into the enclosure (airflow direction “In”). This system consists of a filter fan and an exhaust filter.

 

With the newer FPO system, the filter fan will be located in the upper area of the enclosure to draw warmer air out of the enclosure (airflow direction “Out”). The FPO system consists of an intake filter and exhaust filter fan.

For a video explanation of how this all works, check out this link: STEGO Filter Fan Plus Animation

The answer to the title question is simple economics: it’s just not feasible to power, control, and manage an air conditioning unit inside most NEMA enclosures. Also, it’s overkill!

For more questions about thermal management, reach out to one of our experts.

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.

 

 

Although you may not have grown up in the ’80s, you’ve likely heard of the 80’s rock band, Def Leppard. One of my favorite hit singles from the same-titled album is “Hysteria.” Take a trip down memory lane and give it a listen (or, if you’re * ahem * much younger, just give it a try anyway, and don’t rub it in on us older folks!)

Hysteresis… isn’t that a Def Leppard Song?

This isn’t about big hair bands and one-armed (but still awesome) drummers. It’s about hysteresis. An understanding of application-specific hysteresis is one of the design features of the STEGO Compact Thumbwheel Thermostat.

To get a better understanding of this feature, let’s start with a definition. The dictionary defines hysteresis as retardation of an effect when the forces acting upon a body are changed.

Hmm… that is still a bit confusing.

Let’s look at our homes since the thermostat in your house’s HVAC offers a good example.

Say you like your home temperature at 72 degrees. If the A/C tries to keep that nice, even 72 degrees while it’s 98 degrees outside, the system will struggle to keep up and will constantly turn on and off.

With a hysteresis thermostat, you can set your temperature to 72 degrees and be better able to maintain it. Why? The temperature will go up to 74 degrees before cooling it down to 71 degrees, allowing the HVAC system to relax. This saves on wear and tear and fosters energy efficiency.

Thus, you can stay cool while you air guitar to your satellite radio’s “Big 80’s on 8”.

Now – back to electronics enclosure design, where we have a similar goal. You need to maintain a temperature setting, but a very tight temperature window could overtax your system, potentially leading to poor energy efficiency. At STEGO, we know thermal management, and we’ve built in ‘smart hysteresis’ into our thermostat design. Sometimes a picture is a better way to visualize a concept, so see this chart below for an example:

The image above depicts the expected closed/open contact state for a 20℃ setpoint across an operating temperature range. Note the expected results given the hysteresis 7K with a tolerance of 4K. The tolerance can be confusing to interpret, so feel free to give us a call to help further explain.

There are other key features of this product, including anti-frost assurance and high switching capacity. For more information, see the full datasheet here (https://www.stego-group.com/fileadmin/Languages/English_UK/STO011_STS011_EN.pdf).

The compact thumbwheel thermostat is but one example of the many tools we offer at STEGO. The continual battle against heat and humidity to keep your control enclosure running smoothly is annoying and costly. Our German-engineered thermal management solutions will do that fighting for you, so you can spend your time designing instead of monitoring and fixing (doing damage control).

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.