Even if an electrical enclosure is built with quality components and successfully completes the commissioning phase, some design choices can turn it into a critical point in the system over time.
The problem often does not emerge immediately, but may appear months or years later, when operating conditions change: increased loads, more intensive production, newly installed equipment or different environmental conditions.
When designing enclosures according to EN 61439, assessing operating conditions and overtemperature is a fundamental element in ensuring that the assembly operates under the intended conditions.
For industrial control panels intended for the North American market, UL 508A – Industrial Control Panels also highlights the importance of proper design, component selection and management of the panel’s operating conditions.
Here are three mistakes to avoid.
1. Assessing the load without considering the actual application
A machine-mounted enclosure containing drives, PLCs, power supplies and electronic devices may have a very different distribution of thermal losses compared with a power distribution enclosure.
Considering only the rated current may not be sufficient: the behaviour of the components during the actual operating cycle must also be assessed.
2. Designing the internal layout without a thermal strategy
The arrangement of components directly affects air circulation and heat dissipation: components characterised by high thermal losses, such as inverters, power supplies and electronic devices, can create critical areas if installed without proper assessment.
In these cases, a traditional ventilation system may not be sufficient: active control of environmental conditions through intelligent dynamic ventilation solutions makes it possible to operate only when necessary and maintain more stable thermal conditions inside the enclosure.
3D CAD design environments can also provide tools to support thermal design, with different levels of accuracy depending on the type of simulation and the data available. For this reason, Fandis provides a link on its website to the Cadenas PartCommunity, with native files for different design environments.
3. Not considering the future evolution of the system
An enclosure rarely remains unchanged throughout its entire service life: the addition of new devices, changes to the production process or variations in environmental conditions can alter the initial thermal balance.
A reliability-oriented design must therefore consider not only initial operation, but also the possibility of monitoring and managing new operating conditions over time.
A checklist for enclosure thermal design
A useful checklist can include:
- Have the thermal losses of the main components been assessed?
- Is the thermal management system suitable for the application?
- Does the internal layout support heat dissipation and maintenance?
- Is ventilation control adaptive to actual operating conditions?
- Have the requirements of EN 61439 and, where applicable, UL 508A been considered in the final configuration?
A reliable enclosure therefore starts with a design approach that considers not only initial conditions, but also how the system may evolve over time.
Fandis supports panel designers and builders in developing thermal management solutions, from assessing application requirements to selecting the most suitable ventilation and control systems.
To learn more about Fandis thermal management solutions for electrical enclosures, explore our blog, visit our website to discover the tools we provide, or contact our technical team.