The advent and popularity of self-service kiosks has led to smart storage lockers, which offer contactless, convenient, and secure item retrieval. Smart lockers can prove to be an economical storage solution as they offer 24/7 self-service access and can be adapted to many types of industries across numerous environments. Additionally, smart storage lockers can be modified to maintain a consistent temperature range which protects the contents from extreme heat and cold.
Usually, temperature control depends primarily on what is being housed. Typical parcel lockers rarely require additional climate control; however, lockers that store groceries, medical supplies, or electronic products may be heat (and cold) sensitive and require supplemental thermal management for successful operation. In this regard, smart lockers share some common cooling concepts with any electrical enclosure.
For example, if a smart locker enclosure is designed to hold electronics such as laptops or cell phones, then the accumulated individual device chargers, power modules, and locking systems are all components that can contribute to waste heat created inside the lockboxes. Additionally, storage lockers containing perishable grocery items and medical prescriptions may need to be kept at temperatures below ambient conditions – especially if the enclosure is located outdoors in a warm climate.
While heat calculations alone can be fairly straightforward, there can be challenges regarding the installation of smart locker cooling devices that need to be addressed. It is important to consider the following best practices when planning a smart locker installation that requires enclosure cooling:
Secondary concerns may include noise and maintenance accessibility. These are important preliminary design details and should be investigated to assure a successful installation. The physical layout of unique obstacles such as shelving, multiple doors, and access points can block needed airflow and may require perforations or louvers to decrease static pressure. If the layout of the smart locker will consist of individual, isolated compartments, then the use of thermostats and other thermal measurement devices will be useful in monitoring the temperature within each compartment. If this is not done, dead airflow pockets are likely and will detract from uniform air disbursement. In fact, the angle and orientation of air movers (blowers, fans) may prove critical to a successful enclosure cooling product installation.
Depending on the product being housed within the compartments and the conditions of the surrounding environment, an open or closed-loop enclosure cooling solution is "smart" and reliable choice for temperature regulation in smart storage locker applications. If you have any questions about cooling smart lockers or any other type of enclosure, please contact the application specialists at Kooltronic.
