It is generally recommended that enclosures housing sensitive electronic components have a cooling unit installed to ensure trouble-free operation and a long lifespan. In the past, the maintenance procedure involved physically checking the system, measuring temperatures and confirming expected performance. Failure would be found primarily when a critical piece of equipment stopped working and appropriate action would subsequently be taken.
Today, smart electronics incorporated into the temperature controller help monitor these systems without the need for constant on-site checking. Most Kooltronic air conditioners come with these temperature controllers as a standard feature.
Aside from the ability to monitor electrical enclosure conditions off-site, early warning signs that indicate trouble can be addressed before a system actually fails.
Remote monitoring of enclosure conditions can be accomplished with the integration of a Dixell Prime Series temperature controller on an air conditioning unit. The controller is linked directly to a ModBUS-RTU system or to a compatible monitoring system, such as the Dixell X-WEB series. An RS485 serial output allows the controller to be connected to a network line directly or via a special key cable for easy wiring.
Once the air conditioning unit is linked to the ModBUS-RTU system, remote monitoring can commence. Data transmitted to the monitoring system includes information such as current temperature, current set point, device status and any alarms that are active. This allows a quicker response time to failure situations, and saves wasted trips to check on sites manually. More advanced monitoring systems can store the data to track conditions over time for better management of equipment temperatures. And some systems can notify an operator automatically, via e-mail or text message, when an alarm is triggered at a specific location.
In addition to remotely observing the conditions at the location, one can also remotely manage the unit using the same interface. An operator granted administrative rights of the controller would be able to alter the set point and any other parameters that may need to be adjusted. This will save valuable time and effort as opposed to traveling to and from sites to manually alter set points and see how the change affected the conditions of the application. Multiple sites can also be monitored at once, which greatly increases the efficiency of the technicians assigned to the daily maintenance of those sites.
Remote monitoring has modernized thermal management units with current communication technology allowing for operators to access and control the unit proactively without physically being on-site; consequently, this feature has the potential to generate substantial savings for the end user. Most Kooltronic air conditioners come with these temperature controllers as a standard feature.
