Application Guide
Network Zone Systems
Thermal Management
Network enclosures are widely used both indoors and outdoors to
secure a wide range of electronic equipment such as: switches, routers,
gateways, power supplies, etc. These enclosures are used in a wide
range of markets including: hospitals, manufacturing plants, reneries
stadiums, etc. Therefore, these enclosures are exposed to a wide
variety of ambient conditions.
Such enclosures (gure 1) can have strict ingress ratings such as NEMA
4/4X, IP54/55, etc. These ratings, while protecting the equipment from
some environmental conditions (dust, water spray, etc.), also eectively
trap the heat dissipated by the active equipment inside the enclosure.
This air, that has increased in temperature, must still provide adequate
cooling for the components mounted inside the enclosure.
This application guide gives an overview of key design considerations
for thermal management solutions to mitigate these thermal factors for
Panduit’s zone enclosures. The capabilities of the various thermal
management solutions are discussed and guidelines for recommended
solutions are provided.
Figure 1: Z23U-624 Enclosure
Introduction
Most of the power consumed by electronic endpoint devices is dissipated as heat, this is especially true of IT
equipment (switches, servers, routers, etc.). To avoid equipment overheating or even failure, the cooling of this
equipment should be considered as part of the deployment plan. When an enclosure is placed in a high ambient
temperature environment this choice further increases the need to consider cooling options for any enclosure.
Given the stringent sealing requirements for NEMA 4 enclosures, the air inside is completely enclosed severely
limiting the options for cooling the air. Some of the current cooling solutions in the market use fans and vents,
small enclosure mounted air conditioners, liquid cooled heat exchangers, compressed air vortex tubes, etc. In the
solutions section of this document some of the more practical thermal management solutions will be considered
for Panduit Zone Enclosures.
Solutions
The air temperature surrounding the active equipment is aected not only by the heat load (power used) of the
active equipment, but the size of the enclosure, the thermal resistance between the chassis of the active equipment
and the air, the construction material of the enclosure and the air temperature surrounding the outside of the
enclosure. Several cooling techniques are discussed from the simplest to the more complex. Depending on the
cooling option selected (passive cooling solution, fan assisted cooling solution or AC unit cooling solution)
additional penetrations to the enclosure and power sources for the cooling unit may be required.
Information Gathering
To properly select any thermal solution some basic information about system (enclosure and the equipment it
will house) must be collected. Most of this information is available from the equipment vendor in the form of data
sheets, specications, instruction manuals, deployment guides etc. Below is a bullet list of the information required
to apply any of the cooling solutions.
1. Maximum Ambient Air Temperature.
This is air temperature that will surround the exterior of the enclosure.
2. The Internal Heat-Load.
This is the sum of the power consumed by the equipment mounted inside the enclosure.
3. Maximum Desired Internal Enclosure Temperature.
The equipment with the lowest maximum temperature limit will dictate the maximum allowable internal
temperature for the enclosure. Likewise, the highest minimum temperature limit will dictate the minimum
allowable internal temperature for the enclosure.
4. Two of the rst three data points must be known to allow the third data point to be determined from the
charts in the cooling solutions.
5. Enclosure dimensions.
The height, width and depth of the nearest inch (Z23: 36" x 24" x 12").
6. Enclosure Material.
The solutions below are for enclosures constructed from steel (the type of steel e.g. stainless or mild will have a
minimum impact on these calculations).
7. Indoor or Outdoor.
The charts to follow apply only to an enclosure not exposed to direct sunlight.
2
Passive Natural Convection Cooling (Sealed Enclosure)
Heat is lost to the
ambient air in
all directions
(outside of the
enclosure).
Cooled air (heat lost to
the ambient) ows back
towards the bottom of
the enclosure.
Enclosure
Air heated by the
Active Equipment ows
upward toward the top of
the enclosure.
Active
Equipment
Cool air owing up
towards the active
equipment helps
cool it.
Figure 2: Idealized thermal (aka natural) convection cooling. Enclosure is 12" deep.
The door has been removed to see inside the enclosure.
During normal operation, the active equipment dissipates heat to the air inside the enclosure which in turn
increases the air temperature inside the enclosure. The air then transfers this heat to the exterior of the enclosure
through convection, conduction and radiation (gure 2). A minor amount of the heat is transferred directly to the
enclosure from the active device through conduction since the equipment is in contact with the mounting (DIN) rail.
Heat ows from high temperature to low temperatures. So, the air temperature inside the enclosure will increase
until it exceeds the temperature outside of the enclosure. After a period (typical < 48 hours under continuous
operation) a steady state temperature is reached inside the enclosure. This internal air temperature must be at or
below the operating temperature specied for the components installed inside the enclosure. Since hot air is more
buoyant it will rise towards the top of the enclosure this creates a temperature gradient inside the enclosure. The
bottom area of the enclosure will be near the outside ambient temperature and the top area can be 10°C to 20°C
higher than the bottom of the enclosure.
3
Recommendations for Sealed Systems Z23x
1. Follow vendor recommendations for minimum clearances around active equipment (e.g. typically 2" for convection
cooled switches).
2. Mount equipment with lower recommended operating temperatures on the lower DIN rails.
3. When possible stagger switches to avoid placing a switch directly below another switch as the lower switch can
increase the air temperature signicantly for the upper switch.
4. Figure 3 provides a guide for a sealed Panduit Z23 enclosure heat dissipation for various external ambient temperatures
5. For outdoor deployments a 150-watt heater will increase the internal temperature of a sealed Panduit Z23 enclosure by
15°C above the external ambient temperature.
Figure 3: Z23 Enclosure Thermal Guideline – Sealed
Example 1: Determine the heat load allowable for an 85°F ambient temperature and an internal enclosure temperature of 113°F.
Answer: The maximum allowable power draw for the equipment inside the enclosure is 162 watts.
How to: Find the 85°F point on the bottom horizontal axis. From that point draw a vertical line to the sloped 113°F internal air
temperature line. Then draw a horizontal line to the right hand vertical axis.
Example 2: Determine the size of a heater required to maintain an internal temperature of 15°C when the enclosure is exposed to a
-15°C outside ambient temperature and the power draw of the active equipment inside the enclosure is 150 watts. The enclosure is
not exposed to direct sunlight.
Answer: A single 150-watt heater is needed to maintain the internal temperature at 15°C.
How to: Apply recommendation #5 to the problem. The Z23 enclosure internal temperature will be 15°C greater than the ambient
temperature for every 150-watts of heat dissipation. The power draw of the active equipment plus the heater 150w + 150w = 300w = a
30°C temperature increase so -15°C (ambient) + 30°C (from the total heat load) = 15°C inside the enclosure.
4
Fresh Air/Vented Cooling System Z23x
Introduction
As can be seen in the examples above exceeding the capability of natural convection cooling is quite possible
especially in increased ambient temperature environments. A possible next step in cooling management is to
provide ventilation to the zone enclosure with the addition of fans and vents. Fans will still result in a higher internal
temperature than the ambient air temperature outside the enclosure, however, the dierence in temperature between
the external ambient temperature and the internal temperature is reduced. But, the addition of outside ventilation will
reduce the enclosure ingress rating to IP54. Some of the recommendations will be like the sealed enclosure but to
stress their importance they will be repeated as appropriate.
The cooler air brought into the enclosure by the fan allows the hot air to exhaust from the enclosure. Without the
vent the fan would stall, and no air would be brought into the enclosure. Therefore, two openings need to be created
on the enclosure, one for the fan and one for the exhaust vent. The fan should be mounted low on the non-hinge
side of the Z23 enclosure. The vent should be mounted high on the door of the enclosure. Figure 7 (fan HF09) and
gure 10 (fan HF05) show the location for a fan and a vent.
Two dierent fan sizes are available for the enclosure. HF09 fan is for deployments WITHOUT A POWER SHIELD
and the larger fan provides 42 CFM of airow to cool the equipment inside the enclosure. Figures 5, 6 and 7 provide
the fan dimensions (HF09) and enclosure cutout dimensions.
The smaller HF05 fan provides 24 CFM of airow to cool the equipment inside the enclosure. A similar mounting
location is recommended for the HF05 fan and gures 9 and 10 show the dimensional information.
Recommendations for Fan Assisted Systems Z23x
1. Follow vendor recommendations for minimum clearances around active equipment (e.g. 2" for convection cooled
switches) mounted in the enclosure.
2. Read the instruction manual available from the vendor for the fan. A hyperlink to the manual is provided at the end
of this document.
3. Follow vendor recommendations for minimum clearances around fans and lters (e.g. 7" for HF09 fan on the outside
of the enclosure).
4. Mount equipment with lower operating temperatures on the lower DIN rails.
5. On the lowest din rail, space needs to be left for the fan on the non-hinge side (see gures below).
6. On the highest din rail, space needs to be left for the vent mounted on the door to when installing equipment.
(e.g. switch patch cords extend beyond the face of the switch towards the door of the enclosure and could aect
a potential vent location).
7. Figure 4 provides the heat dissipation guide for a Panduit Z23 enclosure heat dissipation with a HF09 fan for various
external ambient temperatures with the IP54 lter kit.
8. Figure 8 provides the heat dissipation guide for a Panduit Z23 enclosure with a power shield and an HF05 fan with
the IP54 lter kit.
5
Figure 4: Z23 enclosure thermal guideline – fan assisted. The HF09 Fan is available separately from Pentair.
HF09 70 CFM (119 m3/hr.) Side-Mount Filter Fans
8.21
[209]
8.21
[208]
Exhaust Grille
8.21
[209]
8.21
[208]
1.65
[42]
4.15
[105]
3.34
[85]
[21]
.85
7.28
[185]
4.69
[119]
7.28
[185]
ø .18
[5]
(4x)
7.28
[185]
6.97
[177]
6
Figure 5: Dimensions of a HF09 exhaust fan and exhaust vent. Figure 6: Cutout dimensions for HF09 fan.
Figure 7: Approximate location for the HF09 fan and vent cutouts. The white lines give a relative indication of the space required for the fan and the
dimensions show the location for the cutouts to install the fan and vent.
7
Figure 8: Z23 enclosure thermal guideline – fan assisted. The HF05 fan is available separately from Pentair.
HF06 35 CFM (59 m3/hr.) Side-Mount Filter Fans
6.15
[157]
6.15
[158]
Exhaust Grille
6.15
[157]
6.15
[158]
Order exhaust grille kits separately.
1.53
[39]
.73
[19]
3.98
[101]
3.13
[81]
5.24
[133]
4.59
[119]
5.24
[133]
.18
ø .18
[5]
[5]
(4x)
5.24
[133]
4.92
[125]
8
Figure 9: Dimensions of a HF05 exhaust fan and exhaust vent and cutout dimension.
Figure 10: Approximate location for the HF05 fan and vent cutouts. The white lines give a relative indication of the location
for the fan and the dimensions show the location for the cutouts to install the fan and vent.
The starting location is the same as the HF09 fan only the hole dimensions are smaller.
9
Closed Loop Cooling System (AC Unit) Z23x Enclosures
Introduction
When it becomes necessary to have a lower internal temperature than the external ambient temperature around
the enclosure, then an air conditioner (AC unit) is required. The AC unit will result in an increase in the average heat
dissipation of a Z23 enclosure and therefore it may allow more equipment to be deployed. The T15 AC unit can be
used with or without a power shield and provides 30 CFM of 75°F air to cool the equipment inside the enclosure.
Figure 12 provides the T15 cutout dimensions required to externally mount it on a Z23 enclosure. The unit should
be mounted on the hinge side of the enclosure (gure 13). Figures 14 and 15 provide additional aids in locating
the cutouts on a Z23 enclosure.
Recommendations for Closed Loop (with AC Units) Z23x
1. Follow vendor recommendations for minimum clearances around active equipment (e.g. 2" for convection
cooled switches).
2. Read the instruction manual available from the vendor for the T15 AC Unit. A hyperlink to the manual is provided
at the end of this document.
3. Follow vendor recommendations for minimum clearances around exterior of the AC unit.
4. Mount equipment with lower operating temperatures on the lower DIN rails.
5. When possible stagger switches to avoid placing a switch directly below another switch as the lower switch can
increase the air temperature signicantly for the upper switch.
6. The graph following (gure 11) provides a heat dissipation guide for a Panduit Z23 enclosure with a T15 air conditioner.
7. For outdoor deployments a 150-watt heater will increase the internal temperature of a Panduit Z23 enclosure by
15 °C above the external ambient temperature. Depending on ambient conditions and equipment specications
an additional heater may be required. Outdoor models of the T15 unit include a 150-watt heater.
10
The outdoor model is equipped with a 150-watt heater. The maximum ambient operating temperature for the T15 is 55°C.
Figure 11: Z23 enclosure thermal guideline – T15 air conditioner is available separately from Pentair.
Therefore the upper curves truncate at 55°C outside ambient temperature.
Mounting Cutout Dimensions
7.50
ø0.312(4)
1.50(2)
4.75
3.81
15.75
4.12
2.50
13.00(2)
Figure 12: Cutout dimensions for the T15 AC unit as
viewed from the outside of the enclosure.
Note: Phantom lines represent air conditioner.
The small web between the cutouts can be eliminated
for convenience as the discharge of the T15 is ducted
away from the intake.
0.37(2)
0.38(2)
Externally Mounted
6.00(2)
6.75(2)
11
12
Figure 13: Z23 shown with T15 AC unit. Note the recommended mounting location low, on the hinge side.
Figure 14: Shows the location of the cutout for the T15 AC unit on the Z23 enclosure. The cutout starts approximately 12 inches from
the bottom of the enclosure to allow the discharge duct to just clear the accessory bracket above it and the power shield below (not shown).
This location will allow the power shield to be removed from the enclosure with the T15 unit installed.
13
14
Figure 15: Interior view showing the location of the T15 discharge with the mounting bracket on the interior of the Z23 enclosure.
The bracket needs to be removed to access the upper mounting holes for the T15.
The discharge duct sits above the power shield (not shown).
Smaller Zone Enclosure Z22x
The Z22 enclosure’s compact size limits the amount
of equipment that can be deployed inside it. These
physical space constraints render supplemental
cooling with fans or AC units moot.
Figure 16: Z22U Enclosure
Recommendations for Sealed Systems Z22x
1. Follow vendor recommendations for minimum clearances around active equipment (e.g. 2" for convection
cooled switches).
2. Figure 17 provides a guide for a Panduit Z22x enclosure heat dissipation for various external ambient temperatures.
Figure 17: Z22 enclosure thermal guideline – sealed.
15
Panduit Dierence
Panduit is committed to delivering a consistently high level of quality and service the world over. With a
presence in more than 100 countries, local Panduit sales representatives and technical specialists oer
guidance and support that bring value to your business. Our global supply chain, which includes manufacturing,
customer service, logistics, and distribution partners, provides prompt response to your inquiries and streamlines
delivery to any worldwide destination.
References
https://www.pentairprotect.com/wcsstore/ExtendedSitesCatalogAssetStore/Attachment/HomanProductAttach-
1.
mentsSpecSheets/Spec-01170.pdf
https://www.pentairprotect.com/wcsstore/ExtendedSitesCatalogAssetStore/Attachment/HomanProductAttach-
2.
ments/InstructionManuals/89134973.pdf
https://www.pentairprotect.com/wcsstore/ExtendedSitesCatalogAssetStore/Attachment/HomanProductAttach-
3.
ments/SpecSheets/Spec-00733.pdf
https://www.pentairprotect.com/wcsstore/ExtendedSitesCatalogAssetStore/Attachment/HomanProductAttach-
4.
ments/InstructionManuals/10-1008-194.pdf
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS APPLICATION GUIDE IS INTENDED AS A GUIDE FOR USE BY PERSONS HAVING
TECHNICAL SKILL AT THEIR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK. BEFORE USING ANY PANDUIT PRODUCT, THE BUYER MUST
DETERMINE THE SUITABILITY OF THE PRODUCT FOR HIS/HER INTENDED USE AND BUYER ASSUMES ALL RISK AND LIABILITY
WHATSOEVER IN CONNECTION THEREWITH. PANDUIT DISCLAIMS ANY LIABILITY ARISING FROM ANY INFORMATION
CONTAINED HEREIN OR FOR ABSENCE OF THE SAME.
www.panduit.com
©2018 Panduit Corp. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ZCAG01--SA-ENG 8/2018
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