Rittal Introduces the New Blue e+ S Smart Cooling Units for Enclosures Offering Enhanced Cooling Outputs and Smart Capabilities with Sustainability in Mind
September 20, 2022
Rittal North America recently announced the expansion of its smart cooling unit solutions for enclosures with the new Blue e+ S that has lower output categories of .3 kW, .5 kW, and 1 kW. Additionally, the Blue e+ S offers smart capabilities and innovative energy-saving features for the production process. This latest generation of Blue e+ S cooling units have been designed for efficiency helping to ensure a smaller footprint, provide energy savings, minimize CO2 emissions, and lower costs.
Solutions that reduce the carbon footprint during production are in high demand. But at the same time, these solutions need to be intelligent and communication-enabled so that they can be easily integrated into digitalized manufacturing environments. Seven years ago, Rittal responded to this demand with its extremely efficient Blue e+ range of enclosure cooling units, which provided an average energy savings of 75%. The new Blue e+ S enclosure climate control units for lower cooling outputs of .3 kW, .5 kW, and 1 kW are based on the same design and energy saving principles as the Blue e+ series, but also offer added smart capabilities.
Energy-savings and therefore cost reduction is enabled due to the technology used, combining a heat pipe with inverter-controlled components. The heat pipe works without a compressor, expansion valve, or other regulating elements eliminating the need for electrical energy except to operate the fan. Depending on the thermal energy generated in the enclosure and the current ambient temperature, cooling can be performed with the heat pipe alone. The additional compressor cooling only operates if a large amount of heat has to be dissipated from the enclosure or if the ambient temperature is very high. When it does operate, the compressor cooling is far more energy-efficient than conventional units due to the compressor and fans that possess an inverter-controlled drive which automatically adjusts their speeds depending on the cooling requirements. As a result, the temperature within the enclosure remains constant, and the energy efficiency is significantly higher than with other more conventional cooling units.
Alongside energy efficiency, the new Blue e+ S also reduces the carbon footprint by using a refrigerant with a Global Warming Potential (GWP) that is 56% lower than those used in comparable cooling units. Furthermore, instead of the R-134a previously used, the cooling circuit in the new generation of units now runs with R-513A refrigerant.
With their additional smart functions, the new cooling units also help in the digitalization process. With a fully integrated IoT interface as standard, the cooling units can be intelligently monitored in digitalized environments and easily connected to Rittal’s new Smart Service Portal, where available. This optimizes the service processes and increases efficiency through predictive maintenance. As a result, fewer unplanned downtime occurs which helps to manage the high cost of production, especially with Industry 4.0 processes.
These cooling units in the lower output classes also have a new design with an integrated LED light strip showing colors on the front. This means that warning messages can be immediately seen, even from far away. A display on the front of the enclosure provides additional up-to-date information. Moreover, the cooling units are equipped with the Near Field Communication (NFC) interface, which enables them to communicate with mobile devices that have the Rittal Scan & Service app installed.
Source: Rittal North America
