What causes condensation in outdoor network cabinets and outdoor data cabinets and how to improve?
Preface
Outdoor network cabinets and outdoor data cabinets usually deploy some very important equipment for network transmission, video surveillance, Internet of Things and other scenarios. However, because the outdoor environment is more complex and changeable than the indoor environment, condensation is prone to occur on the inner wall of outdoor network cabinets and outdoor data cabinets in some areas. If this phenomenon is not handled properly, it will cause short circuits in the network, power supply, and control equipment, resulting in major accidents that cause network interruption. This article attempts to help readers understand from the principle What causes condensation in outdoor network cabinets and outdoor data cabinets and how to improve?
Table of Contents
1.Analysis of the causes of condensation in outdoor network cabinets and outdoor data cabinets
Outdoor network cabinets and outdoor data cabinets are widely deployed outdoors, and the outdoor environment is often complex. Especially in some areas with high humidity, condensation is easy to form inside and outside the cabinet. Condensation on the inner wall of the cabinet has a great risk of causing a short circuit in the internal equipment. However, what are the specific causes and conditions for the formation of condensation? Let’s analyze it in detail:
Due to cost factors, many outdoor network cabinets and outdoor data cabinets are designed based on the IP55 ingress protection level. They are often fan-cooled. This actually brings a series of potential impacts:
- Because the IP55 cabinet dissipates heat through the FAN, it can be roughly understood that the environment inside the cabinet and the environment outside the cabinet are connected, so their humidity levels are very close.
- Generally speaking, because there are various power devices running inside the cabinet, the temperature inside the cabinet will be higher than the temperature of the environment outside the cabinet.
The temperature at which condensation can form on the surface of an object is called the Dew Point Temperature. The calculation formula for the Dew Point Temperature is as follows:
Td is the Dew Point Temperature.T is the environment temperature.RH is the environment humidity. According to this formula, we analyze the impact of condensation on outdoor network cabinets and outdoor data cabinets:
- The higher the ambient humidity, the more easier to generate condensation
- The temperature of the surface of the condensing object must be different from the ambient temperature. However, when the ambient humidity is extremely high, the temperature difference between the Dew Point Temperature and the Environment Temperature will be very small.
The following assumes that condensation occurs in costal or island area:
- When the humidity is high in the coastal area.
- There is a temperature difference between the surface temperature of the inner wall of the cabinet and the temperature inside the cabinet.
The above picture depicts a typical scene, in the morning or evening when the humidity is high.Because the ambient temperature outside the cabinet is 20°C, it can be judged that the temperature of the inner surface of the cabinet is about 20°C. The internal ambient temperature of the cabinet is assumed to be 28°C and the humidity is 90%RH.
Then we calculate the Dew Point Temperature Td on the inner surface of the cabinet:
Td = T-(100-RH)/5
= 28 – (100-90)/5
= 26℃
That is to say, the condensation temperature point of the inner surface of the cabinet is 26°C. In our case, the temperature of the inner surface of the cabinet is 20°C, which is far lower than 26°C and has reached the condensation condition.
Based on the above calculations and analysis, we can find an important conclusion:
- If the ingress protection of the outdoor network cabinets and outdoor data cabinets is IP55, the humidity inside the outdoor cabinet will be almost the same as the humidity of the outside environment.
- If the outdoor cabinet is deployed in a high humidity area, the humidity will inevitably reach 90% or even higher
- According to the formula Td = T-(100-RH)/5, in such high humidity conditions, a temperature difference of only 1-2°C between the inner wall of the cabinet and the ambient temperature inside the cabinet can trigger condensation.
- Therefore, IP55 outdoor cabinet cannot fundamentally avoid condensation.
2.Why IP65 Outdoor Enclosure Can Avoid Condensation
When an IP65 outdoor enclosure is installed in an outdoor environment, theoretically the internal environment of the enclosure is completely isolated from the outside environment. This will bring about a very important impact:
(1) The humidity inside the enclosure is different from the humidity outside the enclosure. As shown in the figure above, although the humidity outside reaches 90%, the humidity inside the enclosure is only 50%. Let’s calculate the condensation temperature inside the enclosure at this time.
Then we calculate the Dew Point Temperature Td on the inner surface of the cabinet
Td = T-(100-RH)/5
= 28 – (100-50)/5
= 18℃
It can be found that the condensation condition can only be achieved when the surface temperature of the inner wall of the enclosure reaches 18°C. In other words, the temperature difference between the inner wall of the enclosure and the environment inside the enclosure must reach 10°C. This condition is very difficult to achieve and is almost impossible.
Therefore, there is basically no risk of condensation in the IP65 ingress protection system.
3.Edgeware IP65 All in One Smart Node
Edge Span series is an all-in-one IP65 smart node designed specifically for outdoor edge network scenarios. Edge Span is a highly integrated system with power , battery , network ,and edge control all in one. The system can achieve standardized one-stop outdoor deployment instead of traditional outdoor cabinet style deployment. The main features of Edge Span series are as follows:
- IP65/NEMA4
The system has IP65/NEMA4 level ingress protection, and can easily cope with complex outdoor environments. The entire system is cast aluminum, which is completely rust-proof.
- All in One Design for One Stop Deployment
All in one design avoids the traditional outdoor cabinet assembly-style purchasing and installation mode and achieves standardized one-stop rapid deployment.
- Natural Heat Dissipation
The system does not contain mechanical parts such as fans, and dissipates heat completely through natural heat dissipation, allowing the system to work outdoors for a long time without maintenance.
- Comprehensive Surge Protection
In response to outdoor lightning challenges, the system has lightning protection designs for all device inputs and outputs, thus ensuring that the entire system can work stably and long-term outdoors.
- Power, Network, and Control Unified System
The revolutionary design integrates power, network, and control into a standard whole to facilitate quick outdoor deployment. There is no more tedious work such as site assembly, cabling, and debugging.
- Programmable Edge Core
The built-in programmable core enables easy scenario-based customized development to meet customers’ deployment, control and monitoring needs in different scenarios.
Edge Span series is widely used in video surveillance, smart city, environment monitoring, industrial control and other scenarios.
Edge Span system can effectively avoid condensation inside the enclosure.
The following are related models for reference:
Edge Span U60 LSP-7 for 4-8 Cameras Layer 2 Switch Aggregation
Edge Span U60-5GP for 1-3 Cameras Layer3 Aggregation with 4G/5G Backhaul
Edge Span U30 LSP-3 for 1-3 Cameras Layer 2 Switch Aggregation
Edge Span S60 LSP-3 POE Solar Power Supply for CCTV camera
Edge Span S60-5G 5G POE Solar Power Supply for CCTV Camera
4. Use of air-conditioned outdoor network cabinets and outdoor data cabinets
Edgeware’s Edge Span series is a perfect IP65 ingress protection solution. But the problem is that it is difficult to guarantee the scale of deployment in actual scenarios. Because there are often many devices in outdoor network cabinets and outdoor data cabinets. For example, the large site shown below:
In this scenario, it is definitely unrealistic to use IP65 smart nodes such as the Edge Span series. At this time, we need to identify whether the area where the outdoor network cabinets and outdoor data cabinets are deployed has high humidity seasons and times. If there is such a risk, it is recommended to use air conditioners for cooling. At the same time, the design of the entire cabinet after the air conditioner is installed is guaranteed to be IP65 ingress protection level. This can well ensure that the entire system will not have condensation. Of course, the cost of this type of solution will be higher than that of general IP55 level outdoor network cabinets and outdoor data cabinets. Therefore, it is recommended to identify the area for actual deployment. For some areas that are dry all year round or areas where high humidity is unlikely, the IP55 solution can continue to be used. However, for high-risk areas such as the seaside and high-humidity mountainous areas, this type of solution is recommended.
Edgeware can provide customers with a full range of solutions, please refer to the following link:
Edgeware outdoor network cabinets and outdoor data cabinets
