These tools will help you regulate climate control

When we think of heating and cooling, our minds often wander to energy efficiency and cost. Americans spend more than $22 billion a year on electricity to cool interior spaces. The more efficient heating and cooling systems are, the less the operating cost. Do you know how much you’re spending on climate control systems?  

Rittal Corporation, the world’s largest enclosure manufacturer and a leader in thermal management of electrical, electronic and IT equipment, offers, configurators, calculators, and other tools to help decrease cooling costs associated with enclosures, thus decreasing the overall electricity used. This means power demand is decreased and that power plants do not have to burn as much coal.

Rittal’s Chiller app (free for iOS) and online version presents engineers with control system product information that is fully comprehensive and up to date. It automatically calculates the cooling output needed, and in four interactive steps, users can pick an ideal chiller in an output range from 1 to 40 kW. 

To use the tool, users simply enter the specific cooling output they would like. The app then uses that data to determine the cooling output required and automatically suggests a suitable chiller. The second step involves the app presenting the accessories for the chosen chiller. Next, users are shown a comprehensive range of options, such as a higher-output pump, a water-cooled design, or a stainless steel enclosure that can be used in the food industry. Lastly, the app provides the specific performance profiles for the selected chiller.

Launching the Chiller app has simplified and improved the process of searching for a cooling unit specific for users. Mechanical engineers, control system, and switchgear engineers have a tool that provides a user-friendly and cost-effective method to find the right solution.

Another tool offered by Rittal is Therm, a software package to calculate enclosure climate control. With a user-friendly interface, Therm takes care of complex calculations involving climate control requirements. At the end of the calculation, the tool provides users with a detailed documentation that includes the calculated enclosure surface area, the radiant power emitted to the environment or absorbed from outside, the resultant required cooling output, the enclosure internal temperature (not including cooling measures), and any proposed alternatives. All calculations are based on the requirements of IEC/TR3 60890 890 AMD 1 and DIN 3168 for enclosure cooling units.

A second form of planning software offered by Rittal is Power Engineering. The tool provides easy configuration of Ri4Power low-voltage systems, simple switchgear planning, and easy selection and graphical positioning of assemblies. It automatically generates a components parts list, gives users access to the full range of products, and directly allocates components to the installation point.

In addition, Rittal offers wide range of configurators, including a Blue e+ efficiency calculator for cooling units, a chiller configurator that allows you to select an efficient solution for your needs, a large enclosure selector that helps you find the right products, and an optipanel configurator that works to generate customized enclosures and view them in 3D. Others include a comfort panel configurator that allows users to organize using a wide range of options, a T8 configurator that works to devise a parts list and 3D model of a complete T8 enclosure in eight steps, a Support arm configurator, and an IT infrastructure configurator.

A final tool Rittal offers to control climate change is the RiCAD-3D, which effectively supports a user’s plant design process regardless of which CAD system is used. It allows you to retrieve CAD data either as a database on your hard drive, via the Web platform “PARTcommunity,” or via the product pages on Rittal’s website.

If you’re interested in learning more about the climate control tools Rittal offers, why not visit Germany’s Hannover Fair, the largest industrial trade show in the world. What’s even better: Rittal is offering four lucky readers the chance to win an all-expense-paid trip to Hannover Fair 2016 this April. Check it out here for your chance to win.