Drive Clerance

[new122]

Folks,

Do we have any standard for Exhaust Fan mounting location from Powerflex 40P drive. In my design Drives are located on top of panel back plate where Exhaust Fan located on Door side. Our panel builder says we need to provide some sort of space for standard(I believe he is talking about UL or NFPA)
Please advise.

Thanks

 

[Jraef]

Folks,

Do we have any standard for Exhaust Fan mounting location from Powerflex 40P drive. In my design Drives are located on top of panel back plate where Exhaust Fan located on Door side. Our panel builder says we need to provide some sort of space for standard(I believe he is talking about UL or NFPA)
Please advise.

Thanks

There are clearance requirements with regard to allowing air flow above and below the drives, I believe 3" unobstructed if memory serves me, but it's easy to check by looking at the manual. But location of the exhaust fan is more about common sense; pull ambient air into the bottom and exhaust out the top.

But in general, it's also best to put the drives at the bottom of the panel, not the top, so that you are not pulling heated air across the heat sinks. Then also, take into consideration the conductor routing. If your motor leads will be going out the bottom, locate the drives at the bottom if possible, and if not, the ABSOLUTELY use shielded cables for the output, and gound those shield drains at BOTH ENDS on power cables (as opposed to only one end on control signal cables).

 

[petersonra]

Folks,

Do we have any standard for Exhaust Fan mounting location from Powerflex 40P drive. In my design Drives are located on top of panel back plate where Exhaust Fan located on Door side. Our panel builder says we need to provide some sort of space for standard(I believe he is talking about UL or NFPA)
Please advise.

Thanks

A lot depends on the specifics of your case. the manuals for the various components such as drives and fans will tell you how much clearance they need. Smaller drives tend to require less clearance. Some drives require side to side clearance while others can be butted up against each other.

I would almost always not have an exhaust fan. It is better to have a fan somewhere near the bottom of the enclosure sucking air into the enclosure and having it exhaust out the enclosure near the top.

I don't have a problem locating the fan on the door. However, the back pressure from blowing air directly against the panel may reduce your air flow.

Some drives can be mounted with the heat sink outside of the enclosure and if this is practical in your case, is a really good idea for larger drives that can put out an amazing amount of heat.