Engineering: Ener

c ARISER Vol. 3 No. 4 (2007) 144-153

Cooling of Remote Sites Telecommunication Shelters

Abdelkader DARWICHE and Samivullah SHAIK
Saudi Consolidated Engineering Company Khatib and Alami Khobar, Saudi Arabia
akd@scecka.com; sami@scecka.com

Received 10 November 2007; Accepted 28 November 2007

Telecommunication equipment is often housed inside shelters at remote sites far off from conventional
power lines. Controlling the temperature inside the shelter is a high priority for improving the performance
of the electronic equipment. The equipment dissipates heat during its operation in addition to the absorbed
heat from surroundings with high ambient temperatures especially in desert environment. This poses a great
challenge to the HVAC engineer. This article reviews various techniques of air conditioning these shelters
such as exhaust fans, vortex coolers, Peltier coolers and passive cooling systems (free convection and
phase-change material). The paper then moves on to recent alternatives made possible by new technological
developments such as Direct Current (DC) powered air conditioner units. The paper will also give headlines
on sizing the batteries and the solar panels to meet the cooling load.
Keywords: Air conditioning, Telecommunication Shelters, Temperature.
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . .
2 Load Calculation . . . . . .
3 Ventilation by Exhaust Fans .
4 Vortex Coolers . . . . . . . .
5 Peltiler Cooler . . . . . . . .

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Passive Cooling Systems . . . . . . . . . .

6.1 Natural (Free) Convection . . . . . .
6.2 Phase Change Materials (PCMs) . . .
7 DC Powered Air Conditionning System . .
8 Example on Sizing and Selecting Equipment
for a DC Powered Air Conditionning System
9 Cconclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

146
146
148
149
150
151

1 Introduction
Historically, telecommunication equipment has always been considered as sensitive equipment and accordingly
housed in controlled enclosures or shelters the cooling of which has been satisfactorily implemented using traditional methods. However, in many new systems being developed and deployed today, such as broadband, ISDN,
cellular/wireless and cable Internet services, heat dissipation densities have been increasing considerably, raising
the possibility of heat-related failure {Marongiu [1]}. These heat density trends are reviewed in a recent white paper {[2]} and a dedicated book by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers
{ASHRAE [3]}.
On the other hand, pipe lines and supply networks often run through remote areas like deserts in which no electrical power is available. Communication along the pipeline or between the networks necessitates having telecom
repeater or relay stations in such remote locations. The daily air temperatures exceeding 50C in middle eastern
deserts, which combined with internal heat generation from the telecom equipment make the inside telecom shelter
prone to temperature as high as 80C. In these conditions, electronic equipment will not function reliably.
Note: This paper is actively being considered for publication in the ASHRAE journal. It is presented here with
approval from the authors for informational and educational purposes only. Copyright ASHRAE.
2 Load Calculation
The air conditioning system design needs to be tailored to the type of environmental conditions the shelter will be
placed in as well as the heat generation by the equipment installed inside the shelter. As with other applications,
two indoor parameters should be considered: temperature and humidity.

Arab Research Institute in Sciences & Engineering

http://www.arabrise.org
Online Publishing Group ISSN 1994-3253

Cooling of Remote Sites Telecommunication Shelters

145

The goal of the designer is to maintain the peak temperatures in the shelter below a certain level, which is
normally prescribed by the electronic equipment manufacturer. Humidity levels are of concern as well, but since
most shelters are sealed and their temperatures are much higher that the airs dewpoint, humidity is generally not a
problem (after the transient effect of opening and closing the enclosure is eliminated).
Other ambient conditions affecting the air condition design include: solar radiation, wind speeds, objects surrounding the shelter (shading, ground reflections, buildings, and trees) and shelter design (surface area, shape,
paint).
The first step in any air conditioning design is to perform a load calculation in order to size the equipment. It
is therefore important to realize that the design temperature is the temperature that the shelter air will reach when
there is heat balance. In equation form, this looks like {Marongiu [1]}:
Qbalance = 0 = Qequipment + Qsolar load + Qcooling system
where, Qequipment is the electronics heat dissipation, Qsolar load is the solar heat load, and Qcooling system is the
amount of heat removed by the cooling system or the cooling system size. The solar load is a complicated term
because it includes contributions from all modes or heat transfer. To illustrate, consider this equation:
Qsolar load = Qradiated + Qconvected + Qconducted
Normally, the value of Qradiated will always be positive (towards shelter), but Qconvected and Qconducted can be either
positive or negative, depending on the shelters temperature. Thus, if Qbalance is not zero, the temperature inside
the cabinet is either higher or lower than the set temperature and the shelter is losing or gaining heat by convection
and conduction.
Usually, Qequipment is obtained from the equipment manufacturer. Qsolar load can be calculated using any of the
methods prescribed in the ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook {ASHRAE [4]}. Alternatively, the load calculation
can be performed using any commercial load calculations software that adopts any of the ASHRAE approved
methods. Care should be exercised when inside design temperatures exceed the outdoor design temperatures due
to heat build-up since many software packages cannot accept such an input.
Once the required cooling capacity of the equipment is obtained, selecting the equipment or system type is
by far the most paramount task that faces the HVAC designer especially when no or limited electrical power is
available. The following is a review of the systems available for the designer.
3 Ventilation by Exhaust Fans
This is probably the oldest technique to control the temperature inside remote telecom shelters by ventilating the air
using simple exhaust fans. These exhaust fans which in most cases operate on DC (Direct Current) supplied from
batteries will prevent heat build up by circulating the outside air inside the telecom shelter. Their airflow is usually
designed to offset heat generation by the equipment keeping the temperature around 5 10 F above ambient.
This high temperature coupled with the particles (mainly sand) in the outdoor air result in reduced equipment life
making this a very unpopular design option. Nowadays, this option is used sometimes in battery shelters that are
sometimes adjacent to the main telecom shelters. In this case, the fans will also prevent hydrogen generated from
the batteries from accumulating inside the battery shelters.
4 Vortex Coolers
The vortex cooler [5] as shown in Fig. 1 is basically a tube, also known as the Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube that
separates gas (usually compressed air) into hot and cold streams. Pressurized gas is injected into a swirl chamber
and accelerates to a high rate of rotation (over 1,000,000 rpm). The gas is split into two streams, one giving kinetic
energy to the other, and resulting in separate flows of hot and cold gases. The cold gas is injected to the shelter
while the hot gas is expelled outside.
The vortex tube was invented in 1933 by French physicist Georges J. Ranque. German physicist Rudolf Hilsch
improved the design and published a widely read paper in 1945 on the device, which he called a Wirbelrohr
(literally, vortex tube).
Vortex tubes have lower efficiency than traditional air conditioning equipment. They are commonly used for
inexpensive spot cooling (like cooling a high heat generating cabinet in a shelter), when compressed air is available.
They are rarely used to cool large shelters since they are usually limited in capacity to about 5,000 Btu/hr.
Vortex is also characterized by a lack of moving parts and low efficiency although they are limited in size and
depends on the availability of compressed air.

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A. Darwiche & S. Shaik

F IG . 1: Vortex cooler [5].

5 Peltiler Cooler
Peltier coolers [6] use the Peltier effect to create a heat flux between the junctions of two different types of materials. It is basically a solid-state active heat pump which transfers heat from one side of the device to the other side
against the temperature gradient (from cold to hot), with consumption of electrical energy. Such an instrument is
also called a Peltier device, Peltier diode, Peltier heat pump, solid state refrigerator or thermoelectric cooler (TEC).
Because heating can be achieved more easily and economically by many other methods, Peltier devices are mostly
used for cooling. Although, when a single device is to be used for heating and cooling, a Peltier device may be
desirable. Simply connecting it to a DC voltage will cause one side to freeze, whilst the other side heats up. The
effectiveness of the pump at moving the heat away from the cold side is totally dependent upon how well the heat
from the hot side can be removed. There are no moving parts and such a device is maintenance free.
Due to the relatively low efficiency, thermoelectric cooling is generally only used in environments where the
solid state nature outweighs the poor efficiency. Thermoelectric junctions are generally only around 5 10% as
efficient as the ideal refrigerator (Carnot cycle), compared with 40 60% achieved by conventional compression
cycle systems (reverse Rankine systems like a compressor) [6].
Like Vortex cooler, Peltier coolers are better candidates for spot cooling and are seldom used to cool an entire
shelter.
6 Passive Cooling Systems
Passive methods include primarily natural (free) convection and phase-changing materials (PCMs)
6.1 Natural (Free) Convection
This system is by far the most currently installed system in the Middle East although expectations are that it will
be replaced with more advanced systems that will be discussed later in this paper.
This technique does not require any power source as it functions only on natural convection and energy storage
capacity. This system as shown in Fig. 2 basically consists of housings with insulation, sun shade, external and
internal heat exchangers, heat storage tank and conveyance of the medium (mainly water), which must be designed
for the specific application. The heat dissipated by the electronic equipment is absorbed by the internal heat exchanger and transferred to the water inside the tank by thermo siphon phenomenon. At night, heat is dissipated
by the same phenomenon to the outside as illustrated in Fig. 3(a & b). The temperature inside the shelter can be
maintained from 15 F to 20 F below ambient.
The free convection passive cooling system basically levels off the temperature inside the shelter by temperature
dampening. Fig. 4 shows the expected inside temperature of a passively cooled shelter located in a typical Middle
Eastern desert environment compared to the outdoor air. The tank and heat exchangers temperatures are also
shown on the same Figure. [7].

The main advantage of this system is that no energy is required to run the system. In addition, it is highly
reliable since no moving mechanical parts. The main disadvantages are the huge space required to install this system and the higher initial cost associated. Furthermore, this system performance is highly dependent on having

147

Cooling of Remote Sites Telecommunication Shelters

H eat
Storage

Tank

Internal Heat

External Heat

Exchangers

Exchangers

F IG . 2: Principle of free convection passive cooling system

Tank

Tank

Outside hotter than

inside: circuit
switched off

Coldness from the

tank cools the
interior

The coolness of
the night cools
the tank

Cold water from the

tank cools the
interior

a. Day

b. Night

F IG . 3: Free convection passive cooling system during day and night.

50

Environment
Heat Exchanger Outside
Tank
Heat Exchanger Inside

45

Temperature(0C)

Air in shelter

40

35

30

25
6.00 AM

0.00

6.00 PM

0.00

6.00 AM

0.00

6.00 PM

0.00

Time (hr)

F IG . 4: Temperature levels for a typical passive cooling system.

6.00 AM

148

A. Darwiche & S. Shaik

high temperature difference between day and night (typical for desert environment). It is not well suited for environments in which the temperatures do not vary much over the day. In such places, certain manufacturers have
added small Direct Current operated pumps to help the free convection. While such a measure negates on the
main advantage of this system (no moving parts), it allows to extend the application of this system to more mild
environments.
6.2 Phase Change Materials (PCMs)
Currently, phase change materials (PCMs) are used in tropical regions in telecom shelters as the main cooling
source or as a back-up cooling systems. In case of a power failure to conventional cooling systems, PCMs minimize
use of Diesel generators, and this can translate into enormous savings across thousands of telecom sites [8].
Phase Change Materials (PCMs) [9] are latent thermal storage materials. They use chemical bonds to store
and release heat. The thermal energy transfer occurs when a material changes from a solid to a liquid or from a
liquid to a solid form. This is called a change in state or phase. Initially, these solid-liquid PCMs perform like
conventional storage materials; their temperature rises as they absorb solar heat. Unlike conventional heat storage
materials, when PCMs reach the temperature at which they change phase (their melting point), they absorb large
amounts of heat without getting hotter. When the ambient temperature in the space around the PCM material
drops, the PCM solidifies, releasing its stored latent heat. PCMs absorb and emit heat while maintaining a nearly
constant temperature. Within the human comfort and electronic-equipment tolerance range of 20C to 35C, latent
thermal storage materials are very effective. The main applications for PCMs are when space restrictions limit
larger thermal storage units in direct gain or sunspace passive solar systems. The most commonly used PCMs are
salt hydrides, fatty acids and esters, and various paraffins (such as octadecane). Recently also ionic liquids were
investigated as novel PCMs [8].

F IG . 5: An enclosure with PCM during daylight hours [1].

Phase change materials perform best in small containers, which therefore are usually divided in cells. The cells
are shallow to reduce static head - based on the principle of shallow container geometry. The packaging material

Cooling of Remote Sites Telecommunication Shelters

149

should conduct heat well; and it should be durable enough to withstand frequent changes in the storage materials
volume as phase changes occur. It should also restrict the passage of water through the walls, so the materials will
not dry out (or water-out, if the material is hydroscopic). Packaging must also resist leakage and corrosion. Steel
and polyethylene are common packaging materials [8].
7 DC Powered Air Conditionning System
Air conditioning the telecommunication shelter to inside temperature around the human comfort levels (i.e 75 F)
had always been a challenge for HVAC designers and an invaluable wish for telecom engineers. Under such conditions, protection and reliable operation of the telecom equipment will be optimized like never before. Unfortunately, air conditioning the shelter to such temperatures entailed prohibitive cost by necessitating the installation of
standard active (compressor type) air conditioning units (operating on AC power) and feeding them from batteries
through electrical inverters. With an obvious unfavorable life cycle cost, this option was seldom if ever opted for
by any shelter HVAC designer.
However, recent technological development made high efficiency air conditioning units operating on Direct
Current (DC) power available. In a normal AC air conditioner the compressor is a piston type or rotary compressor
with a volumetric efficiency of 50% driven by an electric motor with an efficiency of around 50%. The overall
efficiency is 50% 50% = 25%.
In the new DC powered AC units, the efficiency of the smaller models compressor is 60%, and the electric
motor 85% resulting in a total efficiency of 51% which is about two times higher than conventional units. On
larger models, the compressor efficiency is 95% and the motor 85% resulting in an overall efficiency of about
80% which is three times higher than conventional units [10]. Fig 6 shows one DC powered air conditioning units
installed inside a remote telecom shelter.

F IG . 6: DC powered air conditionning unit installed in a telecom shelter [10].

These units are usually available to operate on either 24V or 48V. Combined with a battery system charged
through solar panels, these units can now be used to air condition remote telecom shelters to even human comfort
zone.
One of the disadvantages of this system is that the foot print area required to install the solar panels is larger than
conventional systems. However, in remote locations, land is a readily available luxury. Another disadvantage is that

150

A. Darwiche & S. Shaik

this system contains moving parts which will require some type of maintenance. However, these disadvantages are
outweighed by the cooling level; this system is able to offer and hence, is being increasingly opted for by HVAC
designers.
8 Example on Sizing and Selecting Equipment for a DC Powered Air Conditionning System
A DC powered air conditioning system is planned for a remote shelter in a desert environment. The shelter total
floor area is about 284 ft2. Below are the steps that were followed during sizing of the system.
1. The outdoor/indoor environmental conditions were obtained from published data.
a. Outdoor Conditions: 1150F DBT
b. Indoor Conditions: 72.50F DBT
2. The shelters floor plan and elevations were obtained from the architect.
3. The heat generation from the installed equipment was obtained from the equipment manufacturer.
4. Commercial HVAC load calculation software was used to estimate the required cooling capacity for each hour.
The software output indicated that the shelter has a maximum cooling of load of 11, 800Btu/hr at 1500hrs for
a typical summer day shown in the Tab. 1.
5. Manufacturers catalogue indicates that at the design outdoor conditions, the DC powered air conditioning unit
will deliver 6, 500Btu/hr. Hence two units will be required.
6. The total energy required during summer day is required in order to size the batteries and the solar array. The
power consumption of the selected unit depends highly on the outside temperature which varies widely during
the day. The temperature profile for a typical summer day was obtained from the computer software used in
step 4 is shown in Fig. 7.

140

120

100

F
er 80
ut
ar
ep
m
eT 60
40

20

0
0

10

11

12

Time (hr)

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

F IG . 7: Outdoor temperature profile for a typical summer day.

7. In accordance with the variation of the cooling capacity and the full load power consumption for the selected
unit, the cooling capacity and power curves are obtained from the manufacturer and are given as:
Cooling Capacity(Btu/Hr) = (0.0012T 2 0.3485T + 31.484) 1000

(1)

Power(Watts) = (0.0015T 2 + 0.4259T 13.672) 54

(2)

where T is the outside temperature in

F.

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Cooling of Remote Sites Telecommunication Shelters

8. For each hour of a typical summer day, the required cooling capacity was obtained from the commercial
software and shown in Tab. 1. The unit full load power consumption was obtained from equation (2) and was
indexed with the same percentage as the unit loading.
9. For example, at 8:00 a.m. (from Tab. 1), the selected two units will be able to deliver 19,700 Btu/hr (Equation
1). Accordingly, the units loading factor is (7, 600/19, 700) or 38.5%. The units full load power consumption
is 644.13 W per unit (Equation 2) so the actual power consumption at 8:00 am is 644.3 0.385 or 248.5W per
unit.
10. Applying the procedure in Step 7 at the 24 hours of the day yielded a power consumption of 19.407 KWh per
day.
11. Assuming 7 hours of sun-hours per day and 100W per each solar panel,
The total solar array capacity required is 19407/7 = 2772.5W
Assuming 10% cable losses, net solar array capacity required is 3049W
The number of panels required is 3049/100 = 31 panels
12. Using the daily energy consumption obtained earlier and using a 48V DC voltage,

The daily current consumption is 19407.8/48 = 404 Ah per day

Assuming a 10% safety factor, the daily current consumption is 444 Ah per day
Assuming a 5 days autonomy, the total required current is 444 Ah x 5 Days = 2220 Ah
Using 12V /230 Ah batteries, 4 nos. are required in series to obtain 48V and 2220/230 = 9.65 (say 10) are
required to provide the current so a total of 40 batteries are required.

9 Cconclusion
Designing the cooling system for a remote telecom shelter presents a great challenge to the designer. In addition,
with the increasing heat densities, the performance requirements and capacities of the air conditioning system has
become more demanding. Many conventional ways have existed to overcome some of these challenges. Moreover,
recent technological innovations have empowered the HVAC designer with a broader range of equipment selection
with larger capacities. Tab. 2 summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of each of the currently available
system.

References

1. M.J. Marongiu. Managing thermal conditions in

enclosures. MJM Engineering Co.
2. Heat density trends in Data Processing, Computer Systems, a Telecommunications, (20052010) White paper, Uptime Institute Inc.
3. ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.9. (2005) Datacom Equipment Power Trends and Cooling Applications. ASHRAE.
4. ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook (2005).

5. Vortex tube, http://en.wikipedia.org/

wiki/vortex_tube
6. Thermoelectric
Cooling,
http://en.
wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_
cooling
7. Passive Cooling Systems, www.intertec.info
8. Phase
Change
Material,
http://en.
wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_
cooling
9. Telecom Shelters PCMs, www.pcmenergy.
com.
10. www.dcairco.com

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A. Darwiche & S. Shaik

TAB . 1: Hourly cooling load variation and power consumption for the selected ewuipement far a typical summer day.
Hour of Outdoor T Actual
Cooling
Units
Full Load Actual
Total
the day
( F)
Cooling
Load of Loading
Power
Power
Power
Load
2 units as Factor
Consump- ConCon(MBH)
per Eq. (1) LF
= tion as per sumpsumption
(MBH)
Actual CL Eq.
(2) tion
(Watts)
/ CL as per (Watts/unit) (Watts/unit)
Eq.(1)x100
0
87.1
7.7
19.50
39.49%
650.39
256.84
513.68
1
85.4
7.8
19.98
39.04%
635.05
247.92
495.84
2
83.7
7.1
20.47
34.68%
619.23
214.73
429.46
3
82.4
6.8
20.86
32.59%
606.83
197.79
395.58
4
81.3
6.8
21.20
32.08%
596.11
191.23
382.46
5
81
7
21.29
32.88%
593.16
195.03
390.06
6
81.7
6.9
21.07
32.74%
600.03
196.45
392.91
7
83.4
6.8
20.56
33.07%
616.39
203.83
407.66
8
86.4
7.6
19.70
38.59%
644.13
248.56
497.12
9
90.9
7.9
18.47
42.76%
683.00
292.08
584.15
10
96
8.7
17.21
50.56%
723.08
365.61
731.22
11
101.7
9.7
15.94
60.86%
762.90
464.30
928.61
12
107.2
10.3
14.86
69.30%
796.32
551.89
1103.77
13
111.3
11.2
14.15
79.13%
818.05
647.31
1294.61
14
114
11.6
13.73
84.47%
830.88
701.86
1403.71
15
115
11.8
13.59
86.86%
835.33
725.57
1451.14
16
114
11.6
13.73
84.47%
830.88
701.86
1403.71
17
111.6
11
14.11
77.98%
819.54
639.09
1278.19
18
107.9
10.8
14.74
73.29%
800.23
586.51
1173.01
19
103.4
10.3
15.59
66.07%
773.75
511.20
1022.41
20
99
9.2
16.52
55.69%
744.69
414.73
829.47
21
95.3
9
17.37
51.80%
717.83
371.87
743.74
22
91.9
8.3
18.22
45.57%
691.19
314.95
629.90
23
89.2
8
18.92
42.28%
668.70
282.70
565.39
Total (Wh per day) 19047.795

Cooling of Remote Sites Telecommunication Shelters

S.No
1

TAB . 2: Comparison of various HVAC systems

Advantages
Disadvantages
Low cost option
Temperature above ambient
Ingress of outdoor contaminants
Vortex cooler
- No moving parts
Low efficiency
- Reliable
Limited in Size
Depends on availability of
compressed air
Peltier Cooler
- No moving parts
- Low efficiency
- Reliable
- Limited in Size
- Used primary in spot cooling
Natural convection-Passive No moving parts
- Large space required
Cooled systems
- High initial cost
Phase Change Materials- - No moving parts
- May not function properly
Passive Cooled Systems
if not correctly packed
- Less space required
DC powered Air Condition- - Higher cooling capacity - Moving parts, some kind of
ers
than any other system
maintenance is required
- Possibility to cool shelter -Large foot print required
to human comfort level
for the solar panels
System
Exhaust Fans

153