Switch and temperature in garage

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cshaun

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#99903 29-Mar-2012 13:06

Hi all,

Wonder if I could get some opinions. I'm wanting to run network cabling through out the house ~20 lines/jacks. Now usually you have the patch panel and switch in the garage.

I'm a bit concerned about the temperature in there during summer though. I should have monitored the temperature throughout summer but checked some of the hottest days between 24 Feb and now. Highest reading I got was 33.7 degrees (13 & 23 Mar) when supposedly it was 21.7 (high of 24 & low of 17) according to the met service.

So delta of 12 degrees. And hottest day in the Auckland area something like 28-32 degrees?

So possible I hit days were temperature in there hits or slightly exceeds 40 degrees.

Operating temperature for the switch is rated at up to 40 deg which seems to be quite common. (HP ProCurve 1410-16G)

The life of an electronic device is directly related to its operating temperature. Each 10°C temperature rise reduces component life by 50%*. Conversely, each 10°C temperature reduction increases component life by 100%.

Will probably install in a recessed cabinet in the wall along with a UPS and possibly modem and PBX. So all these things would be generating heat...

Making me a bit nervous and wondering if I should find another location e.g. laundry cupboard in the passage.
The garage is definitely the hottest place in the house on a warm day with lots of sun (think the brown colored garage door is just absorbing and radiating all the suns heat).

Anyone with some experience/knowledge?

BlakJak

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#601900 29-Mar-2012 13:25

Bottom line, if your switch isn't going to exceed 40degC, it's probably fine. Most equipment is built to manage room temperatures in temperate conditions such as NZ.
Just ensure the environment is ventilated, dry, and out of direct sunlight.
Most internal access garages are as-well-insulated as the rest of the house, however, even an external garage is likely OK; more risk from dust and bugs than from temperature swing, I would think.
A cupboard in your house is likely to be much more stable in terms of temperature (hey hey, insulation) if you have that option.
You could simulate this by insulating the cabinet housing your switch (assuming it has a cabinet) if you're concerned about the Garage.

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chevrolux

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#601901 29-Mar-2012 13:25

One that springs to mind is a school we re-cabled. They had all their gear in what was essentially a cleaning cupboard. 2 tower servers, multiple ups's, switch, router etc. The whole lot. It was hot as hell in that cupboard. You stepped in to it and started sweating immediately. Talking to the principal it had been like that since day dot.
While 33 degrees is fairly warm I don't see you having a problem. If you are really worried about heat get a vented cabinet. Modempak or dynamix do nice vented cabinet from 6U right up to floor standers with fans.

BlakJak

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#601902 29-Mar-2012 13:27

I should add, if your temperature delta is minimal then you could run your gear right up into the mid 30s without a problem.
I once found a datacabinet 6 inches from the boiler in a boiler room. The gear was solid as a rock, because the temperature was constantly within a couple of degrees, 24/7. We relocated the cabinet (precautionary) but were prepared to replace the two switches that were in it too, in the likelyhood they would fail. A fibre media converter also present in the cabinet did fail almost immediately that it was pulled down to the mid-teens from the mid-30s.

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Jaxson

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#601929 29-Mar-2012 14:08

It's a good point and not all garages are as insulted as the house. More problematic though is the ventilation. Garages often get that hot as no one goes in there to open windows like they would on a hot day in the rest of the house. Fans on cabinets don't work that well if the whole garage is full of hot air, ~ you're moving air around, but not really reducing any temperature.

If you're worried about it, install a ventilation ceiling fan to extract the hot air. Garage doors are not often that well sealed, so you should get enough air coming in to replace what you are extracting. Set the fan on a thermostat and it will stop and start automatically.

Plan b is install air conditioning in your garage, or repurpose a fridge etc etc etc...

cshaun

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#601949 29-Mar-2012 14:54

Would be cooler yes if the windows/doors in there were opened. But ours is at the front of the house (with internal access) and a reasonable distance away from the living areas. Don't think I'd feel comfortable leaving the windows open if not in the vicinity.

So something like one of these with a separate thermostat?
http://www.mitre10mega.co.nz/shop/bathroom/bathroom_heating_ventilation/weiss_shower_extractor_fan_165318/
http://www.mitre10mega.co.nz/shop/bathroom/bathroom_heating_ventilation/weiss_bathroom_extractor_fan_through_wall_clear_flow_150mm_172270/

The garage door doesn't exactly offer a an air tight seal - there's plenty of spaces for air to get in.

But yeah maybe an temperature controlled extractor is the answer - keep the temperature of the whole garage down.
Guess ideally it would compare outside temperature to inside and only run if sufficient difference. (No point in running if it's just as hot outside.)
Seem to use about 30-40W. Garage is ~80m^3. Fans typically rated at 150 to 330 m^3 per hour.

Wouldn't intake perhaps be better than exhaust? If internal access door is open air most of the air would be coming from there and perhaps not as cool as outside.

Any other benefits to keeping the garage cooler? None that I can think of other than might help keep the rest of the house cooler too. But no benefit to anything that's typically in a garage is there.

Could possibly run a smaller air intake system directly to the cabinet/enclosure rather?

Was thinking on using one of the Dynamix enclosures:
http://dynamix.co.nz/index.html?do=NETWBS&code=SHW100&view=1

Haven't managed to find anything better yet. Annoying that only the 28" one has vents... Haven't worked out exactly what size i I need but doubt I need that much space. Also annoying assume specs on size are not the internal space I'd have e.g. is a 86mm wide UPS going to fit in the 100mm depth...

Jaxson

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#601967 29-Mar-2012 15:19

Plan g or something could be a passive system, but they do rely on some wind flow to really work. I guess they would still provide a channel to the outside for the hottest air to travel out through. http://www.eziform.co.nz/wawcs0137158/customised-products.html

Pushing air in can work, though you have to provide a sensible path for it to get out again. If your internal access door is open, or is not suitably sealed then you'll flood warmer air into your house, along with smells of petrol/rubbish/cleaning products etc depending on what you get up to in there.

You're not likely to find an dual temperature controller that cheaply, so typically you'd want to start some ventilation if the inside temperature gets above a certain threshold. 9 times out of 10 your boxed up unventilated garage will be warmer than any air outside.

cshaun

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#601993 29-Mar-2012 15:51

Yeah those look interesting.
Other than there sometimes being no wind guess in winter you'd probably want to be able to close the vent i.e. stop loosing heat.
Might be worth further investigation. Thanks.

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cshaun

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#604020 2-Apr-2012 17:11

Just been looking into garage door insulation. Think I'll just install it in the garage then try out some insulation and as a last resort extractor.

Thanks for the input guys.