EIC Solutions offers a wide range of standard and custom cooling solutions designed to protect sensitive electronics and meet the demands of a broad range of amusement and theme park environments – including extreme heat and high humidity.
When reliability and safety are paramount, EIC’s cabinet cooling systems are there to keep the attractions running smoothly by protecting computers, ride controls, ticketing kiosks, audio/video systems and electrical/electronic equipment from damaging heat, dust, moisture, and corrosion.
The Need for Electronic Housings Cooling
The theme park industry has faced a number of poor seasons in the midst of the most recent recession, with reduced travel rates translating into falling visitor counts. Revenue, however, is expected to improve through the next five years as theme park operators seek to lure more consumers with new attractions. Also, the improved economy is projected to help raise consumer confidence, causing demand for entertainment to rise substantially.
This need to build bigger and more exciting thrill rides has dramatically increased the demand for state of the art electronic control systems to operate a wide variety of mechanical rides, water rides, interactive games, multi-media shows, themed exhibits and other attractions. As heat fluxes continue to rise, this has presented significant challenges to keeping these systems running smoothly. These systems produce significantly higher levels of heat than previous systems and as a result are more sensitive to harsh environmental factors. Typically these electrical/electronic systems are installed in sealed housings or enclosures making thermal overrun temperatures one of the leading causes of failure and reduction in MTBF. The removal of heat generated by these advanced electronics systems has grown to be a critical issue since these systems must often perform in high ambient temperature environments.
In addition, many of these systems utilize rack mounted electronics that were originally designed for operation in air conditioned buildings, not in harsh outdoor environments. These rack mounted systems are now being installed both indoors and outdoors in enclosures that are exposed to ambient temperatures up to 120°F and in some cases much higher. In addition to extreme temperatures, these sensitive electronic systems are also subject to the dust, dirt, moisture, corrosion and vibration typical of the harsh conditions found in theme park environments.
The EIC Solution
In order to effectively solve these complex cooling problems, park designers and engineers are turning to EIC’s thermoelectric cooling systems as an ideal solution when a low to moderate amount of heat must be handled in a harsh environment. Using patented solid-state technology to accomplish temperature change, thermoelectric coolers eliminate the need for refrigerants and operate with fewer moving parts. They can cool housings to temperatures below ambient conditions while producing little noise and vibration. Featuring reliability and a long life span coupled with flexible input power requirements and mounting arrangements, EIC’s thermoelectric air conditioners offer significant advantages over conventional cooling methods such as compressor-based systems. In addition, they are ideal solutions for applications where the cooling system must be portable or subjected to motion such as amusement rides and other attractions.
To provide a complete solution, EIC offers packaged systems comprised of enclosures and cabinets with integrated cooling assemblies. These systems are designed to protect and cool electrical/electronic systems in a wide range of amusement and theme park applications including ride controls, kiosks and security systems. These integrated cooling systems offer superior performance with excellent temperature uniformity, resulting in lower electronic component temperatures, increased operational life and reliability (MTBF).
Additionally, the compact size and weight of EIC’s cabinet coolers allows them to fit a wide range electronic enclosures, electrical cabinets and sub-racks. Standard product modifications are also available to meet customers’ exact needs such as custom sizes, doors, holes, cutouts, colors and accessories to reduce assembly time, and for easy integration into new or existing systems.
With the rugged stainless steel construction, reliable performance and flexibility these advanced thermoelectric systems offer, designers can reduce equipment size, weight, and power with improved cooling, corrosion resistance and hazardous location protection. Whether the application requires an off-the-shelf or custom system, EIC’s engineers will help find the solution to best meet your cooling needs.
CLICK HERE for our Amusement Park Applications Sheet. Need help sizing your application? Download sizing guide.
The following examples highlight the wide range of applications, environments, and clients who rely on our enclosures and cooling systems to safeguard their critical electronics:
Additional applications of EIC products can be found in many amusement and theme park related settings including: