Wind energy is a highly important and abundant energy source that is safe, clean, and plentiful, providing a constant and stable energy supply. Wind power has experienced rapid development in China, with a total installed capacity surpassing 42 million kilowatts, making it one of the world’s leading wind energy countries. Coastal and offshore wind farms account for a significant proportion of this capacity.

Due to the adverse climatic conditions such as humidity and salt spray in marine environments, there is a widespread occurrence of severe rusting within control cabinets shortly after their installation. This phenomenon has raised significant concerns among users and manufacturers.

Due to the limitations of field conditions, it is not possible to create a sealed indoor environment with good air quality for control cabinets at wind farm sites. Most designers propose enhancing the sealing performance of the cabinets to ensure that the interior is not affected by the harsh external air environment. While this approach is feasible, it gives rise to new challenges.

Once the cabinets are sealed, how can the heat generated by the major components inside the cabinet dissipate when the equipment is in operation? Water cooling can be used to address the cooling issue of certain components, such as high-power power electronic devices (such as IGBTs or thyristors) and reactors. However, there are other components for which cooling is not easily resolved, such as high-power grid-connected switches, conductive copper bars, and large resistors. The heat generated by these components causes a rapid increase in the temperature inside the cabinet.

The current solution is to use commonly used heat exchangers and control cabinet refrigeration units found in the air conditioning industry.