UL certification standards like the UL508A, which is applicable on industrial control panels are based on the US National Electric Code or NEC, also known as NFPA 70. The Underwriters Laboratories or UL mark is specifically applicable to products designed and sold within the US, suitable for US electrical environment. Their initials UL represent their mark of approval on all equipment sold in the US, while in Canada their mark is represented by cUL. In the US and Canada, there are primarily two: UL and cUL.īoth are indirectly the same as UL and cUL both correspond to Underwriters Laboratories (UL), headquartered in the United States. In order to standardize the safety requirements for electrical enclosures, several Standards and Certifications have been set out.
Therefore, having the right temperature is vital for your system’s reliability and safety. Many components that go within an electrical cabinet are temperature sensitive after a certain threshold has been met, after which they produce unexpected output. Apart from causing serious damages, overheating can also result in abnormal behavior from your equipment. Overheating is one of the major causes of meltdowns within electrical systems leading to fires, equipment/personnel damage, decrease in revenues and waste of resources.
Your system might be able to bear the increasing temperature initially but at some point, it will give in and the result can be fatal. As the size of your load increases, so does the quantity of heat produced. Any electrical system, no matter how small, will generate heat since it will contain a resistive element in one form or another.