Importance

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Abstract

A system and method is provided for using a heat exchanger to manage the temperature of at least one electrical device in an interior-portion of a cabinet. Specifically, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the cabinet includes at least a floor, a roof, and a plurality of walls connected (at least partially) therebetween. At least one wall of the cabinet is constructed using a plurality of layers (e.g., inner layer, outer layer, middle layer, etc.) and/or ribs, thereby defining at least two channels. In the first channel, an air-to-air heat exchanger is disposed. In the second channel, air (external or internal) is routed from the heat exchanger to at least one fan. The thermal-transfer properties of the heat exchanger and the fan allow the temperature in the interior-portion of the cabinet, and thus the temperature of the electrical device located therein, to be managed (e.g., heated, cooled, maintained, etc.). In another embodiment of the present invention, multiple walls are constructed using a plurality of layers and/or ribs, thereby defining more than one channel for routing air to/from the heat exchanger. In yet another embodiment, the roof is constructed using a plurality of layers and/or ribs, thereby defining at least one channel for routing air to/from the fans that are housed therein.

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First Claim