One of the aspects of selling electric heating elements that is always fascinating is discovering the different applications where electric heat can be used.
In addition to the applications of the common plastic, various unique applications have been explored over the years such as:
- Exhaust heaters for the marine industry
- Duct heaters for drying corn
- Silicone rubber heaters used for heating defibrillator batteries in emergency vehicles
Use in Refrigerator doors
An obscure application encountered was to use blown, electric heat applied to refrigerator doors. Applying heat around the edges of the refrigerator doors helps with defrosting and freeze protection.
Normally heat trace cable is applied to the inner layer of the door frame. This provides limited heat to keep the doors from fogging over or icing up due to constant opening and closing. This is standard practice for this type of application that is used across multiple industries such as food and beverage, scientific, medical, and transportation.
working of heating elements in refrigeration
Tempco has figured out an improved way of de-icing their refrigerator doors using a tubular heating element. Instead of lining the door frame with heat trace cable, they designed an airflow tunnel within the door frame and applied forced heated air through this tunnel. It worked with the customer to design a custom-formed tubular heater to fit within the space limitation of their design.
The improved design lowered the maintenance costs associated with the refrigeration doors. A more consistent temperature within the doors reduced the time it takes to de-fog the doors. Additionally, if there is a heater failure, the tubular element is quicker and easier to replace than heat trace cable.
