Outdoor vs Indoor Installation

The natural inclination to refer to an electrolyzer installation as a cell room reflects the fact that most cells are located inside buildings. There are advantages to locating cells outdoors, however. Besides the obviously lower cost, these include greater opportunities for emergency escape from the area, the dissipation of minor releases of gas, and the cooler temperatures that result from unconfined ventilation. Outdoor construction makes it easier to limit ceiling concentrations of chlorine vapor and to reduce worker heat stress [2]. 

The chief problem with outdoor installation is the exposure to weather, especially in a cold climate. A building not only protects woikers fix m exposure to the weather, it also shields equipment from sun, rain and snow (with their thermal shock), sand and dust storms, and corrosion. The protection offered by a building slows the natural process of deterioration of system components and helps to avoid foreign deposits that can allow short-circuiting of cell connections. 

Diaphragm cells are the most amenable to outdoor installation. They have a high ratio of liquid mass to exposed surface area. Diis and the use of nonmetallic cell covers, and sometimes non-metallic bodies, make them less susceptible to thermal shock. At the same time, the electrode connections are more massive and less likely to be short-circuited by atmospheric deposits. 

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