When Is Below-Ambient Cooling Necessary?

When it comes to electrical enclosures, ambient refers to the temperature just outside of the enclosure. In many applications, this temperature is well below the system’s maximum operating temperature and offers a sufficient baseline for cooling the enclosure. However, in some applications, a system’s high demands and/or the environment surrounding the equipment makes it necessary to cool the electrical enclosure to below the ambient temperatures outside of it. In such cases, companies can still benefit from more efficient, cost-effective, and eco-friendly thermal management thanks to advanced below-ambient heat exchangers.

Reasons for below-ambient cooling

One of the more common reasons for an application to require below-ambient cooling is because it operates in extremely hot temperatures. Even if the equipment doesn’t emit particularly large amounts of waste heat, the ambient temperature is still too high for the electrical equipment to operate safely. In other applications, the ambient temperature may not be too high, but the system itself operates at levels that produce massive amounts of waste heat rapidly. Below-ambient cooling is often the best way to ensure that such systems remain properly cooled regardless of how much heat they produce.

How a below-ambient heat exchanger works

The heat transfer processes that modern heat exchangers utilize rely on the use of cooling fluids, such as water, that can be circulated within a loop. The fluid absorbs the heat and transfers it to a cooler area where it can be dissipated, then the fluid can circulate back and continue this cycle repeatedly. Within a below-ambient heat exchanger, the cooling fluid can be set to a specific temperature according to the intended application’s requirements. In addition to transferring heat efficiently, this also ensures that the enclosure remains properly cooled without the need for more costly air conditioning or air compressing equipment.

For more information about when below-ambient cooling is the most appropriate solution, call Noren Thermal Solutions in Taylor, TX, at 866-936-6736.