How Heat Exchangers Meet Below-Ambient Cooling Needs

When heat exchangers first became popular, their ability to provide effective, efficient, and highly reliable thermal management was directly tied to their ambient cooling abilities. Instead of chilling an electrical enclosure, they prevented overheating by transferring the waste heat before it had a chance to accumulate. For most common applications, this proved more than viable. However, as technology continues advancing and companies continue expanding their reach and operating in new territories, the need for below-ambient cooling has become increasingly more pressing. Fortunately, below-ambient heat exchangers can meet that need with equal efficiency and reliability.

The concept of transferring heat

Traditional heat exchangers provided ambient cooling based on the way they transferred heat instead of eliminating it. A heat exchanger contains an eco-friendly cooling fluid, such as water, that absorbs waste heat so that it can transfer it and dissipate it somewhere else. The waste heat never has a chance to gather into pockets or remain long enough to raise the temperature inside of the enclosure. Instead, the cooling fluid within heat exchangers prevent overheating by keeping the heat flowing in a continuous loop.

Keeping the temperature below the ambient

More modern, below-ambient heat exchangers operate on the same principles as their traditional counterparts – using cooling fluid and a combination of natural heat transfer processes to prevent overheating. The difference is that below-ambient cooling units contain fluid that is chilled to the appropriate temperature, allowing it to maintain the below-ambient target temperature as it flows through the heat exchanger.

When below-ambient cooling is the answer

Increasingly more applications spanning virtually every industry are relying on the high-performance, low-cost capabilities of below-ambient heat exchangers to address a wide range of advanced thermal management needs. For example, systems that produce excessive amounts of waste heat and/or operate in extremely hot climates often require electrical cooling solutions that can actively chill their enclosures. In some applications, such as food pasteurization and storage, temperatures must be kept well below ambient temperatures to guarantee the safety of a company’s products.

For more information about how heat exchangers meet below-ambient cooling needs, call Noren Thermal Solutions in Taylor, TX, at 866-936-6736.