Heat exchangers can do a lot of things in the realm of electrical thermal management. For example, they can handle large amounts of electrical waste heat in a manner that’s just as effective and much more efficient than traditional cooling solutions. They can also help companies save significantly on the costs of thermal management, especially when it comes to energy and maintenance expenditures. However, some companies don’t realize one of the greatest accomplishments of modern heat exchangers – being able to provide below-ambient cooling without having to rely on HVAC or other methods of generating cold air.
How heat exchangers approach cooling
Heat exchangers are designed to do what they sound like – exchange heat from place to another. In the case of electrical cooling, this means using an eco-friendly fluid to absorb electrical waste heat and transfer it somewhere it can be safely dissipated. This continuous heat transfer process prevents waste heat from accumulating and causing the system to overheat. In traditional applications, this creates an ambient cooling effect, where the temperature within an electrical enclosure remains at just above the ambient temperature outside of it. However, many applications require a below-ambient cooling solution in order to successfully prevent electrical overheating.
Achieving more eco-friendly, below-ambient cooling
Fortunately, companies that require below-ambient cooling for their technologies and applications don’t have to turn to conventional, more costly alternatives. Today, specialized heat exchangers are often designed to achieve the high-performance, below-ambient thermal management that such systems require. Using a cooling fluid that’s chilled to the appropriate temperature, a heat exchanger can utilize the heat transfer process to rapidly remove waste heat while maintaining the precise below-ambient temperatures necessary. Because it is still based on eco-friendly heat transfer principles, the operation of below-ambient heat exchangers helps companies further reduce the costs associated with electrical cooling.
Processes where below-ambient heat exchangers work best
In many manufacturing applications, ambient cooling is more than sufficient for properly cooling electrical control cabinets and other enclosures. However, in applications within fields such as food and beverage manufacturing and high-performance electronic applications, or industries where applications are deployed in extremely hot climates, ambient cooling may not be enough. With heat exchangers that can provide below-ambient thermal management, such industries can optimize production processes and maintain optimal safety for their products without having to shoulder the traditionally high costs of older thermal management solutions.
For more information about how heat exchangers can achieve below-ambient cooling, call Noren Thermal Solutions in Taylor, TX, at 866-936-6736.