Custom Heat Exchangers For Below-Ambient Cooling

It’s been many years since companies first began utilizing heat exchangers for their electrical cooling needs. Almost immediately, the companies that switched from more traditional solutions, like air conditioners, began to benefit from the reduced amount of energy they had to dedicate to thermal management. These and other advantages stem from the more streamlined ways in which heat exchangers keep electrical enclosures cooled. However, using natural methods of transferring heat hasn’t always been as effective at achieving the below-ambient cooling temperatures that some applications still require. Today, a variety of custom heat exchangers have changed that, bringing the same low-energy, high-performance electrical cooling methods to applications that require below-ambient cooling to operate.

What is ambient cooling?

The earliest versions of heat exchangers, and many of the most popular ones today, feature designs that facilitate rapid, efficient heat transfer using a cooling fluid as the conduit. The fluid absorbs waste heat that electrical components give off, which makes the fluid significantly less dense, then it transfers the heat somewhere it can’t damage the sensitive components. Preventing waste heat from accumulating keeps the temperature inside of the electrical enclosure just above the temperature outside of it. Since most common applications have maximum operating temperatures that are well above this, ambient cooling is often the cooling method of choice.

When temperatures need to be below-ambient

Despite the many different advantages that come with ambient cooling, and the fact that it can be utilized for some of the most advanced applications, there are still instances where it isn’t enough. If the ambient temperature outside the enclosure is extremely hot, or if the application’s maximum operating temperature is well below it, then below-ambient cooling may be the only viable solution. Because of this, many companies have stuck to the older, more costly cooling solutions that were popular before heat exchangers. However, instead of relying on air conditioners or air compression, more companies are taking advantage of custom heat exchangers designed to meet most below-ambient cooling needs.

Natural methods for below-ambient cooling

Despite the need to achieve below-ambient temperatures for their cooling needs, most modern applications no longer rely on older solutions to achieve that need. Today, custom heat exchangers are able to bring the same energy and cost-saving benefits they provide for ambient cooling to applications that need below-ambient thermal management. Using an eco-friendly cooling fluid that’s chilled to the appropriate temperature, the process of transferring heat is more than enough to achieve and maintain the below-ambient temperatures that some applications require.

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