How do I select cooling or heating for an industrial enclosure?

In manufacturing environments, it is very common to use some sort of heating and cooling on computer enclosures. Proper enclosure thermal management keeps electronics operating within a normal temperature range despite the ambient temperature.

Selecting the proper cooling and heating is not difficult but does require basic information about the environment and electronics that will be protected inside of the enclosure.

3 Items You Need to Know

1. Enclosure Size: Height x Width x Depth

2. Ambient Temperatures

   - highest and lowest expected temperature outside enclosure

   - highest and lowest temperature allowed inside enclosure

3. Equipment Total Load in Watts: Representative of computer, monitor, printer, server, UPS, etc.  Note: If enclosing an UPS, use 1/4 of output power capacity.

Once you have the information above, use this formula to estimate the enclosure thermal management.

(watts x 3.413) + (1.25 x area in sq. feet x DT temperature difference in degrees F) = BTU/hr

Watts = total heat load inside enclosure, sum of all heat producing equipment

Area = total exposed surface area of enclosure in square feet

DT = difference between maximum expected temperature in F outside of enclosure and maximum desired temperature in F inside of enclosure

Other factors that can affect thermal management are enclosure construction and the installation environment.   An enclosure’s construction dictates how heat dissipates.  Exterior environments that are exposed to direct sunlight will also affect cooling and heating.

The correct enclosure thermal management will create optimum conditions for the reliable operation of electronic and electrical components in a manufacturing environment.  From filtered fans to air conditioners to heaters, there are a number of thermal management options available to ensure maximum productivity and uptime while protecting your controls and equipment.

For help sizing and selecting the correct thermal management, download the ITSENCLOSURES cooling requirement worksheet.