Active Thermal Management

Earlier we provided you with information on cooling a small enclosure, such as the cabinet that holds your computer or gaming system. But what if the cabinet is larger? Here, once again, are the experts at Active Thermal Management, to tell us all we need to know on how to keep a mid-size enclosure cool.

While there are situations in which you install basic systems in very small enclosures, such as the receiver and CD player in a bedroom nightstand, or a computer in a kitchen cabinet, and those involving elaborate systems in large enclosures, such as the 3 racks full of gear in a separate equipment room or closet, most installations involve the "mid-size" cabinet.

"Mid-size" describes a range of enclosures from 10-12 cubic feet (2' wide x 2' deep x 2 ½' high) to 30-35 cubic feet (4' wide x 2' deep x 4' high). Construction is typically wood, whether the enclosure is a new cabinet built specifically to house home entertainment/home theater components, or an older piece of furniture designed for less technical purposes. In either case, the cabinet may have one or more shelves to hold equipment, while the wider ones may have both vertical dividers and shelves. Read more

So much for humor.…! Whether it's the hard drive in a multi-media computer or in an office PC, losing programming and data is nothing to laugh at. The computer is becoming part of the home theater, and, as such, needs cooling as much - or more than - the receiver and satellite box. But like other home theater equipment, computers (and video games) are increasingly being put "out of sight" into enclosures that interfere with ventilation.

The result is frequently erratic (or no) operation due to overheating. Computer fans are effective at moving the heat from the hottest internal components out of the case, but if the hot air is then trapped in a cabinet, it gets pulled back into the computer, causing temperatures to spiral upwards.

We've written other papers on cooling mid-size and large enclosures full of audio-video gear (available at www.activethermal.com/technical _info) but here we'll discuss the small enclosure, no larger than about ten cubic feet. Frequently, this enclosure holds only a computer, keeping it quiet, keeping it out of sight, and keeping it warm.

Whether the computer is part of a home theater, used for playing games, or earns its keep with Word and Excel, we can't breathe easy until the computer can, too.

A note: we'll refer to computers in this discussion, but the following also applies to small music systems, Play Stations, etc.Read more