Air cooling systems rely on the circulation of air over heat-dissipation fins to cool components. Compared to liquid cooling, they are less expensive and simpler to deploy and maintain.
Several produce stacking and fan positioning arrangements have been used successfully for forced-air cooling. If you opt for this approach, be sure to select a case that will allow your fans to properly move air in and out.
Heat dissipation
Air cooling is one of the oldest and most common methods for cooling electronic equipment. This type of cooling relies on natural conduction, convection and radiation. It works well in lightly loaded enclosures with large surface areas and good ventilation. However, there are limitations when it comes to heat dissipation with this method.
The biggest limitation of air cooling is the physics of thermal transfer. It is important to understand this concept before using this type of cooling on your products.
Basically, thermal transfer is the movement of energy from the warmer object to the cooler ambient temperature. The most effective way to manage this process is by adding a thermal dissipation component to your product. These components look flat but have fine gaps and grooves that allow air to come into contact with the hot surface. Thermal conductive sheets can also improve heat dissipation. They have excellent conductivity and can lower the temperature of an IC chip, increasing its lifespan.
Noise
Air conditioners aren’t always quiet, but strange noises don’t necessarily mean that it’s time to call in the professionals. Different sounds are often indicators of different problems with the system, and certain noises indicate a higher degree of urgency than others.
Clicking noises are usually a sign that the machine is beginning and ending its cooling cycle, and they’re relatively normal. However, if the noise is constant, it’s likely a sign of loose or broken parts that could potentially cause more serious damage if not addressed right away.
Squealing or scream-like sounds are often the result of a fan belt in the blower or bearings in the condenser fan motor that have worn out, and they’re also easy to fix by replacing the old ones. However, these sounds can sometimes be a sign of a refrigerant leak or high internal pressure within the compressor unit.
A hissing sound can be a sign of a moderate to severe leak in the air duct system or refrigerant line, and it should be inspected immediately by a professional. To lessen this type of noise, try placing your outdoor unit far from living areas that have reflective surfaces, and consider adding shrubs or a sound-dampening fence with overlapping boards to help absorb the noise.
Space
The best cooling technology could come from outer space, where temperatures are much colder. The team at SkyCool has already dug out a galactic sink to dump heat into, and they’re working on making it commercially viable.
Energy demand for air conditioning is growing rapidly, more than tripling since 1990. This is a big problem for electricity grids and greenhouse gas emissions, especially when it happens at peak demand in hot weather.
The good news is that efficiency ratings on new equipment are improving, but they need to improve even faster to be on track with the NZE Scenario by 2030. This will require a rapid move towards the most efficient products, as well as codes to ensure that they’re used effectively in buildings. It will also require a quicker shift away from high-GWP refrigerants and towards climate-friendly alternatives.
Energy
The energy required to cool devices pushes electricity demand worldwide – especially during hellishly hot weather. This puts enormous strain on power grids and raises energy costs for households, with a direct impact on global CO2 emissions.
Traditional air cooling techniques use fans to run cool air over hot components, such as CPUs or motherboards. The cool air takes the heat off the components and dissipates it into ambient airflow – with some cooling methods enhancing surface area through large conductive heat sinks or cooling fins.
Liquid cooling is a more energy-efficient option that uses water and pumps to remove the heat from the system. This enables processors to operate at higher densities, delivering greater compute performance per chip. However, this solution can be more expensive to implement and support, potentially increasing Opex.