Thermal Management

Audio Amplifiers and equipment can create a tremendous amount of heat.  Keeping your cabinet or rack full of gear cool is a priority that most people forget about.  If heat is left to accumulate around your equipment it can be damaged.

Remember Heat always rises!

There are two ways to design your thermal management - natural convection or forced air.

Natural Convection

1. Mount components that generate most heat near the top of the enclosure. If you were to mount such components at the very bottom, the already heated air rising from the bottom will eventually overheat the rest of the equipment in the enclosure in a very short time.


2. If possible, use deeper/wider equipment racks as the extra space on either side of the rack and the rear will create a passive 'chimney effect' that will further help to draw the hot air upwards.


3. Install vented rack panels between equipment without fans. In the case of an open rack with passive cooling, care should be taken to ensure that heated air would not be drawn back into the rack enclosure as this would lead to a fast buildup of hot spots around system components.

Forced air

1. Direct the airflow within the equipment rack by placing vented rack-panels only in the front near the equipment. This in particular applies for equipment with built-in fans using front intake.

2. Similar, study the cooling of the different components. This is necessary to ensure that you design the cooling within the rack in such a manner as to assist the built-in cooling process of the individual units.

3. Do not place vented rack-panels in the top-most part of the equipment rack; instead cover any vents on the upper part of a rack to help improve the chimney effect.

4. Similarly, do not use a ventilated rear-panel with fan-cooled equipment. Doing so would simply reduce the effectiveness of the forced cooling within the overall volume of your rack system.

AC INFINITY FANS

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AC Infinity fans are an excellent value for the money.  They are quiet, efficient, and have an excellent form factor.
With dozens of configuration options, AC Infinity fans are the perfect choice to keep your gear running cool.
Call us to have one installed today or check AC Infinity out online at http://www.acinfinity.com/