by bruce kreeley and steve coulton, kooltronic, inc. 

heat is both a by-product and one of the greatest enemies of electrical and electronic components. if not dissipated, this heat has the potential to cause early failures and malfunctions.

components commonly packaged in electrical enclosures, computer server racks, and other product compartments are the vital controls for drives and displays used in many industries: telecommunications, food and beverage manufacturing equipment,  industrial automation, machine tools, medical instrumentation, waste water treatment, transportation, water purification, retail kiosks,  security imaging and detection equipment, petrochemical, robotics, steel manufacturing and forming, paper manufacturing, hvac, and elevator controls.

(wikimedia commons)

the primary purpose of these electrical enclosures is to provide protection and safety for the components they house. if an enclosure is properly cooled, the components within can have a long and useful life. without proper cooling, however, the components in these enclosures can be subject to damaging heat, shortening their longevity and reliability.

reducing the operating temperatures within electrical enclosures is an effective way to increase life expectancy and system reliability. if an enclosure is properly cooled, the cost associated with that cooling can be recovered over the life of the equipment.

read more from kooltronic at http://www.kooltronic.com/downloads/k1182.pdf.