See the related feature article:

How to Properly Cool Electronics in Industrial Applications
Options for enclosure cooling include conductive cooling, open-loop cooling and closed-loop cooling. Choosing the right method will extend the life of your electronics.

In addition to overall damage to and performance problems with electronics, heat buildup inside an enclosure can potentially cause:

  • De-rated drive performance.
  • Intermittent fluctuations in I/C-based devices.
  • Mean time between failures (MTBF) decreases exponentially.
  • Catastrophic component failure.
  • Warranty revocation.
  • Component replacement costs.
  • Late shipments.
  • Customer dissatisfaction.
  • Lost revenue.
  • Service outages.
  • Hours of factory downtime.