Jonny Wilson

Engineering tools

Control Panel Heat Calculator

Calculate component heat losses, assess the natural heat-dissipation capacity of a control-panel enclosure and estimate the airflow required where forced ventilation is needed.

Build a traceable heat-loss schedule, configure the enclosure dimensions, material and installation arrangement, and produce a calculation report for engineering review.

All calculations run locally in the browser. Calculation data is not uploaded to a server.

Project and document information

Calculation engine: CP-heat v1.0

Total panel loss17.78 W
Predicted internal31.5 °C
Natural capacity29.04 W
Required airflow0.0 m³/h
Overall statusPass — natural cooling

Calculation summary

Connected, diversified and allowance losses are derived from trusted included rows.

Equipment connected loss17.445 W
Equipment diversified loss17.445 W
Total panel dissipation17.7813 W

Component heat-loss schedule

Enter maximum manufacturer heat losses. Invalid and excluded rows do not contribute to trusted totals.

Allowances and additional losses

Diversity is applied once. Detailed conductor-loss entry is deferred; enter its calculated total here.

Allowance base16.8150 W

Terminal 0.1682 W · Cabling 0.1682 W

Enclosure and environment

Material coefficients are workbook/project assumptions, not certified universal values.

Enclosure preview

Normalized isometric preview of enclosure proportions and installation constraints.

Control panel enclosure previewPainted Carbon Steel enclosure, 400 mm wide, 500 mm high and 210 mm deep. Against a wall. Ambient 26.0 °C, predicted internal 31.5 °C. Pass — natural cooling.W 400 mmH 500 mmD 210 mm
Painted Carbon Steel
Against a wall
Ambient 26.0 °C
Internal 31.5 °C · Pass — natural cooling

Painted Carbon Steel enclosure, 400 mm wide, 500 mm high and 210 mm deep. Against a wall. Ambient 26.0 °C, predicted internal 31.5 °C. Pass — natural cooling.

Natural cooling results

Natural heat dissipation is based on effective surface area, coefficient and allowable temperature rise.

Effective surface area0.5866 m²
Allowed temperature rise9.0 °C
Predicted natural internal31.5 °C
Natural dissipation capacity29.04 W

Forced ventilation

Airflow is an idealized minimum estimate; allow for filters, pressure loss, derating and real fan curves.

Excess heat0.00 W
Minimum required airflow0.0 m³/h
Predicted forced internal31.5 °C

Natural cooling is adequate; forced ventilation is not required.

Warnings and review items

Resolve errors before relying on trusted totals.

No calculation warnings.

Calculation report

Preview the immutable engineering report before opening the browser print dialog.

About the calculation

The calculator totals diversified component heat losses, applies terminal and cabling allowances once, adds manually calculated conductor or other internal losses, and compares the result with the estimated natural heat-dissipation capacity of the enclosure.

Natural cooling and fan airflow

Natural temperature rise is estimated from panel dissipation, the selected material coefficient and effective exposed surface area. Where the resulting heat exceeds the permitted natural capacity, the calculator estimates an idealized minimum ventilation airflow and checks a selected fan duty.

Engineering limitation

This is an engineering thermal estimate based on the supplied calculation workbook. It is not a complete IEC TR 60890 or IEC 61439 temperature-rise verification.

Final design must consider manufacturer derating, local hot spots, air paths, filter pressure loss, solar gain, cable and busbar losses, altitude, contamination, maintenance requirements and applicable project standards.