Thermal management is critical at each layer of the IoT "stack". Here's what the average power densities are at each macro layer, what the risks are for not managing the heat properly at a given layer, and some possible solution to be applied to cool that layer.

IoT Layers

Cloud Infrastructure

Average rack power densities:

• 6 to 12kW per rack

Without Proper Thermal Management:

• Reliability of calculations
• Accuracy of big data analysis
• Potential for bit errors

Possible solutions:

• Heat pipes
• Heat sinks with vapor chambers
• Push Pin heat sinks
• Phase change thermal interface material
• Liquid cooling at rack and chip level
• Immersion oil and other liquid cooling

M2M/Communications Infrastructure

Average rack power densities:

• 3 to 4kW per 300 users/connections

Without Proper Thermal Management:

• Slower processing
• Reduction in connections
• Increasing network latency
• Reduction in network connection reliability

Possible solutions:

• Extrusion Profile Heat Sinks
• Pin Fin Heat Sinks
• maxiFLOW™ Heat Sinks for low air flow applications
• Heat Pipes

Sensor and Wearable Layer

Average rack power densities:

• .5W to 10W

Without Proper Thermal Management:

• No sensing detected
• Poor quality of collected data
• Sensing transmission quality bad or unreliable
• Malfunction or breakdown of equipment relying on sensor data

Possible solutions:

• Flexible heat pipes
• Standard board mounted heat sinks
• Stamped heat sinks
• Pin fin heat sinks
• Chassis as heat sink