Morningstar controllers and inverters are very often installed within an outdoor enclosure. Many of these installations are located in warm climates where overheating of equipment inside the enclosure can become a concern. Since power electronic components will produce heat that can accumulate inside the enclosure, it is important to determine the effect of this heating on the temperature inside that enclosure.
This tech tip discusses how to calculate the heat dissipation for Morningstars TriStar (PWM) and TriStar MPPT solar charge controllers and then determine how that heat dissipation will affect the temperature inside a sealed enclosure. Using this information, system designers can start to make better decisions regarding heat management inside the enclosure.