# Ht equipment cooling advice



## bdon (Feb 14, 2011)

Hello fellow HT shackers,

I am building a home entertainment center to house my HT equipment and for my LCD to sit on. I want to include fan cooling into the design (computer-type fans exhausting out the back) to keep the electronics cool. 

Now the hard part to me is how to control the cooling. One option is to have a thermostat-controlled AC outlet or switch for the fans. However I don't know where to find something like that. 

The other option is controlling it myself. I have an onkyo 1007, and there are no switched outlets on it. Could I integrate the control into the zone 2,3 12V trigger(s)? I believe I could macro this into the remote to turn on with the receiver, etc. 

Any advice would be great. Thanks!


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## hgoed (Mar 22, 2010)

You could use a fan powered by a wallwart plugged into a switchable power strip...

http://www.nilesaudio.com/product.p... Switching Systems&catcdID=10&prdcdID=FG00242

My understanding is that the 12v trigger doesn't have enough power to actually run the fan, but I don't know the specifics of your chosen fan.


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## bdon (Feb 14, 2011)

Thanks for the reply. 

I think that requires a switched outlet which I don't have, but I could be mistaken. Does it work with zone 2 12V triggers?

Id prefer a thermostat controlled method if it isn't too costly


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## hgoed (Mar 22, 2010)

Works with 12v trigger.

Regarding the thermostat--do you have any idea where to set the trigger? Will you have sensors on all of your equipment?


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## tjlevasseur (Dec 16, 2010)

http://shop.ebay.com/drmckenzie/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25 <- they have thermostat activated cooling solutions and they're reasonably priced. :T


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## bdon (Feb 14, 2011)

hgoed said:


> Works with 12v trigger.
> 
> Regarding the thermostat--do you have any idea where to set the trigger? Will you have sensors on all of your equipment?


I have two cabinets in the console where the electronics are going. Ambient temperature is what it will be based off of.


> http://shop.ebay.com/drmckenzie/m.ht..._from=&_ipg=25 <- they have thermostat activated cooling solutions and they're reasonably priced.


This is what I was aiming for! thanks!

This is sort of what I'm basing my design off of, but I'll be using higher quality materials and different dimensions, etc (also a granite top!):
http://www.standoutdesigns.com/store/pc/Horizon-N702-XL-Solid-Wood-TV-Console-10p729.htm


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

I would recommend thermostatic control. You can get a line voltage, cooling thermostat with adjustable setpoint and fan On-Off-Auto control from Grainger for $20-25 (probably less if you shop around the internet).

Regards,
sga2


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## sga2 (Nov 14, 2009)

The "DUAL Mega-fan Cabinet AV Cooling Fans w/Digi thermostat" product linked by tjlevasseur looks like a good package (fan, power supply, and thermostat). I like the dual fans, too, for some redundancy. I just don't see any data on the fan (airflow, noise level). 

sga2


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