In this article, we are showing you different ways to cool down the Raspberry Pi device so that you can perform work on your device for a longer time.
Why Does Raspberry Pi Heat Up?
Before discussing methods to cool down the Raspberry Pi device, the user must know the reasons for the device getting overheated. There can be multiple reasons for a Raspberry device to heat up, two major reasons are mentioned below:
i: Overclocking
Sometimes different applications of Raspberry Pi such as gaming require overclocking for better performance. Though clocking at a good rate may not be harmful but it should not be done for a longer time. Further, if you overclock the device more than its limit, you might affect it and it may result in reducing the device’s performance and lifespan.
To learn the correct process of overclocking, follow the article
ii: Running the Device for Longer Hours
In case of overheating, it is recommended to turn off the device as soon as possible but there are multiple applications of Raspberry Pi that require the device to run 24/7 such as a DHCP server or router. In such applications, the users can’t risk turning the device off as it can affect the other devices connected to the router. But running the Raspberry Pi device 24/7 can cause excessive heating of the device.
If you don’t know about DHCP servers; follow the article.
How to Cool Raspberry Pi Device?
Above we have listed some of the major causes of Raspberry devices getting heated up and the following are some ways to cool down the device:
1: By Using Heat Sink
Users can cool down the Raspberry Pi device by using a heat sink with it. A heat sink is basically a component that can be connected to a device to sink the heat. Heat sink can cool the device depending upon the size of the heat sink, the bigger the area of the heat sink, the greater the ability of it to reduce the heat.
You can follow the article here to learn about installing a Heat Sink with your Raspberry Pi device.
2: By Using a Fan
A cheaper option to keep the Raspberry Pi device cool down is using a fan. A fan works as an exhaust by removing the hot air and sending in the cool breeze. By this principle, the Raspberry Pi device stays cool, and it can be run for a longer time. There are multiple fans available for Raspberry Pi and below, I have attached a recommended fan to shop for your Raspberry Pi 4 device.
Follow the article here to learn about connecting a fan with Raspberry Pi.
3: Using Both Heatsink and a Fan
For ultra-cooling of the device, both the heatsink and a fan can be used; By using this configuration the temperature of the device drops down fast keeping the device cool all the time. Basically, the heatsink sinks the heat and a fan is configured to blow the cool air onto the drive so at the same time the device sinks the heat and gets cool by the cool breeze sent by a fan. This might be a little more costly than the previous two ways but it provides the best results in terms of cooling the device.
4: Liquid Cooling
We all know liquids have a better tendency to cool down a device than air. Liquid cooling is another efficient way to cool the Raspberry Pi device. This is the most expensive method out of all but this method opens the way to applications that require high processor performance. For this method, water is moved inside tubes to cool down the device. Water cooling kits can be bought online or the other method is just to splash a few drops of water onto the device. Believe us this won’t harm the device, but there is a warning; avoid using excessive water just a few drops are enough.
Conclusion
Some of the applications of Raspberry Pi can heat up the device which can affect the processor’s performance or damage the device. In that case, there are several ways to cool down Raspberry Pi devices which include using a heatsink, a fan, or a cooling kit to eradicate the overheating problem of the device.
