Communications Equipment Accommodation in Remote Areas

The range of transportable and small fixed buildings in use in rural and remote areas in Australia and their thermal characteristics are described in this paper. Many of those buildings have been designed to varying degrees with features to promote the natural transfer of heat from the equipment room to its surroundings and to limit the room temperature rise to an acceptable level. Heat dissipation from digital type equipment of about 0.5 to 5 kW is becoming the norm whereas in the past the room heat loads with analogue equipment have not exceeded about 1.8 kW. The need for a more detailed knowledge of passive heat transfer mechanisms to economically accommodate the larger heat loads is evident. Developments in that area are discussed.