Can the Raspberry Pi overheat in a small space?

Question

I'm planning on making something with a Raspberry Pi in a small wooden box among with some other electronics. It will be working a few hours per day (but probably be plugged in all day, don't know yet)

I'm a bit worried about overheating. So:

Should I make some holes in the wooden box so air can circulate?
Should I put a simple USB fan in it?

a small heat sink would help dissipate the heat – kyle k Jun 07 '13 at 22:59 — kyle k, Jun 07 '13 at 22:59
Duplicate of Can I use an airtight case. – Bengt Jun 12 '13 at 16:13 — Bengt, Jun 12 '13 at 16:13

score 7 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 07 '13 at 13:37

If I were you I'd implement a temperature monitor, that shows how hot was the CPU for the last day/week/month and if the temperature does not exceed 70`C you should not worry about it.

I have two PIs working 24/7 in closed boxed without holes. Nothing happens (my real temperature data is included in the before mentioned URL).

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 07 '13 at 10:29

1

Holes, yes. USB fan would probably be overkill.

answered Jun 07 '13 at 10:29

recantha

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score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 08 '13 at 01:41

As others have said, it's unlikely to overheat - if it was, then it would have been designed differently.

I'd imagine, one of the design features of the pi, is to have no moving parts, so that it is quiet as well as reliable. You don't want to waste USB ports on fans either right?

If you had a genuine concern for heat, there are purpose designed heat sinks for the Pi for about £5, or if you have some thermo glue, and an old computer heatsink you could hacksaw that up :)

Can the Raspberry Pi overheat in a small space?

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