Climatic chamber & thermostatic chamber
In thermostatic tests the controlled parameter is the temperature, in climatic tests also the humidity.
The climatic chamber allows two quantities to be checked: the temperature and the humidity within the limits declared by the manufacturer:
- The temperature can usually vary at maximum between -70°C and +180°C.
- The relative humidity can vary within a range of between 10% and 98%.
In general, there are two main families of tests: one refers to thermostatic tests when the parameter controlled is only the temperature, whilst for the climatic tests it is necessary to control both the temperature and humidity parameters simultaneously.
Climatic or Thermostatic tests are used when one wants to test the behaviour of a product in its normal context of use and to see, therefore, how it reacts to the climatic change (what happens to electronic components if they are inadvertently stored in a warehouse with a high level of humidity? Or, which would be the materials most suitable for objects exposed to low temperature values?).
If one only needs to perform thermostatic tests, a thermostatic chamber would be needed (without the humidity control); otherwise, in order to control the variation of both the temperature and the humidity, a climatic chamber should be selected.
Temperature Test: Thermostatic Chamber
Climatic Test: Climatic Chamber
There are various models of climatic chambers and thermostatic chambers which are selected during the configuration on the basis of the specific test requirements. Amongst the most important parameters for the selection of a climatic chamber there are: temperature range, speed of temperature variation (temperature exchange rate), dimensions and other parameters, selectable on ACS online configurator.
To find out more about ACS climatic and thermostatic chambers, read the article written by our team: "What is a test chamber and how does it work?".