10 Practical PCB Heat Dissipation Methods You Must Know!

June 17, 2026

For electronic devices, a certain amount of heat is generated during operation, causing the internal temperature of the device to rise rapidly. If this heat is not dissipated in time, the device will continue to heat up, components will fail due to overheating, and the reliability of the electronic equipment will decrease.

Therefore, proper thermal management for circuit boards is very important. PCB heat dissipation is a critical aspect, so what are the techniques for PCB cooling? Let's discuss them below.

01 Heat Dissipation Through the PCB Itself

Currently, the most widely used PCB substrates are copper-clad/epoxy glass cloth substrates or phenolic resin glass cloth substrates, with a small number using paper-based copper-clad laminates.

Although these substrates have excellent electrical and processing properties, their thermal conductivity is poor. As a heat dissipation path for high-heat-generating components, they can hardly conduct heat through the PCB resin itself—instead, heat is dissipated from the component surface to the surrounding air.

However, as electronic products have entered the era of miniaturization, high-density mounting, and high-heat-generating assembly, relying solely on the very small surface area of components for heat dissipation is far from sufficient.

At the same time, with the widespread use of surface-mount components such as QFP and BGA, a large amount of heat generated by these components is transferred to the PCB. Therefore, the best way to improve heat dissipation is to enhance the heat dissipation capability of the PCB itself that is in direct contact with heat-generating components, allowing heat to be conducted or dissipated through the PCB board.

▼ Add heat-dissipating copper foil and use large-area power/ground copper planes

PCB Layout

Place temperature-sensitive components in the cool air zone.
Place temperature-sensing devices at the hottest locations.

Components on the same PCB should be arranged in zones according to their heat generation and heat tolerance. Components with low heat generation or poor heat resistance (such as small-signal transistors, small-scale ICs, electrolytic capacitors, etc.) should be placed at the uppermost stream (inlet) of the cooling airflow. Components with high heat generation or good heat resistance (such as power transistors, large-scale ICs, etc.) should be placed at the downstream end of the cooling airflow.

In the horizontal direction, high-power components should be placed as close as possible to the edge of the PCB to shorten the heat transfer path. In the vertical direction, high-power components should be placed as high as possible on the PCB to reduce their thermal impact on other components.

Heat dissipation of PCBs inside equipment mainly relies on air flow, so the airflow path must be studied during design, and components or PCBs should be arranged accordingly.

Airflow always tends to flow where resistance is lower, so when placing components on a PCB, avoid leaving large empty areas in any region. The same principle applies to the arrangement of multiple PCBs within the complete system.

Temperature-sensitive components should be placed in the coolest areas (such as the bottom of the equipment). Never place them directly above heat-generating components. Multiple components should ideally be arranged in a staggered pattern on the horizontal plane.

Place components with the highest power consumption and heat generation near the best heat dissipation locations. Do not place high-heat-generating components at the corners or edges of the PCB unless heat dissipation devices are arranged nearby. When designing power resistors, choose larger components whenever possible and ensure sufficient heat dissipation space during PCB layout.

Component Spacing Recommendations:

02 Add Heat Sinks and Thermal Conductive Plates for High-Heat Components

When a few components (fewer than 3) generate significant heat, heat sinks or heat pipes can be added to these components. If the temperature still cannot be reduced, heat sinks with fans can be used to enhance cooling.

When many components (more than 3) generate significant heat, a large heat dissipation cover (plate) can be used. This is a custom heat sink designed according to the positions and heights of components on the PCB, or a large flat heat sink with cutouts to accommodate different component heights. The cover is placed over the entire component area, making contact with each component for heat dissipation.

However, due to inconsistent soldering heights of components, the heat dissipation effect is not ideal. Soft thermal phase-change pads are often added on top of components to improve heat dissipation.

03 For Equipment Using Free Convection Air Cooling

It is best to arrange integrated circuits (or other components) in a longitudinal (vertical) orientation or a horizontal orientation, depending on the airflow pattern.

04 Use Reasonable Routing Design for Heat Dissipation

Since the resin in the substrate has poor thermal conductivity, while copper foil traces and vias are good thermal conductors, increasing the copper remaining ratio and adding thermal vias are the primary means of heat dissipation. To evaluate the heat dissipation capability of a PCB, it is necessary to calculate the equivalent thermal conductivity (λeq) of the composite material—the PCB insulating substrate—which is composed of materials with different thermal conductivities.

05Components on the same PCB should be arranged in zones according to their heat generation and heat tolerance. Components with low heat generation or poor heat resistance (such as small-signal transistors, small-scale ICs, electrolytic capacitors, etc.) should be placed at the uppermost stream (inlet) of the cooling airflow. Components with high heat generation or good heat resistance (such as power transistors, large-scale ICs, etc.) should be placed at the downstream end of the cooling airflow.

06 In the horizontal direction, high-power components should be placed as close as possible to the edge of the PCB to shorten the heat transfer path. In the vertical direction, high-power components should be placed as high as possible on the PCB to reduce their thermal impact on other components.

07Heat dissipation of PCBs inside equipment mainly relies on air flow, so the airflow path must be studied during design, and components or PCBs should be arranged accordingly.

Airflow always tends to flow where resistance is lower, so when placing components on a PCB, avoid leaving large empty areas in any region. The same principle applies to the arrangement of multiple PCBs within the complete system.

08Temperature-sensitive components should be placed in the coolest areas (such as the bottom of the equipment). Never place them directly above heat-generating components. Multiple components should ideally be arranged in a staggered pattern on the horizontal plane.

09Place components with the highest power consumption and heat generation near the best heat dissipation locations. Do not place high-heat-generating components at the corners or edges of the PCB unless heat dissipation devices are arranged nearby. When designing power resistors, choose larger components whenever possible and ensure sufficient heat dissipation space during PCB layout.

10 Avoid concentrating hotspots on the PCB. Distribute power as evenly as possible across the PCB to maintain uniform and consistent surface temperature performance.

In practice, achieving perfectly uniform distribution is often difficult, but areas with excessively high power density must be avoided to prevent hotspots that could affect the normal operation of the entire circuit.

If conditions permit, performing thermal performance analysis of the PCB is highly recommended. Many professional PCB design software packages now include thermal analysis modules that can help designers optimize circuit layouts.