It is not difficult to measure the velocity in a single spot inside an electronic enclosure. Modern hot wire anemometers have a good precision and their sensors are often so small that they only cause minor disturbances. The problem is that the velocity reading will differ considerably depending on where the sensor is placed. It is, therefore, not possible to get a good overview unless a large number of sensors are used.
An alternative technique is to measure the flow and then apply the definitions above. There are many flow measurement principles but none of them is general in the sense that it can be used for all situations. A thorough analysis of this subject would require many pages of explanations. There is, however, a method that is very little used and yet is both simple and often applicable, the heat balance.
The principle for the heat balance method is shown in figure 10. Several matters make this method attractive. The heat dissipation can usually be electrically measured, modern temperature sensors are small and the instruments needed are simple. A particular difficulty with this method is that the heat and flow losses over the control volume borders must be carefully controlled. Another difficulty is that the temperature distribution in the outlet air often is non-uniform.