How temperature and humidity affect the operation of electronic devices

Have you ever thought about how high humidity and ambient temperature affect the operation of electronic devices? And yet, this is not an idle question, and it is especially relevant in the warm season, when the sun is baking somewhere, and somewhere the humidity is so high that it becomes hard for people to breathe. Someone will leave the GBP navigator sunbathing in the car near the windshield, while another will forget the mobile phone in a cozy steam room. How severe are the costs of such tests for our electronic devices? Let's think about it.

Lithium battery in the sun

Of course, lithium batteries left in the sun is a well-known story: your e-book or tablet, left on a beach towel, will swell. And all because at elevated temperatures the normal operation of the lithium battery is disrupted, excessive gas evolution begins in it. Therefore, it is best to leave these devices at least in the shade, and preferably at home.

Remove the GPS-navigator from the sun at least in the glove compartment. In general, temperatures up to + 40 ° C will be safe for such devices, and if it rises higher, there is a risk of disrupting the normal state of the battery: in the best case, the number of its life cycles will decrease, in the worst, your battery will swell like a bubble.

Dust on condensate

High humidity for electronics is dangerous in contact with dust. Wet, not hot air as such will not harm the electronic circuit board of the device, because today every self-respecting electronics manufacturer covers printed circuit boards, or rather paths, with a protective insulating layer, so you should not be afraid of short circuits from a tiny amount of condensate.

But the dust adhering to the condensate is another matter. A layer of adhering dust easily violates the ventilation mode of your appliance, because it clogs the holes intended for this, and clogs the radiator, actively blowing with a fan, the dust layer will cause overheating of the components. Later, mold may join the case. And overheating is an accelerated exhaustion of the resource of the same electrolytic capacitors and violation of the normal conductivity of some semiconductor components.

Water on the circuit board

If, by a strange coincidence, you took the mobile phone with you to the bathhouse, or it fell under a stiff stream of steam, or fell completely into the water, then in principle there is a chance that the device’s performance will resume after good drying. Nonetheless corrosion processes they will certainly begin inside it, and soon some contacts will be in abnormal conditions, the phone will quickly discharge, or even begin to behave inappropriately. It is better to take the damaged device for repair right away.

Ideal conditions

In fairness, it can be noted that the ideal conditions for electronics still can not be created. Temperature in the region of + 20 ° C with zero humidity each time during operation are hardly attainable conditions. Therefore, there is no better insurance than careful handling of electronic devices.

No need to take a smartphone with you to the bathhouse. No need to arrange a sunbathing tablet on the beach. And if you notice dust sticking to the ventilation openings of the power supply unit, wipe it with a dry cloth. What can we say about the prevention of clogging of the insides of home computers, which must be cleaned at least once every six months, and preferably every season.