Welcome to the TechSpot OpenBoards. Please read the FAQ if you have any questions. Login to participate.

Go Back   TechSpot OpenBoards > TS Community > The Meeting 'spot'

Humidity and Electronics

Reply
Bookmark / Share this page
Thread Tools
  #1  
Old 10-25-2007
Newcomer, in training
 
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Member since: May 2005, 28 posts
Humidity and Electronics

Hello fellow Tech-Heads.
Has anyone done any research on the optimal conditions of electronics and humidity levels? I was reading some articles related to this and it got me thinking.
What is the optimal humitidy level for electronics?

Thanks
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 10-25-2007
Nodsu's Avatar
TS Special Forces
 
Location: Estonia
Member since: Feb 2002, 9,430 posts
System specs
The optimal level is the one specified by the device manufacturer
You have to understand that every single component has different characteristics and reactions to different environmental factors. And, in every specific circuit the tolerance of these is different. Compare a ultra-high precision instrument to a simple light bulb for example.

Consumer electronics are manufactured to operate in some sensible range mentioned in the specifications (sth like 10-90 percent noncondensing for example) and are guaranteed to work in that range.

Usually you set your target environment somewhere in the middle of the operating ranges so that a swing in either direction would not go over the limit. Of course, if you know your environment better, you may adjust the target a bit. For example, if you are in a humid climate and you know that it is never going to be too dry, it may be better to keep the device at very low tolerated humidity so that when your climate control fails, you have a lot of headroom going up.

Last edited by Nodsu; 10-25-2007 at 05:11 AM.
Reply With Quote
You can remove this banner by registering, join the TS Community for free.
  #3  
Old 10-26-2007
Soul Harvester's Avatar
TechSpot Elite
 
Location: Oregon, USA
Member since: Apr 2002, 1,335 posts
System specs
Most enterprise-class datacenters will work hard to achieve sealed rooms with little to no humidity. Mission-critical datacenters will keep absolute humidity below 2% at all times. All things being equal, lower humidity is better.

Keep in mind, though, that unless you live in an area in which you are actually having a problem with humidity, such as condensation on components, there's rarely ever a need to care or worry about what the relative or absolute humidity is in a particular environment.

I control the humidity in my house - but for health reasons, not for my machines' sake.
Reply With Quote
Reply
Thread Tools

Forum Jump

Similar Topics
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
What does the backwards r and then the u mean on electronics? GeekieNick101 The Meeting 'spot' 6 01-25-2007 09:28 PM
Would you use this site? CHEAP ELECTRONICS!! Slackerfifty The Meeting 'spot' 13 11-21-2006 04:50 AM
one bad week for electronics for me Tedster The Meeting 'spot' 27 08-26-2006 01:02 PM
Linux & Consumer Electronics Julio Old Frontpage News & Comments 0 07-01-2003 02:31 PM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 07:28 AM.