Make Your Electronics Live Longer and Save Electricity
By vernon, June 25, 2010, Energy Efficiency, Gadgets & Technology
Apart from moisture, the biggest common enemy of any electronic gear you have is heat. There are two main culprits: dust and air-circulation.
Now, many people think that since many consumer electronics have fans in them (such as computers, game consoles, audio systems, and flat panel TV’s) that dust isn’t a problem. The fan will just blow the dust right through. Some people think that it’s just dust — how’s it going to hurt electronics?
Insulation may be a good way to trap heat for buildings but not with electronics. In the case of electronics, the insulating blanket of dust can damage your equipment. For example, several years back I tore down a DVD player for a friend who smoked. The machine started up but soon afterward froze and powered off. Upon cracking it open, I could see why. The circuit board inside looked like it was made of angora fur. Everything — chips, diodes, rectifier bridge, resistors — had sticky yellow-brown fuzz on it.
It took two days and a can of circuit de-greaser but I got it working beautifully again just by cleaning it. My friend scarcely recognized it but was glad he did not need to buy another DVD player.
During the course of a year, a fine blanket of dust can raise the operating temperature inside your electronics by several degrees. This is even worse if you smoke because the resins in smoke are sticky. They coat things like resistors, chips, and capacitors and wind up capturing more dust. Even the fan will trap dust (just like a ceiling fan) and this will slow its speed and efficiency. The more dust, the more heat. The more heat, the more power it takes for the individual electronic components function. Yes — this adds more heat. As heat builds, the components will begin to degrade.
In short, your equipment will burn out quicker. And in this troubled economy, you want that nice home theater system to work trouble-free for a few years.
Air circulation is another problem. Make sure your electronics have plenty of room to pull cool air in and blow heated air out. Not all electronics use fans and instead rely on convection. If air circulation gets blocked, they quickly heat up. Over time, the components will degrade and eventually burn out — sometimes you can even see scorch marks on the circuit board. Also, avoid stacking units if they do not have little rubber feet giving them more than half an inch or more of clearance. If you keep your gaming console or audio systems in a closed cabinet, make sure there is some sort of venting in the back. Installing a small, low-voltage exhaust fan works even better.
But you don’t need to be an electronics engineer to prevent problems. To combat dust, vacuum the vents and grills in the back of your systems at least once a month, especially if you have a dog or cat. Pet fur is also a major culprit. Pet fur tends to clump where air flow changes direction, such as corners and these are all too often behind your equipment. Clearing the dust and fur will help improve air-flow and cooling and they will use less electricity.
If you own a computer tower and feel comfortable servicing it, follow these two life-saving tips:
- Always unplug your computer first.
- NEVER use a vacuum cleaner on the motherboard (or any circuit board). Blow the dust out with compressed air.
Just by cleaning only once a month, your electronics will run cooler, work more efficiently, and last longer. You’ll also save a bit on your electricity rate as well.
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