With Your Consumer Electronics and Computers, Avoid Extremes of Temperature

You may not realize this, but consumer electronics, especially expensive and highly sophisticated ones like a personal computer, are extremely susceptible to extremes of temperature. Too hot or too cold are both bad, but even worse is equipment that goes from one extreme to another in a relatively short period of time.

Take the case of a new PC you happen to buy at a bricks-and-mortar store on a cold winter's day. Since you have other shopping to do, the computer and its monitor may sit in the back of your vehicle or in the trunk for hours. This alone is not too much of an issue, although you probably want to avoid letting the hardware get jostled about too much. Extreme cold, for example, can make certain items a bit more brittle and susceptible to breakage.

No, the danger comes when you get the computer home and decide to immediately set it up. The equipment is about to go from a temperature of anywhere between 0 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit to a maximum of 100-120 degrees in a relatively short period of time. This is where your newly purchased hardware is apt to sustain damage. As the delicate electronics begin to warm, condensation may form within, which can cause components to short out. The same is true for a stereo, for a television, and virtually anything else of this type. Fire is possible but more likely, the equipment will just stop operating. You may see a wisp of smoke as the only indication, besides failure, that a problem has occurred.

You can see the same thing happen if you have a TV or a computer - desktop or handheld - located in a very cold room when you turn it on. You may lose the entire system although, in some instances, just one or two components within will take the brunt of the damage. If you're lucky, you may be able to replace the problem parts for less than the cost of a new unit.