Does high temperature (90-100) damage electronics?

Question

I have a nintendo, microwave, dvd player, and other electronic devices in my attic and I want to know if the high temperature will damage them.

Answer 1

All of the electronic equipment I deal with has a Max Temp spec somewhere on it. This temp is usually above 120 degrees and it seems you are OK in the temp range you are running at. You may want to put a fan near the equipment if you are that concerned. You do need to realize that if the room temp is lets say 90 degrees the equipment itself is probably 20-30 degrees above this temp. The microprocessors run very very hot and can go into a thermal runaway if they don't have airflow. Again a simple fan can help a lot. Good luck...great question

Answer 2

90-100 F continuous won't kill them.  It would be better for the systems that have mechanical components to be cooler.  What is more damaging to electronics is the temperature cycling--the colder it goes, the worse it is.

Answer 3

Not unless they are running in that environment.

Those devices have to dissipate waste heat when

running, but the internal temperature they can tolerate,

is much more than the120 F. Max. they might see in

attic storage.

Answer 4

In 1980, when I had an Apple IIe, which did not have a fan, and I had very limited airconditioning, we went through a spell in Texas where every was above 100 for about a month and several days were above 110, with lows of about 80.   My computer, if operated with its cover on, would reach above 120F inside and the chips would fail to operate properly.  Taking off the cover and aiming a fan at it would allow continued operation.   The computer continued in use at more reasonable temps for five years after that.

Answer 5

It can.  

Much depends how hot your attic gets and if it's on or off in your attic.  90 should be OK, 100 is near the risky zone.  The big difference is in storage temperature versus operating temperature.  While the unit is operating it adds it's own heat to the heat of the attic.  I suspect you wouldn't be using it at 100 deg so it should be OK since most commercial electronics can be stored at 100 but operation could result in overeating & damaging the electronics.   Let it cool off before you use it too.

Answer 6

When Electronics get hot a couple things can happen:

1) the metal leads expand and contract, causing strain and stress, possibly to the point of breaking the leads

2)CPU, GPU and other microprocessors will start to break down. This can cause irrevisable damage

These things tend to happen in very hot conditions (over 100)

but if you can, try and place them in a cooler spot

Answer 7

Every piece of electronics that is designed, part of that design is specifications for storage temperature and operating temperature.

So if the specifications were setup correctly, and the design is good, you are OK, as most designs are speced for operating temperatures of 100F or perhaps 120F since they are normal living temperatures.

But I'd check the specs of each.

Also make sure that they each have uninterrupted air flow, as you are close to the limit.  And the one thing that goes unmentioned, is that reliability goes down as temperature goes up.

Answer 8

They'll be fine.  Electronic devices like that actually generate heat when you're using them, and will get hotter than those temperatures under normal use.  They're built to withstand that heat.