Outdoor Screen Enclosures – Avoiding Condensation

Winter brings with it some of the most variable weather of the year. From snow and hail, to fog and rain, winter is a challenging season for outdoor screen enclosures. Whether they are providing information, acting as outdoor advertising screens or other forms of outdoor digital signage, protecting the screen from the elements is an essential aspect to making sure the screen can endure the winter months.

Protection from the winter elements means withstanding the sub-zero temperatures that affect many areas at this time of year and keeping the rain, snow and other elements out. Screens operating outdoors need to have wide temperature ranges in which they can operate, often this means including heaters inside the outdoor screen enclosures, while at the same time they need to be waterproof, keeping moisture out.

However, there is also another problem common in the winter months that some outdoor screen enclosures are often inadequately protected against – condensation.

Condensation is a common problem for some outdoor screen enclosures because the internal temperature inside the enclosure is far higher than the ambient temperatures. This means any moisture, even tiny amounts that is present inside the enclosure, will fog up the screen, making it unreadable until somebody opens it up and cleans it.

Of course, moisture shouldn’t be present inside an outdoor screen enclosure, but often, tiny amounts of moisture can penetrate most outdoor enclosures. Normally it is in such small amounts that it doesn’t affect the operation of the screen; however, condensation only requires a tiny amount of moisture for it to become a problem.

Manufacturing guidelines such as IP65 and NEMA 4 are designed to prevent condensation from occurring in outdoor enclosures, but with the need to have cooling systems, which require ventilation, the problem can still exist even on NEMA 4 and IP65 rated equipment, especially closed sealed products that have no airflow. This is because any moisture, even a tiny amount that gets inside during the installation of the screen or the manufacturing of the equipment, can remain unnoticed until the weather variables are such that condensation forms.

Armagard LCD enclosures have a unique airflow system that not only allows heat transference from the screen during warm weather to prevent overheating, but also prevents moisture from getting inside the enclosure. Furthermore, because there is always a steady flow of air circulating inside the enclosure, condensation can’t build up.

This unique system means that an Armagard LCD enclosure can function in all weathers and all temperatures, with the enclosed screen always protected from moisture, condensation and extremes of temperature. No matter how many different generations of screen the enclosure houses, the enclosure provides the same level of protection year after year, season after season.