Air Conditioning Bad For Laptops: True?

Here’s everything about air conditioning hurting your laptop:

For the most part, air conditioners do not hurt laptops.

It is possible when cool, air-conditioned air comes into contact with a hot laptop that you will get condensation. 

Condensation is definitely a considerable risk for any laptop, but it’s somewhat uncommon for condensation issues to arise in this type of scenario.

So if you want to learn all about how air conditioning may hurt your laptop, then this article is for you.

Let’s get started!

Air Conditioning Bad For Laptops: True?

What Are the Risks of Air Conditioning a Laptop? (4 Things)

Air-conditioned home office

An air conditioner can potentially hurt a laptop in a couple of ways.

It might hit the laptop with air that is too cold. 

It can contribute to condensation, which can certainly damage a laptop.

Even the flow of air can be an issue.

None of these are likely to be an issue, but they are worth considering.

Before getting into each major issue, let’s pin down one thing.

All of this is specifically discussing air conditioners that cool air through air compression. 

Other cooling systems, such as a swamp or evaporative coolers, work on very different functions and present an entirely different set of risks to the computer.

Namely, condensation is a serious risk factor with evaporative coolers.

#1 Cold Air

Home electronic thermometer shows the temperature outside -20 degrees of cold.

Air conditioners cool down air and then pump it out of a vent.

Cold temperatures can be bad for laptops, so is the cold air from the air conditioner a threat to your laptop?

No, not really.

In the vast majority of cases, the AC unit is designed to pump in the cool air that is well within the normal operating temperature range for your standard laptops.

Excessively cold air can be a problem, but air conditioners usually aren’t making the air cold enough to hit that threshold.

There is an uncommon exception.

Air conditioners don’t lower the air temperature to a set degree setting.

Instead, they take air and run it through a compressor. 

When the air goes through that process, heat is more or less squeezed out of it.

The result is cooler air, but the final temperature of the air at the end of this process depends on how warm it was in the first place.

On average, air conditioners lower air temperatures by 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit (or 8 to 11 degrees Celsius).

What all of this means is that if you run cold air through an air compressor, it can get even colder. 

For any given compressor design, there’s a limit to how cold the air can get, but it’s not uncommon for air conditioners to be able to freeze water under the right conditions.

So, if you run the air conditioner during the winter, it can lower air temperatures enough to create a risk for the laptop. 

Generally speaking, you don’t want to blow an air conditioner on a laptop when the ambient air temperature is below 70 degrees Fahrenheit or 21 degrees Celsius.

It’s especially an issue if the laptop is turned off and not generating any heat.

#2 Condensation

water condensation on window glass.

Condensation is when water vapor in the air collects into liquid droplets.

If you have ever seen a cold drink “sweat” onto a coffee table, you saw condensation in action.

Air conditioners can help to create conditions that are ideal for condensation. 

In fact, your typical home air conditioner has a special drain specifically designed to handle a large amount of condensation created by the air conditioning process.

As you already know, water can be very bad for electronic devices.

If your air conditioner is creating condensation all over the laptop, that can be a major problem.

That said, air conditioners usually create condensation right by the condenser.

This is inside the main unit.

The process of cooling air with a compressor essentially squeezes moisture out of the air.

The air that comes through the vent is much drier than the air that goes through the system’s intake.

This mitigates the risk of any major condensation on your computer if you put it in front of an AC vent.

The risk is lowered, but some condensation is still possible, especially if you live in a humid climate. 

If you ever notice an area that tends to get condensation when you run your air conditioner, avoid putting your laptop in that area.

If you do that, condensation will rarely be a problem.

#3 Dry Air

Woman using remote control to open air conditioning in bedroom.

Since air compressors take moisture out of the air, they create dry air conditions, right? 

Dry air is known to cause problems with all kinds of things.

It can warp wooden floors, damage musical instruments, contribute to nosebleeds, and more.

Since dry air is so damaging, does it hurt your laptop?

No. Dry air is not really a risk to electronics, especially consumer-grade laptops.

The components of your laptop don’t require any amount of moisture to work properly. 

They won’t absorb or release water depending on humidity levels. You’re not worried about a dry environment distorting or embrittling the laptop.

It does fine in dry conditions.

#4 Moving Air

Old fan by the window.

The last thing to consider is moving air, and this one can be surprising.

For the most part, having air move across a laptop is fine.

In fact, moving air can improve cooling efficiency and help the laptop run better.

This is the main way your AC can help cool the laptop if it is running hot.

Cool air is nice, but moving air is very good for exchanging heat, and that’s what you need the most for a hot laptop.

But, there’s a weird scenario that can happen with a powerful air conditioning setup.

If the air stream is strong enough and aligned just right, it can blow air straight into the heat vent. 

That vent is important for your laptop as a way to push hot air away from the device’s inner workings.

If the air coming out of the AC vent blows directly into that heat vent, it actually traps the heat inside and can lead to overheating.

Now, this isn’t going to destroy a laptop because it faced the wrong way next to an air vent.

Instead, persistent higher inner temperatures can cause a laptop to experience premature wear and tear.

Over time, this moving air alignment issue can be a real problem.

It has a super easy solution.

Angle the laptop so that the air from the vent is not pointing straight into the laptop’s heat vent.

Do that, and the AC will help keep the laptop cool (within limits).

What About the Air Conditioning and the Laptop Screen?

Woman with laptop working at window seat.

We’ve talked about the laptop as a whole, but what about the screen?

Does it suffer from compressed air in a way that the rest of the laptop doesn’t? 

For the most part, the screen isn’t uniquely vulnerable to aspects of air conditioning.

It’s an electronic component of an electronic computer.

It “cares” about the same issues as the rest of your computer.

The screen doesn’t need to vent heat directly, so you’re not worried about the direction of airflow in relation to the screen.

Instead, the screen radiates heat and is serviced by the general heat management throughout the laptop.

Screens aren’t bothered by dry air either.

It’s a non-issue.

As for air temperature, the screen has similar operating temperatures as the rest of the laptop.

So, as long as the AC isn’t running in the dead of winter, it shouldn’t be an issue for the screen.

Condensation is the one that matters, and condensation can definitely ruin a laptop screen.

If condensation is ever an issue with your air conditioner, keep the laptop out of the direct path of the wind stream. 

Instead, let the air conditioner cool the room and leave the laptop to maintain its own temperature with built-in cooling features.

Does the Air Conditioner Help Prevent a Laptop From Overheating?

Young woman working on the laptop with christmas tree in the background.

Overall, the risk of putting a laptop under an air conditioning vent isn’t terrible.

Still, why do you want to?

Can an air conditioner help keep the laptop cool and running well? 

For the most part, no.

It doesn’t really matter how close your laptop is to an AC vent, as long as the air in the room isn’t hotter than the recommended normal operating temperatures.

The room will be too hot for your comfort long before it is too hot for the laptop.

But, there are circumstances where it makes sense to think about air conditioning and computer heat management.

Most of those arise in dedicated computer rooms or facilities.

Computer Rooms

Empty computer room with monitors and keyboards in a row.

If you have multiple devices in a single space, like an IT closet or a LAN party, the group of electronic devices in there can create a lot of heat.

The ambient temperature in those rooms can slowly rise. 

Eventually, that temperature gets high enough that the electronics can no longer properly cool off.

If that happens, you run the risk of overheating any and all of the devices.

If the room can be cooled from an air conditioner, that helps to mitigate any rising ambient air temperatures.

This helps to prevent overheating issues. 

So, yes, it is rational to use an air conditioner to help prevent computers from overheating.

In fact, high-end data centers invest heavily in cooling systems specifically to control ambient air temperature.

All of that said, your average laptop by itself isn’t going to need an air conditioner to keep a room cool.

As long as the ambient temperature is within the safe operating range for the laptop, it’s fine. 

If the laptop is running too hot, there are things that help cool it off a lot better than putting it under an air conditioner vent.

Author

  • Theresa McDonough

    Tech entrepreneur and founder of Tech Medic, who has become a prominent advocate for the Right to Repair movement. She has testified before the US Federal Trade Commission and been featured on CBS Sunday Morning, helping influence change within the tech industry.

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