-=PCTechTalk=- Re: My LCD produces too much heat?
- From: "Don101" <don101@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:33:45 -0400
Wire, including that used for extension cords and other electical use is
measured according to size of the wire (not including the insulation around
it). A standard electrical cord for a lamp is typically 18 guage wire.
Small lamps might use 20 or 22, larger ones 14 or 16. The smaller the
number, the larger the wire.
When plugging in multiple items you should use an extension cord made with
larger wire than the largest wire you will plug into it. Do not use
extension cords for high amperage rating items such as toasters and toaster
ovens. The longer the extension cord, the larger the wire should be. I do
not buy extension cords that are not at least 16 or 14 guage in size and
have a three prong plug and sockets. When used in, on or around a water
source the wall socket or the extension cord should be protected by a Ground
Fault Isolation circuit breaker.
When the wall socket is behind a piece of furniture, do not allow the
furniture to be pushed back against the wall and bend the cord over. Buy
flat plug or wall-hugger extension cords instead (that is all I buy for
indoor use because the sockets I want to use are always behind furniture).
Do not use an adapter to plug a three-prong plug into a two-prong socket.
Do not break off the the third prong to make it fit a two-prong socket.
Surge protectors are rated in Joules. The higher the rating, the better
protection. A large surge, such as a close-by lightning strike, that would
be stopped by a 4500 joule surge protector would zap through a 650 joule
surge protector like a warm knife through melted butter. Surge protectors
do nothing to protect against power outages. . . not even the short
interruptions provided by many utility companies.
I do not recommend you depend on a surge protector to protect you from
electrical overload. I encourage my customers to buy battery backup units
or Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) instead. A small $40-50 unit will
provide enough power for your system long enough for you to complete a safe
shutdown. I have two $175 units to protect literally everything in my
system.... CPU, monitor, printer, speakers, router, modem, external drives
and my telephone and a small desktop fan.
Many home improvement stores and hardware stores have trained electricians
on their staff. Pick his or her brain and then buy an extension cord there.
DISCLAIMER: Every electrical item you buy these days comes with a safety
sheet of some sort that provides information on how to safely use the item.
It is a lot of boring details and common sense items but should be read one
once in a while just to make sure it stickes in your head. Use of extension
cords is frequently discouraged or prohibited by these instructions. Read
and heed your safety instructions. Where those instructions vary from what
I said above you should follow the instructions. Improper use of extension
cords causes far too many fires, injuries and deaths to treat them lightly.
Don
----- Original Message -----
From: "cristy" <poppy0206@xxxxxxx>
To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, June 29, 2008 11:26 PM
Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Re: My LCD produces too much heat?
> heat (and a subsequent loss of a small amount of that initial electrical
>> potential) that actually warms up the wire. Attach too many appliances
>> to
>> the same extension cord and it'll REALLY heat up, so much that it becomes
>> a
>> fire hazard since the heat generated can eventually melt the protective
>> insulator and cause a short circuit or worse.
>
>
> So how do the surge protectors help with this and I have lots plugged into
> the one my computer is using. I also could not figure why some had red
> lights on, some green, some none, why do they differ?
>
> I know there is "grounding" involved here that protects from electrical
> surges. So I guess extension cords have no protection? How do you know
> what type of extension cord to use for a piece of electical equipment?
>
> "just curious" ;0
>
> Christine
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Gman" <gman.pctt@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Sunday, June 29, 2008 11:10 PM
> Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Re: My LCD produces too much heat?
>
>
> Correction: Fluorescent lamps are NOT vacuum sealed. As I mentioned,
> inside the sealed tube is a gas that glows when electricity is applied. I
> just should not have included the word "vacuum". :O)
>
> Peace,
> G
>
> "The only dumb questions are the ones that are never asked"
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Gman" <gman.pctt@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Saturday, June 28, 2008 8:21 PM
> Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Re: My LCD produces too much heat?
>
>
>> Rudy,
>> No part of my description here takes into account devices that are
>> actually designed to produce heat as their basic function such as
>> electric
>> clothes dryers, electric space heaters, electric water heaters, etc..
>> Those
>> intentionally convert electricity into heat. I will only be discussing
>> unintentional heat generation here.
>>
>> At its simplest form (and within the context of electronics and the
>> components it brings to life), operational heat is generated as a result
>> of
>> friction at the molecular level. As current travels through a wire,
>> there
>> is a certain amount of resistance as electrons jump from one atom to the
>> next on their way to the other end of the line. While most of the
>> electricity will reach its intended target (the appliance at the end of
>> the
>> line) and be converted into other types of energy (it'll make a blender
>> spin
>> or a washing machine pump water), this resistance results in a little bit
>> of
>> heat (and a subsequent loss of a small amount of that initial electrical
>> potential) that actually warms up the wire. Attach too many appliances
>> to
>> the same extension cord and it'll REALLY heat up, so much that it becomes
>> a
>> fire hazard since the heat generated can eventually melt the protective
>> insulator and cause a short circuit or worse.
>>
>> With electronic components such as a CPU, they are made up primarily
>> of
>> microscopic transistors that are constantly turning on and off to direct
>> data through itself. The switching is accomplished by applying a voltage
>> to
>> what is called a gate. Depending on the type of transistors employed,
>> the
>> presence of voltage at the gate allows current to pass from one side of
>> the
>> transistor to the other. The absence of voltage will instead turn the
>> transistor off. Since there are hundreds of millions of transistors in a
>> modern CPU and those switches operate at astronomical speeds (measured in
>> Ghz.), a LOT of heat is produced by all of the miniscule resistances
>> present
>> throughout the processor. As more transistors are added to CPU designs
>> and
>> the faster they make the chip, the more heat it will produce simply
>> because
>> there will be more places for resistance to fight against the flow of
>> electricity. Fortunately, they have been working towards reducing the
>> size
>> of the transistors used in these beasts. Each reduction in transistor
>> size
>> allows them to operate using less electricity and that means less
>> electrical
>> resistance and therefore less heat.
>>
>> I could go into a lot of additional examples, but I think those two
>> should help explain that the heat originally produced is a product of the
>> electricity that never gets to be used for whatever the component is
>> supposed to do. Operational heat results in the loss of a tiny
>> percentage
>> of the actual electricity used by the component or system, even if the
>> heat
>> produced is almost unbearable.
>>
>> As far as your LCD goes, there are fluorescent lamps behind the window
>> you stare at all day. They operate by exciting the electrons within a
>> gas
>> inside a vacuum sealed tube when voltage is applied to them. This gas
>> has
>> a
>> much smaller resistance than the filament found in incandescent bulbs
>> (the
>> screw in type found in many table lamps), so they don't natively produce
>> anywhere near as much heat as incandescent lamps. They also cannot
>> produce
>> anywhere near as much heat as your tower. Just consider the fact that
>> your
>> Hanns only uses 49 watts Max of electricity (watts = voltage X amperes)
>> compared to hundreds of watts being used by the tower. Of course, this
>> doesn't mean fluorescent lamps don't get warm over time, just not to the
>> degree you are questioning here. LCD monitors and TVs should all have
>> vents
>> to allow heat to escape rather than build up within the confines of the
>> casing. If these vents are covered, clogged, etc., I could see this
>> problem
>> developing after a while of continuous monitor use. If the vents are
>> unobstructed, consider the placement of your tower. Is it possible that
>> the
>> heat is actually rising up from the back of the tower and making it seem
>> like it's coming from the monitor? In our computer room, the two nearly
>> constant running towers certainly do act as room warmers as you
>> described,
>> but the two LCD monitors add very little to that equation.
>>
>> Peace,
>> G
>
>
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