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Comments on Humidity specs - is there typical reasoning for lower limit greater than 0?

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Humidity specs - is there typical reasoning for lower limit greater than 0?

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Question about relative humidity specification for electronics. Industrial automation, indoors, cabinet or instrument enclosure.

The failure mechanisms at the upper limit are fairly intuitive. I'm wondering about the lower limit.

Some devices specify 5%-95% RH - eg. Siemens S7-1500 PLC, which I figured was tested to oblivion.

Actual device in question here is far simpler, consisting mainly of an unremarkable PCB, a sensor which provides upper limit RH specification ( setting the likely upper limit for the system), and wiring + connector. The unknown is the PCB and maybe wiring insulation. We don't intend to test aging, but are asked for guidelines.

Are there failure mechanisms to expect with electronics components or interconnects, over time in very dry conditions?

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2 comment threads

Static (2 comments)
Not suitable for an environment without protection (1 comment)
Static
manassehkatz‭ wrote 9 months ago

Just a comment because I don't understand it enough to provide a proper answer: static electricity is bad for electronics and is a low-humidity phenomenon, with the problem getting worse the lower the humidity is.

Lundin‭ wrote 9 months ago

That shouldn't be a problem for a PCB sitting in an enclosure, given that the usual anti-ESD measures were implemented.

Electronics love dry places. The more obvious issue that dry tends to go hand in hand with warm, and that's where all manner of issues can pop up.