How to protect AV equipment in monsoon

The Irish Novelist Samuel Lover said, “Better safe than sorry” — a wise proverb stated back in the 17th Century which meant that it is wise to be careful and protect yourself against risk rather than be careless. Now, imagine your AV equipment slowly losing their lives this rainy season. Oh, that was a terrible sight, wasn’t it? This is when we come into the picture.

At Actis Technologies, we have over 4 decades of experience in dealing with active electronics, especially for commercial spaces. Over the years, we have encountered and were able to successfully troubleshoot many instances of electronic equipment failure, especially during monsoon. We asked our engineers to share not only the top 5 monsoon problems but also 5 preventive measures to ensure that your equipment work perfectly during and after the monsoon season.

Top 5 monsoon problems with AV equipment

Below are the 5 most common problems that can affect your electronic Audio Video equipment. These will help you identify key problem areas and take appropriate corrective measure.

1. Erratic performance

Especially during this season, you’ll notice some of your active electronics giving you a hard time with regards to the performance and downtime. This is mostly caused due to the failure of internal components such as capacitors, resistors and diodes among others.

2. Patches on LED/LCD displays

This occurs due to condensation and excessive moisture in the environment. It leads to (what you’ll never want) degraded image quality and even dead displays. And the expensive replacement that follows is not something that one might prefer to welcome.

3. Accelerated corrosion of terminals and ports

The contact surfaces of plugs and sockets become prone to corrosion in high humidity conditions. This disrupts the electrical contact, thereby impacting the system performance.

4. Notable fungus or mould

Occurrences of mould or fungus is frequent in this season due to the environment that the rain creates. If you notice even the slightest of mould or fungus around your critical AV equipment, we would recommend you to start relocating your equipment to a rather dry area.

5. Electrical leakage

They say, “Don’t be careless when it comes to electronics.” [Addition: *especially during monsoon*]. Electronic devices could be prone to leaking electricity due to corroded wires or improper earthing/grounding of electrical points. This can prove fatal to both, the equipment and the user. You need to be mindful as water formed due to condensation can be an effective conductor for electric shocks or short-circuits.

Our team who has been working in the AV industry since decades got some tips for you to best handle your Audio Video electronics in the rainy season.

Also Read:- Does overheating reduce the lifespan of your electronic equipment?

Here’s how to protect Audio Visual electronics during monsoon

Below are some steps to ensure that your valuable AV equipment and other electronics are not damaged during the monsoon season.

1. Take some help from dehumidifiers and silica gel packs

Either welcome a dehumidifier to ensure optimum moisture levels or make way for fresh packs of silica gel near the ventilation inlets on all equipment. Do this for all the equipment that you possibly own during monsoon. Installing a humidity sensor to maintain humidity levels is also a very good idea.

2. Eliminate dust and moisture in all ways you can

Maintain it as a practice to install dust covers on all the unused ports, cables and outlets. Also, try to frequently wipe down your electronic equipment with a soft and dry cloth (we repeat, DRY cloth) to get rid of the moisture and dust, if any. If you care a lot about your equipment as we do, you can also place your electronics in dust-resistant rack mounts.

 

3. Prefer effective grounding

Monsoon is repeatedly known for causing high-power static currents. Proper grounding can prevent your electronic equipment against that and other severe damages. A solid and effective grounding creates an electrical environment that results in low levels of electrical noise and enhances the safety and performance of sensitive electronic equipment.

4. Press the power button every fortnight

We know how tempting the rainy windows look and you just feel like never losing that sight. However, leaving electronic equipment unused for days impacts its longevity and also makes it prone to functional errors. Instead, having a fortnightly routine to wake the systems up is a recommended practice during the monsoon.

5. Insurance is better than replacements

Take it from us, replacing existing AV equipment is a tough deal. Not only does it make a hole in your pocket but also makes you search half the world for spare parts. Get your sensitive and expensive equipment insured before the rains and serviced after. Eventually, you can also opt for an Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) or extended warranty from AV vendor or AV integrator for added protection.

6. Let humidity sensors, controllers and centralised HVAC systems dominate the rainy season

Ensure that your critical and expensive equipment is kept in an air-conditioned environment. This also lowers humidity and creates a dust-free environment for your equipment, which is what they need in this season. Try maintaining consistency in the temperature as sudden cooling or warming can cause condensation further damaging your equipment.

Now that you know how your Audio Visual equipment might be impacted by the monsoon as well as its preventive measures, we hope you try implementing these tips for a damage-free and a fun monsoon.

Also Read:- Here’s why you should have smart home automation systems installed professionally

For more information on how you can maintain and protect your Audio Visual equipment during the monsoon,

Contact Actis at 022-30808080 or at contact@actis.co.in