Sunlight bad for monitors??

[DaRock42]

one of my friends said that he saw it on techtv sometime ago that sunlight is bad for monitors. I didn't believe this but he says its true.

Can anyone confirm this belief or prove him wrong??

 

[PrayForDeath]

Yeah, I heard sunlight deteriorates your screen, whether it was LCD or CRT, but I've got no proof for that.

 

[xboxist]

Direct, continuous sunlight is bad for most non-organic things. Monitors are no exception.

 

[cbehnken]

Look at how yellow old computers that were exposed to sunlight get..

 

[selfbuilt]

Originally posted by: cbehnken
Look at how yellow old computers that were exposed to sunlight get..

If the monitor casings have gone uniformly yellow, as opposed to the one side that the sun shined on, then I suspect that the yellowing is due more to oxidation and air pollution than anything else (or simple ageing of the plastic perhaps?).

Indeed, direct sunlight can actually "whiten" many kinds of yellowed, aged plastics. The effects of 2-3 hours of direct, bright sunlight on aged, yellow celluloid and related plastics is astounding - it bleaches it back to a white finish.

Maybe we should be taking our old monitors outdoors for a few hours and see if it helps their complexion

More seriously, I suspect this thread was about damage to the CRT tube - anyone have any data?

 

[reallyscrued]

the reason u cant find anything on google is because the electronic industry doesnt want u to know how to care for ur monitors. (cuz they last so long anyway). just like how credit card companies dont want u to know whats in that magnetic strip on the back of ur card.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: selfbuilt
More seriously, I suspect this thread was about damage to the CRT tube - anyone have any data?

I've never heard of sunlight being particularly damaging to CRTs or LCDs -- but, then again, few people tend to operate computers outdoors. High temperatures (which can result from exposure to direct sunlight) *are* damaging to both types of display over time, however.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: reallyscrued
the reason u cant find anything on google is because the electronic industry doesnt want u to know how to care for ur monitors. (cuz they last so long anyway). just like how credit card companies dont want u to know whats in that magnetic strip on the back of ur card.

If the credit card companies are trying to keep magnetic strips secret, they need to do a better job.

howstuffworks -- magnetic strips on credit cards
link from that page -- ISO magstripe standards

I *strongly* suspect that, rather than a conspiracy theory, behavior of computer monitors in sunlight is just not something that's often tested or investigated.

 

[selfbuilt]

Originally posted by: Matthias99
I've never heard of sunlight being particularly damaging to CRTs or LCDs -- but, then again, few people tend to operate computers outdoors. High temperatures (which can result from exposure to direct sunlight) *are* damaging to both types of display over time, however.

I suspect you are right about the high temps being the main issue to worry about . Personally, I can't see how sunlight would be bad for CRTs, although I'll keep an open mind if someone has some evidence. As for the plastic casings, direct sunlight would be bad long-term ... but I suspect it would indeed help remove the yellowing of old cases in short bursts.

 

[PrayForDeath]

Your monitor doesn't get exposed to sunlight only outdoors, it also does when it's near a window, and I don't recommend placing monitors beside windows for this reason.

 

[T9D]

Common sense says it would damage it just like sun light damages everything else out there. It ruins paint, it ruins wood, it ruins plastic. It bleaches stuff out too. Deteriorates all kinds of products and objects. I don't see how a monitor is going to be imune to this. I would never leave anything or value in a window with sun beating down on it everyday. You can be sure it at least CAN'T be good for it!

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: tk109
Common sense says it would damage it just like sun light damages everything else out there. It ruins paint, it ruins wood, it ruins plastic. It bleaches stuff out too. Deteriorates all kinds of products and objects. I don't see how a monitor is going to be imune to this. I would never leave anything or value in a window with sun beating down on it everyday. You can be sure it at least CAN'T be good for it!

What about a plant?

 

[BFG10K]

Sunlight is generally bad for everything, not just monitors.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: selfbuilt
Indeed, direct sunlight can actually "whiten" many kinds of yellowed, aged plastics. The effects of 2-3 hours of direct, bright sunlight on aged, yellow celluloid and related plastics is astounding - it bleaches it back to a white finish.

Hmm. I guess that must be a different type of plastic than most computer components are made out of. Nearly every single "beige" plastic computer component that I've ever seen, and especially ones that have been exposed to direct sunlight every day for several hours a day, have yellowed rather than been bleached white. I suspect that one of the possible causes is the "brominated something-something" that is embedded into the plastic that is used for computers, as a flame-retardant, and may be reacting somehow. (N.B. it is also probably outgassing too slightly, be careful. Yet another good reason not to have computers in the bedroom.)

As far as the actual "active" components in CRTs, I suppose that it could well be possible for them to prematurely age when exposed to direct sunlight. Normally, CRTs use a phosphor coating on the inside of the front of the screen, and they absorb the energy from the electrons fired at it, and give off the energy again as light. Eventually, that phosphor coating can in fact wear out or deteriorate, which is what "burn-in" basically is. I would hazard a guess that too much energy absorbed from direct sunlight, (depending on the wavelengths?) might cause similar phosphor-aging. Even if it did though, I don't think that it would be noticable, especially relative to the brightness loss that occurs over the operational lifetime of the CRT due to the Anode (or Cathode, forget which is which) of the CRT degrading. That's just a guess though, I don't have any scientific evidence to back it up with. I would be curious if there have been any studies in this area.

As for LCDs, I have no idea.