Laptops – a Fire Hazard
A house fire in Vancouver, BC that killed a 56 year old man has been traced to a laptop battery that exploded from overheating. So, should you throw your laptop or notebook out, and buy a desktop computer instead?
With proper precautions, this should not happen. Many people use laptops and notebooks and they were fine. So here are the reasons why laptops can be a fire hazard and what you should do to avoid a fire.
As technology advances, laptop computers get smaller, while the speed gets faster. This poses a fire hazard, because the laptop battery needs to work hard to keep a laptop running. The harder the battery works, the hotter it can get. When the battery gets too hot, it can melt its membrane and as a result, the laptop can catch on fire, and even explode.
A desktop computer has room to install a heat sink, which cools the computer with fans moving air over the heat sink, and therefore relieves any potential problems cause by heat. With a laptop or notebook, there is little room for fans and other cooling tools. The components are crowded together, and the ventilation holes on the bottom or sides of the computer are the only ways to relieve the heat. If these ventilation holes are plugged because the laptop sits on couch, bed, your lap, or any soft surface, the laptop can heat up very fast.
Here are some precautions to take with a laptop:
1. Do not leave your laptop sitting on a couch, bed or any soft surface.
2. If you notice your laptop getting hot, turn it off.
3. Make sure you turn off your laptop at the end of the day. Leaving a laptop running 24 hours a day is a fire hazard.
4. Make sure your laptop goes to sleep when you close the lid. If it is still running, and you put it in a case or bag, it can heat up and cause a fire.
5. Do not put the laptop on your lap, as the laptop can raise the surrounding temperature by as much as 4 degrees celsius, and this can lower male fertility by killing the sperms.
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