wil cold harm my mbp

[gelindo]

hi
as you can read in the title i have a question about cold

my mbp sits during the day in the living room where it's nice and warm but at night i take it with me in my bedroom where it is cold. will the temperature change harm the mbp or the battery?

thx

 

[Azathoth]

hi
as you can read in the title i have a question about cold

my mbp sits during the day in the living room where it's nice and warm but at night i take it with me in my bedroom where it is cold. will the temperature change harm the mbp or the battery?

thx

Doesn't the owners manual tell you the temp specs? In a word. No. Low humidty, 10deg.C is probably optimal.

 

[erratikmind]

You should be fine.

 

[AaronX]

Your greatest danger is condensation, which can occur at temperatures as high as 20+C. Your MBP is more resistant to cold than you are (without clothes)

 

[cluthz]

I live in Norway, which is pretty cold!
And my house is made in 1820, so it can get really cold in the winters.


I'm pretty sure I'm booting up my MBP at lower than 10°C several times each winter and my MBP is 2.5 years old now, as far as I can tell I've had no problems!

 

[SolRayz]

Curious to see how low a temp my mbp would idle at, I let it sit outside last winter and hit idle temp of 22°C.

I wish that were the norm. Doesn't really answer your question but...imo you shouldn't worry so much, you'll be fine.

 

[t0mat0]

Electrical and operating requirements

Line voltage: 100V to 240V AC
Frequency: 50Hz to 60Hz
Operating temperature: 50° to 95° F
(10° to 35° C)
Storage temperature: -13° to 113° F
(-24° to 45° C)
Relative humidity: 0% to 90% noncondensing
Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet
Maximum storage altitude: 15,000 feet
Maximum shipping altitude: 35,000 feet

For the MBP.
A colder battery would likely drain faster?

 

[MattMK45]

surely the colder the better, especially if you are doing something intensive, like gaming or something like that

 

[bware189]

For the MBP.
A colder battery would likely drain faster?

Lower temperatures increase conductivity, which decreases the resistance of the voltage provided by the battery. This is my guess, but I would assume the colder, the longer it would take for the battery to drain.

 

[AaronX]

Change in rate of chemical reactions is probably a greater effect (2x speed every 10C) - your battery won't discharge fully.

 

[maflynn]

Leaving in your car may not be something I'd do. Leaving it in a cold room not so much. As others stated if the temps are > 10C you should be fine

 

[iPhysicist]

Lower temperatures increase conductivity, which decreases the resistance of the voltage provided by the battery. This is my guess, but I would assume the colder, the longer it would take for the battery to drain.

No. The colder it is, the faster it will drain. If you use your Camera in the Winter you may have recognized that the battery life is less long lasting than in summer.

 

[boatski]

It will most definitely explode if you keep it in your bedroom.

 

[flakes8]

It will most definitely explode if you keep it in your bedroom.

Only Under The Sheets

 

[m85476585]

No. The colder it is, the faster it will drain. If you use your Camera in the Winter you may have recognized that the battery life is less long lasting than in summer.

Cold temperatures slow down the chemical reactions in the battery, so the battery effectively has lower capacity when it's cold. If you warm the battery up again it should be just fine, and the charge level the computer indicates might even go up on its own. Cold shouldn't do any long-term damage to the battery, though. Attempting to charge the battery while it is cold might not be good, or it might be better than charging at room temperature, I don't know.

There is a risk of condensation when you bring the laptop from a cold place to a warm place, or if it is somehow colder than the ambient temperature in the rest of the room (if it is near an open window, for example). Condensation can do bad things to electronics.

 

[Gabriel GR]

There is a reason why server rooms and datacenters are cold.... It protects the machines.

Humidity is a different matter.

 

[bmcgrath]

Back when I lived in Dublin, Ireland I was doing quite a bit of sports photography. I'd have my MBP on the pitch sidelines in -5c and it was fine. Battery life went to **** though....

Now I live in Brisbane Australia which has some pretty sticky humid days at the moment as it's summer. This worries me a little but so far it seems fine. Runs a little hot alright but that's to be expected when it's 25c outside at 22:30....

 

[prodigee]

There is a reason why server rooms and datacenters are cold.... It protects the machines.

Humidity is a different matter.

The reason for this is so that the machines don't overheat, when you have a small room filled with 20+ servers its going to get hot fast, to prevent them from overheating they pump cold dry air into the room. It has nothing to do with anything else other than to prevent overheating.

 

[brenden]

I've taken mine with me hiking into the mountains where it was well below freezing. As the other poster said condensation is your biggest enemy. I was very careful how i used mine and how it was packed in my bag. You should be fine!

 

[bli625]

The reason for this is so that the machines don't overheat, when you have a small room filled with 20+ servers its going to get hot fast, to prevent them from overheating they pump cold dry air into the room. It has nothing to do with anything else other than to prevent overheating.

So the cold air is protecting the machines from overheating..

 

[prodigee]

So the cold air is protecting the machines from overheating..

Yes but how does that apply to a MBP's battery?

 

[Nano2k]

Cold is good for the batteries as it decreases the self-discharge process. However when in cold temperatures, the battery should not be charged to the same voltage as when you are in normal (20C) temperatures. Low temperatures also decrease the capacity of the battery to supply energy at higher discharge rates.

 

[Gabriel GR]

The reason for this is so that the machines don't overheat, when you have a small room filled with 20+ servers its going to get hot fast, to prevent them from overheating they pump cold dry air into the room. It has nothing to do with anything else other than to prevent overheating.

I am talking about the machines' health in general. Not about the battery. To me a battery is like tires on a car. Eventually it needs replacement.

 

[prodigee]

I am talking about the machines' health in general. Not about the battery. To me a battery is like tires on a car. Eventually it needs replacement.

Ok. Eventually all batteries do need replacing so you are right about that, and cooler temps are good for the machine, but too cold, and you aren't doing the thing any good.

OP because you didn't specify how cold your room is, its going to be fairly difficult to tell you what is too cold, and what may actually be harming your battery. But I doubt that it can be really too cold for the battery in your house. I mean if it were that cold you wouldn't be sleeping in there.