I'm considering putting a circuit board in a ventilated NEMA 4 enclosure outdoors. I'm a little concerned about humidity and condensation inside the enclosure. Do I need to conformal coat my circuit boards, or take any other precautions?
Electronic – If the electronics are outdoors in a ventillated NEMA 4 enclosure, should I conformal coat the circuit boards
conformal-coatingenclosureenvironmental-sealing
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Best Answer
Any time you have the possibility of condensation forming on your board, you need to take precautions. It may not be that you would get a short, but corrosion instead. I'm not a huge fan of conformal coating unless I am sure I will never need to work on that board again. I'd rather go for a separate, water tight enclosure just for the board, so long as it's not going to cause a cost, space, or thermal issue. That being said, coating it will probably be easier and safer.