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2.5.2 Ambient Relative Humidity


2.5.2 Ambient Relative Humidity
To process data safely, the optimal ambient relative humidity is 45% or higher but less than 50%. The benefits of operating in the optimum range are as follows.
  1. The system can be protected from corrosion issues caused by high humidity.
  2. Even a failure of the air conditioning facilities does not cause the system to suddenly stop.
  3. Failures and malfunctions caused by electrostatic discharge can be prevented.

A relative humidity that is too low is conducive to generating a static electricity discharge. The resulting intermittent interference may cause a failure or temporary malfunction.

Electrostatic discharge is more likely to occur and harder to eliminate at locations with a relative humidity below 35%. Electrostatic discharge becomes a critical issue when the relative humidity falls below 30%. The set optimal relative humidity range is stricter than the guidelines applied to indoor locations with more relaxed environmental conditions such as general office environments. However, if the server is installed in a server room, this condition is not difficult to meet because server rooms utilize highly efficient moisture-proof materials and have fewer ventilation cycles.