Keep your Laptop Cool: A Handy Kitchen Solution – Not the Freezer ;-)
More and more of my clients are using a laptop, not a desk top, for their home office. Laptops have become powerful, portable work tools. One of the downsides is they tend to overheat. This shortens the life of your laptop and endangers your hard drive and your data. (Read my article about the symptoms of a dying hard drive before you lose all your data.) The standard solution is to purchase and use a laptop stand with a built in fan. The irony is many of these plug-in to your laptop adding to its power load and heat output.
A elegant trivet has uses in the home office too.
Lifehacker had a post about a DIY solution: use a cooling rack from you kitchen, like the one you use to cool cookies after you take them out of the oven. This elevates your laptop off your desktop for better air circulation and cooler laptop components. A cooling rack is large and stable, but it may scratch your laptop cover.
I suggest a more elegant solution: a metal, footed trivet: the kind you use to protect your dining table from a hot serving dish.
When you choose a trivet that is large enough it will:
- Elevate your laptop for cooling air flow
- Be smooth and prevent scratches
- Be stable so you can type on the laptop keyboard
If you have a trivet like this, give it a try. If not check out your local kitchenware store, or everyone’s favorite office decorating store: IKEA ;-).
A larger, cheaper and less elegant trivet for your laptop.
Please do NOT use:
- Solid cork trivet – no air flow
- Solid ceramic trivet (tile) – ditto
- A magnetic trivet – computer death
Remember: Keep your desk decluttered so you are not blocking your laptop’s hot air exhaust ports.
Learn more about home office design and set-up with The Smarter Home Office: 8 Simple Steps to Increase Your Income, Inspiration and Comfort.
How do you help your techno-gadgets work better? Add your comments below. I love to hear from you.
