NEMA 4 Protection for Outdoor Digital Signage

Outdoor digital signage is the fastest growing sector in the burgeoning digital advertising industry. More and more companies are adopting LCD and plasma TV systems in outdoor areas

Outdoor digital signage is becoming increasingly popular as people have become more aware of the fact that more people can view and outdoor digital sign than an indoor one which makes the use of digital advertising outdoors more beneficial than indoor digital signage.

However, the requirements of outdoor signage systems differ to those of the indoor variety. Protection from the weather is a key aspect of outdoor digital signage but ensuring whether an LCD enclosure will allow use of your digital signage in outdoor locations is NEMA 4 protection.

NEMA 4 protection – what is it?

NEMA 4 is the standard that outdoor LCD enclosures are built to. The standard, issued by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) ensures that an enclosure built to NEMA 4 will have adequate protection against rainfall (or other falling liquids).

When looking for an outdoor enclosure for a digital signage campaign its important to ensure whatever display enclosure you choose it has been built to the NEMA 4 standard.

In Europe, a different rating system is used known as the Ingress Protection standard (IP). When looking for a NEMA 4 enclosure for an outdoor digital signage system in Europe then the key IP rating to look out for is IP65.

Other Considerations

NEMA 4 protection is no guarantee however, that whatever outdoor enclosure you have chosen for your digital signage will provide adequate protection. The NEMA standard only concerns itself with what can’t enter the enclosure such as water or dust but there are other considerations to think about when starting an outdoor digital signage campaign.

Temperature can cause problems especially if the ambient temperature is of an extreme nature. Sub-zero temperatures will require heating systems inside the outdoor digital signage display case whilst cooling, air flow systems and even air conditioning will need to be installed in areas that see excessively hot temperatures during the summer.

Bright sunlight needs to also be factored in. direct sunlight will cause brightness and reflection issues but is easily rectified with anti-glare glass however, direct sunlight can also cause more permanent issues with an LCD or plasma screen. If areas of the TV are constantly under direct sunlight, hotspots can develop which can lead to burning and permanent damage to the screen. Different methods are available to counter this but the most efficient way is to ensure a curtain of air is constantly flowing over the screen.