Climate Exposure Engineering: articles on climate exposure and durability.
Practical articles for reliability engineers, product durability teams, infrastructure operators, and consultants working with climate-driven environmental stress, grouped into five topic clusters.
Five climate exposure topics
Chloride and marine corrosion
Near the coast, airborne sea-salt chloride settles on metal surfaces. Combined with humidity and condensation it keeps an electrolyte film active for longer, so corrosion can progress much faster than temperature alone suggests. Climetry uses chloride context and exposure classes as an early screening input, not as a corrosion-life prediction or a substitute for site measurement.
How Chloride Deposition Shapes Marine Corrosion Exposure
ArticleWhy Heat Pumps Corrode Faster Near the Sea
ArticleWhy Electric Vehicles Face a Growing Corrosion Challenge
Case studyJLR Recall 26V389: Fretting Corrosion, Airbag Warnings and Climate Exposure
FrameworkClimetry Exposure Classes: CE-1 to CE-5
CornerstoneClimate Exposure: The Missing Engineering Load
ReferenceClimate exposure basics: humidity, dew point, corrosion and plastic ageing
Humidity and electronics
Humidity and surface contamination can form conductive water films on boards, components and connectors. With electrical bias and susceptible metals, these films can support surface electrochemical migration and dendrite growth; they can also support corrosion. Conductive anodic filament growth is a separate moisture- and bias-dependent pathway inside the PCB laminate. Start with the mechanism article, consult the technical reference (technical review pending) for equations and standards, and check dew point for a single air state with the calculator.
UV and polymer ageing
Outdoor plastics and rubber age through UV photo-oxidation, ozone cracking of strained rubber, heat-accelerated oxidation and humidity-driven hydrolysis. Which mechanism dominates depends on the material family, stabilisation and the site. The plastic ageing article compares mechanisms by material; the methodology defines the Plastic Ageing Exposure screening metric.
TMY and representative years
A Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) combines representative months from a long hourly weather record into one 8,760-hour year. It suits typical-condition simulation and design, but it is not a forecast, not a worst-case year and can miss prolonged or extreme events, so check the record period, grid and export conventions before using it.
Heat pumps and solar
Outdoor heat pumps and PV systems raise two separate climate questions: thermal performance and sizing, which depend on how temperature is distributed over the hours of a year, and material durability, which depends on humidity, condensation, salt and pollution. These articles address both.
City examples, tools, methodology and validation
City pages show the metrics for example locations; the calculator handles a single air state; the methodology defines each metric; the validation page documents how the monthly climate basis compares with station observations, and its limits.
All articles and references
Damage mechanisms and failure modes across 11 plastic and rubber families, and how Climetry's four-channel Plastic Ageing Exposure model screens for them.
Automotive case studyJLR Recall 26V389: Fretting Corrosion, Airbag Warnings and Climate ExposureHow Climetry connects public complaint geography with humidity exposure, chloride context and fretting-corrosion screening.
Heat pump durabilityWhy Heat Pumps Corrode Faster Near the SeaHow coastal humidity, salt exposure, condensation and marine influence affect outdoor heat pump equipment.
Marine exposure modelingHow Chloride Deposition Shapes Marine Corrosion ExposureHow Climetry screens coastal chloride exposure for engineering durability and corrosion assessment.
Heating designHow Heat Pump Engineers Use Climate Data to Size Heating SystemsHow hourly climate data and 1 C temperature duration histograms support heat pump power and energy calculations.
EV reliabilityWhy Electric Vehicles Face a Growing Corrosion ChallengeHow moisture retention, battery enclosures, high-voltage connectors, charging infrastructure, and climate exposure shape EV durability risk.
MethodologyClimetry Exposure Classes: A Practical Framework for Climate-Driven Durability ScreeningHow CE-1 to CE-5 translates humidity, condensation, marine influence and pollution into one engineering exposure language.
MethodologyTypical Meteorological Year (TMY): What It Is and How It Is CreatedHow representative months are selected from historical weather data, why an hourly TMY has 8,760 hours, and what a typical year cannot show.
Solar reliabilityWhy Solar Modules Corrode Faster in Tropical ClimatesHow humidity, marine aerosols, pollution, temperature cycling, and chloride exposure influence PV durability before deployment.
Electronics reliabilityHow Humidity Damages ElectronicsFrom invisible water films to electrochemical migration, dendrites, condensation, CAF, corrosion, and PCB short circuits.
Technical reportHumidity-Induced Degradation of Electronic DevicesA technical engineering reference on psychrometrics, electrolyte films, ECM, CAF, package moisture, acceleration models, and qualification guidance. Technical review pending.
Climate exposureClimate Exposure: The Missing Engineering Load in Reliability and Corrosion AssessmentWhy temperature alone is not enough, and how humidity, condensation, corrosion, and environmental envelopes become engineering loads.
Hub FAQ
What does the scientific validation page cover?
It compares the ERA5-Land monthly climatology (2015-2024) of temperature, dew point, relative and absolute humidity with 7,053 independent weather stations in metric-specific validation subsets, giving 338,544 station-month comparisons. CEY10 representative-year values are compared separately, with station climatology at nine city pilots only, not with all 7,053 stations. Neither check on its own validates hourly threshold counts, corrosion life or the field performance of a specific product.
Are the articles a substitute for testing or site measurement?
No. The articles explain mechanisms and how Climetry screens climate exposure. Qualification testing, material data and site measurements remain necessary for design decisions.
Is a Typical Meteorological Year a worst-case year?
No. A TMY represents typical conditions over its source period. It is not a forecast or an extreme year and can miss prolonged or extreme events.