REFRIGERANTS INTERVIEW
What do you think is the biggest opportunity ahead?
The growth in knowledge – in the HVAC sector, and also in the manufacturing industry’s knowledge of the gains that can be obtained by controlling the environment in which they work or produce. Our job has been 50% education as to why customers require humidity control, but we have seen a positive shift in knowledge and are fi nding that production engineers are increasingly coming to us with what they require. The sector is growing. However, there is still a reluctance, even by some HVAC contractors, to install humidity control equipment which they may not be very familiar with – this is where we can step in to either off er the advice and support to allow the contractor to install, or by off ering an installation service and so making humidity control straight forward and profi table for all involved.
How will the energy/cost of living crises aff ect the business now and in the foreseeable future? Energy and water usage are understandably two areas of great concern for our customers, but we have solutions suitable for the majority of applications. The key is to look at the system as a whole. To use a low energy humidifi er may not be an energy reducing solution if it cools the air (adiabatic) in an application where heat needs to be maintained or added. Using systems with low drainage could be an
interesting option and maybe by removing the minerals fi rst and allowing the mineral removal drain cycle to be turned off could be a good option. We can look at the options for any given application and there are some good solutions with interesting payback.
Is legislation doing enough of the right things to improve and drive industry into the future? What legislation? It is a continued frustration that our industry bodies hardly consider humidity control. The benefi ts are well known in many environments including for offi ces and human comfort, yet legislators seem reluctant to put numbers into writing – although research and other countries do identify specifi c humidity levels to be maintained. As an active member of the FETA Humidity Group, we have produced a white paper detailing the benefi ts of ‘Humidity and its Impact on Human Comfort and Wellbeing in Occupied Buildings’ which provides background to this argument.
What could we do better in terms of climate action?
Consider whole systems energy usage. For instance, we have been involved in providing adiabatic cooling onto chillers to increase their
operating effi ciency and range with regards to external conditions saving energy and, in some cases, reducing the size of equipment supplied or the need to replace.
Factory cooling via adiabatic cooling is also advantageous when provided by a system which is in place to also provide humidity control during the summer.
In addition, as part of the HVAC sector we need
to agree on what good quality air is so that we can put this forward as a target and then work to make it as energy effi cient as possible. This was highlighted during the Covid-19
outbreak when there was a confl ict between increasing ventilation and adding more fi ltration. Increasing ventilation is not easy to achieve with an existing system and can be very energy ineffi cient as you discard treated air and must increase the size of fans, ductwork, heating/ cooling, and humidifi er duties. Adding more fi ltration can increase pressure drops again requiring more energy. Both solutions also work against the drive pre- and post-Covid for using less energy.
Referring to the FETA Humidity Group white paper we also lay out the case for thermal comfort which is where – if a humidity of between 30%rh and 70%rh is maintained – we as humans operate best at regulating our body temperature. Humans need to have a thermal balance between themselves and the environment they
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occupy, known as ‘thermal comfort’. Thermal comfort directly infl uences the actual and perceived quality of the indoor environment; it is determined by the eff ect of the interrelationship between air temperature, relative humidity (RH) and air movement on occupants; together with human metabolic rate and the thermal insulation value of clothing that occupants wear. The amount of humidity in the air has a direct impact on thermal comfort which in turn impacts upon the health and wellbeing of building occupants. Maintaining the level of indoor humidity between 30%rh and 70 %rh is essential in spaces that human beings occupy as it allows them to function optimally. What this means from an energy viewpoint is that the heating set point can be lowered by a degree or two without the occupants feeling the cooler eff ects, thereby reducing heating and energy bills.
Humidity control is an area that many people
and organisations in the HVACR sector don’t come across on a day-to-day basis. The vast majority of engineers and installers in the UK are professional and trustworthy people which means that they are reluctant to venture into an unfamiliar area of quoting for and supplying humidifi ers and dehumidifi ers. However, there is support, knowledge, and experience to make the supply of humidity control alongside temperature control straightforward and profi table addition to any portfolio.
www.acr-news.com • July 2023 19
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