WATER MANAGEMENT


(2). Their operation is of particular importance in spaces where humidity levels are required to be higher than ambient - such as indoor agriculture or cheese manufacturing. Same applies to comfort climate conditions such as cleanrooms or production facilities. The cost of humidification is high


while the impact on product quality of incorrect humidity control can lead to product waste, so even small deviations from the ideal humidity and temperature can be costly.


COST SAVINGS IN CLIMATE CONTROL Consequently, the difference between an RH/T sensor that is accurate to 4% RH and one that is accurate to 0.4% RH could result in thousands of dollars in energy savings from climate control accuracy. Further, if the readings of an RH/T sensor are constantly shifting due to drift and a need for calibration, it will result in the HVAC system trying to respond to sensor drift resulting in additional energy use. The important role sensors play in


energy savings is reflected in the US Department of Energy identifying HVAC sensors as the highest priority among energy savings research with the potential to make a difference in energy usage (3).


SUMMARY Many older manufacturing facilities


RH filters can help manage climate control


are using outdated climate control systems that may operate from a single thermostat. With energy costs typically being one of the top 3 operating expenses, it behooves these companies to invest in better climate control, the savings from which will ultimately pay for the updates and provide further income. The key, but often overlooked component of an effective climate control system are the RH/T sensors feeding data to the system. Electrolytic RH/T sensors,


with their unmatched accuracy and reliability, should be the sensor of choice to ensure climate control is delivering maximum energy savings. ●


References 1. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ MPU9900641https://fred.stlouisfed.org/ series/MPU9900641


Climate control with electrolytic RH sensors


Most RH/T sensors utilise a common technology based on capacitive (hygroscopic polymer) sensors to recognise changes in relative humidity and temperature. While these sensors can perform adequately for certain applications, their accuracy is limited to 2% RH or worse and they all suffer from saturation and drift when exposed to high humidity or contaminants in the air. Resistive electrolytic RH/T (4) sensors provide an alternative


technology to polymer-based sensors (4). For this type of sensor, humidity is tracked by the change in resistivity of an electrolyte solution. The advantage of this approach is that the sensor has a fast response time and does not experience drifts in changing or challenging environments. Consequently, the accuracy of the electrolytic sensors is 0.4% for RH and 0.1K for T across the entire specified humidity and temperature range possible in a manufacturing facility including at humidities higher than 85%. This accuracy is an order of magnitude better than can be achieved with polymer-based sensors.


2. Yeonjin Bae, Saptarshi Bhattacharya, Borui Cui, Seungjae Lee, Yanfei Li, Liang Zhang, Piljae Im, Veronica Adetola, Draguna Vrabie, Matt Leach, Teja Kuruganti. 2021. Sensor impacts on building and HVAC controls: A critical review for building energy performance. Advances in Applied Energy Volume 4, 100068 https://doi.org/10.1016/j. adapen.2021.100068.


3. Goetzler W, Shandross R, Young J, Petritchenko O, Ringo D, McClive S. 2017. Energy savings potential and R D & amp; D opportunities for commercial building HVAC Systems. U.S Dep. Energy. https:// www.osti.gov/biblio/1419622/.


4. Carter, BP. 2022. Why Electrolytic Resistive Sensors Solve the Root Cause of RH Sensor Problems. Novasina Application Note.


For more information visit https://www.novasina.ch/


www.engineerlive.com 39


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52