Humidification
www.heatingandventilating.net
Could humidity save you money?
As companies continue to seek ways to reduce budgets and demonstrate cost savings, John Barker, managing director of Humidity Solutions, explains how installing a humidity control system may help achieve these goals
I
n the world of humidity control, one of the big obstacles we often see facilities managers struggling with is the cost. Budgets are getting tighter and tighter and humidity control can frequently become something that would be ‘nice to have’ as opposed to a ‘must have’. This means it tends to be one of the first things that gets cut from the budget, but it doesn’t have to be. If there was a better understanding of the effect of your environment on your business, and the impact maintaining the optimum, stable humidity levels could have, then you may realise that installing the right humidity control solution could actually save you money.
Heating costs
The first thing we should tackle is heating costs, which yes, can add up, especially at this time of year. Cold air is brought in from outside and heated up. You would think this makes you feel warmer, but because the process of heating it reduces the relative humidity of the air, it actually makes you feel colder. So you turn the heating up again. Installing a humidifier to keep the relative humidity between 40% and 60% will
help you and your employees feel warmer and reduce your heating bill. This is mainly because the human body’s temperature controlling mechanism becomes a lot less efficient in low humidity air, with rapidly evaporating sweat making us feel cold. However the sweat we generate to cool the body evaporates much slower in humidified air, keeping us feeling warmer. This can make such a difference that The Energy Saving Trust suggests the average household could save up to £80 and 320kg of carbon dioxide a year just by turning down the room thermostat by one degree – which humidified air makes simple.
Reduced employee absenteeism
An increasing amount of research is being published on the effect of humidity control on health and well-being, particularly in office-based workers. Especially when you look at the fact that: • Sickness absences cost UK businesses an estimated £29bn every year. • The average worker takes 6.6 days off each year due to sickness. • An estimated 137.3m working days in the UK were lost due to sickness or injury in 2016. We’re not alone in writing frequently about how optimum humidity levels in
your environment can reduce the spread of infection via airborne bacteria and viruses. The amount of research in this field is undeniable in quality and quantity, and clearly shows that a reduction in disease spread and infection will reduce employee absenteeism rates substantially. Since absenteeism can typically cost businesses, schools, offices, hospitals and care homes a huge amount of money (along with the general homeowner), we all need to be more aware of the positive impact. If we can reduce even a portion of the sickness rates, the cost savings could be huge.
January 2020 Airtec’s
Hydrosens induct
adiabatic system
Vapac’s LE range steam humidifiers now includes recyclable cylinders
Left: John Barker, Humidity Solutions MD Improved productivity of people and equipment
Alongside the improved health of employees you will also see a significant uptick in productivity. People are generally more productive when they are happy and comfortable (and not sick). Good humidity balance means less dry skin, itching, headaches, dehydration and sore eyes – all of which can erode an employee’s ability to perform properly. Similarly, machinery will experience less static, wear and tear or general problems in a humidity regulated environment, which means you will see better productivity and fewer breakages.
What’s the solution?
So, how do you achieve all of these things? Well, the range of equipment and services available within the humidity control industry means that you can benefit from all of the above, plus extra cost savings as well. For example: • The use of recyclable steam cylinders, or using cleanable cylinders to reduce consumable altogether can provide longer life for your solutions. • Adiabatic humidifiers (or cold water systems) can save 90% on the running costs of the humidifier very quickly. • Remote monitoring can reduce the need for site visits, and gives engineers a good idea of problems before they visit cutting down on maintenance costs. • Regularly scheduled maintenance catches problems before they appear, saving costly repairs.
It is best to speak to experts in the industry to ensure your humidity control
system is designed and specified for your unique environment, and who can offer ongoing professional customer support. Planned maintenance contracts mean that service visits are regularly scheduled reducing the risk of breakdowns and ensuring timely replacement of spares so reducing any downtime.
www.heatingandventilating.net
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
