ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR


Saving energy and maintaining a healthy environment


Effective humidity control can play an essential role in maintaining energy efficiency in buildings, especially in areas which require a temperature controlled environment. Humidifiers can help to protect the health of a building’s occupants too, as Anthony Hall explains.


Anthony Hall www.humiditysolutions.co.uk


UK sales manager at Humidity Solutions


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umidity control in public sector buildings is an important consideration for a plethora of critical reasons.


This can range from the wellbeing of the occupants, through the preservation of valuable items, to the need for a controlled environment for experiments. During the cold, crisp winter months, air naturally has a very low moisture content, even though it is close to the saturation point. When this air is heated, the air molecules expand, causing the relative humidity (RH) to drop. In other words, the heating process reduces the amount of moisture the air can hold relative to its saturation point, resulting in a decrease in the overall relative humidity. In a heated building during the


winter, the effects of low humidity manifest through dry eyes and a sore throat. Dry eyes can cause large amounts of discomfort, particularly to contact lens wearers, who rely on the moisture in their eyes for the contact lens to sit on. If that is evaporated away due to low humidity, the lens will make contact and irritate within the tissue. A sore throat however is cause for


concern. The human body relies on the layer of moisture in our airways to act as the first line of defence against airborne pathogens and viruses. It is our natural defence mechanism. If this moisture is evaporated due to low relative humidity, we leave ourselves susceptible to common cold, flu, covid and other airborne infectious diseases, which spread quickly in a populated environment. Therefore, it is widely agreed that maintaining a stable relative humidity level of between 40-60% rH is optimal to protect the occupants of a building.


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A humidity and temperature sensor showing low humidity levels after air is heated during winter months


takes 0.75kW of power to create 1 litre per hour of humidity. In today’s environment, we have to consider not only energy cost but also energy supply and sustainability. Gas supply is finite and is becoming less frequently adopted for new builds. It can be argued that electricity is becoming a much more sustainable green energy source, however, it remains expensive. Therefore, there is a drive towards low- energy humidifiers. Adiabatic humidification is


considered an ideal way of delivering low-energy humidification. It involves evaporating water into an airflow to not only humidify it but also cool it as the energy is spent changing the state of water from a liquid to a gas. We do need to bear in mind that for a humidity-controlled environment, the air will need to be overheated to compensate for this cooling effect. That said, with the onset of intelligent heat recovery design, the cost of this reheat can be reduced dramatically and help deliver a truly low energy solution.


Neptronic resistive humidifiers installed at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine


Humidity control is equally essential


for a wide variety of other applications. This could be for the preservation of art, museum artefacts, or musical instruments, which are made from hygroscopic materials – often natural materials that change state based on the moisture content around them. The variations in relative humidity do the damage here, causing degradation such as cracks, flaking, blistering and misshaping to often priceless items. It is often a pre-requisite in current times, for an insurer to insist that there is stable humidity control of 50% rH, with a tight +/-5% rH tolerance. Not only where the items are on display, but also where they may be stored, preserved or restored. There are of course other areas


where we would expect to see a humidity-controlled environment. Laboratory experiments often need to take place in a simulated environment to validate their results. A good example of this is the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, where Humidity Solutions has supplied, installed and commissioned Neptronic SKE4 Resistive Humidifiers to provide tight, reliable humidity control, which was a


must-have. This allows the scientists to conduct vital research in a variety of climatic conditions, knowing that their humidity control is safely taken care of.


Low energy No matter how important humidity control is, the question of energy consumption will inevitably arise. The whole humidification process involves changing the state of water from a liquid to a gas, which naturally uses energy. As a rule of thumb, it


Indeed, the cooling effect of the adiabatic process could be utilised to great effect when it comes to cooling. There are different strategies when we consider evaporative cooling. Indirect, direct and exhaust-air adiabatic cooling all have applications where they are optimal, and again with an intelligent air handling unit design, it can deliver significant savings in cooling energy usage and costs.


Range of solutions At Humidity Solutions we offer a full range of humidity control systems to help you meet your low-energy goals from evaporative units for the lowest running costs to high-pressure nozzles or even ultrasonic humidifiers for the tightest possible low-energy humidifier control tolerances. We also offer a wide range of isothermal humidification systems, and indeed, a full range of condensing refrigerant and desiccant dehumidifiers, all with fast delivery times from our headquarters in Leatherhead, Surrey. We have decades of experience in


humidity control, and the capability to design, supply, install and commission any low-energy humidifiers – a full turnkey package. This is backed up by a dedicated,


A humidifier installed within a weatherproof housing


highly experienced and capable after- sales team, who can design, quote and deliver a tailor-made service package to suit the requirements of your facility, keeping your low-energy system in optimum operational conditions at all times throughout the seasons. ■


EIBI | JUNE 2024


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