Moisturizer is a device that improves humidity (humidity) in one room or entire building. At home, a commonly used moisturizer is commonly used to moisturize a single room, while a household or furnace moisturizer, which is connected to a home HVAC system, provides moisture throughout the house. Medical ventilators often include moisturizers to improve patient comfort. Large humidifiers are used in commercial, institutional or industrial contexts, often as part of larger HVAC systems.
Video Humidifier
Overview
Low humidity can occur in hot and dry desert climates, or indoors in an artificially heated room. In winter, especially when the cold outside air is heated indoors, the humidity may drop to the 10-20% level. This low humidity can cause adverse health effects, by drying the mucous membranes such as the lining of the nose and throat, and can cause respiratory distress. Low humidity can also affect wood furniture, causing shrinkage and loose or cracked connections. Books, papers, and artwork can shrink or warp and become brittle in very low humidity.
In addition, static electricity can be a problem in low humidity conditions, destroying semiconductor devices, causing static textiles, and causing dust and small particles to stick stubbornly to an electrically charged surface.
Overuse of humidifiers can increase relative humidity to excessive levels, promote the growth of dust mites and fungi, and can also cause hypersensitivity pneumonitis (lung humidifier). Relative humidity of 30% to 50% is recommended for most homes. Well-installed and properly located hygrostates should be used to monitor and control the humidity levels automatically, or the informed and conscious human operator should always check the correct humidity level.
Maps Humidifier
Industrial moisturizer
Industrial moisturizers are used when certain moisture levels must be maintained to prevent static electricity accumulation, preserve material properties, and ensure a comfortable and healthy environment for workers or occupants.
Static problems are prevalent in industries such as packaging, printing, paper, plastics, textiles, electronics, automotive manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals. Friction can produce static buildup and sparks when humidity is below 45% relative humidity (RH). Between 45% and 55% RH, static accumulates at a reduced rate, while moisture above 55% RH ensures that static will never rise. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has traditionally recommended a 45-55% RH range in the data center to prevent sparks that could damage IT equipment. Humidifiers are also used by semiconductor manufacturers and in hospital operating rooms.
Printers and paper manufacturers use moisturizers to prevent shrinkage and curved paper. Humidifiers are needed in cold storage space to keep the food fresh against drought caused by cold temperatures. Art museums use moisturizers to protect sensitive artwork, especially in exhibition galleries, where they fight drought-induced warm-ups for visitor comfort during the winter.
Portable moisturizer
"Portable" humidifiers can vary in size from small table appliances to large floor units. Water is usually given manually filling the unit periodically.
Evaporative moisturizer
The most common portable humidifiers, "yawn", "cold humidity", or "axis humidifiers", consist of just a few basic parts: the reservoir, the fan and the fan.
Axis is made of porous material that absorbs water from the reservoir and provides a larger surface area to evaporate from. The fan is adjacent to the axis and blows air into the wick to help evaporate water. The evaporation of the axis depends on the relative humidity. A room with low humidity will have a higher evaporation rate compared to a room with high humidity. Therefore, this type of humidifier is partly self-regulating; because the humidity of the room increases, the output of water vapor naturally decreases.
This axis becomes moldy if it is not completely dried in between patches, and becomes saturated with mineral deposits over time. They regularly require rinsing or replacement; if this does not happen, the air can not pass through them, and the humidifier stops moisturizing the area inside and the water inside the tank remains at the same level.
Natural moisturizer
One type of evaporative humidifier uses only a reservoir and axis. Sometimes called "natural humidifiers", these are usually non-commercial devices that can be assembled with little or no cost. One version of a natural humidifier uses a stainless steel bowl, partly filled with water, covered by a towel. Waterproof weight is used to sink a towel in the middle of the bowl. No need to fan, because the water spreads through the towel by the capillaries and the surface of the towel area is large enough to provide rapid evaporation. Stainless steel bowl is much easier to clean than a regular water humidifier tank. This, in combination with daily or daily towel replacement and periodic washing, can control the problems of fungi and bacteria.
Houseplants can also be used as natural humidifiers, as they evaporate water into the air through transpiration. Care should still be taken to prevent bacteria or fungi in the soil from growing to excessive levels, or from spreading into the air.
Vaporizers
The vaporizer (steam humidifier, warm mist humidifier) ​​heats or boils water, releases steam and moisture into the air. Inhalants may also be added to steam vapors to help reduce cough. Vaporizers may be healthier than cold mist types of humidifiers because the vapors are less likely to deliver impurities of minerals or microorganisms from standing water in the reservoirs. However, boiling water requires much more energy than any other technique. Heat sources in poorly designed humidifiers can get too hot, cause the product to melt, leak, and start a fire.
Imeller moisturizer
Humidifier impellers use a spinning disk to throw water into the diffuser, which breaks water into tiny droplets that float into the air. Water supply must be kept clean, or there is a risk of spreading bacteria or fungi into the air. This type of moisturizer is usually more noisy than others.
Ultrasonic humidifiers
The ultrasonic humidifier uses a ceramic diaphragm that vibrates at ultrasonic frequencies to create water droplets coming out of the humidifier in the form of a cold mist. Usually the fog is forced out by small fans, while some ultra mini models do not have fans. The fanless model is intended primarily for personal use. Ultrasonic humidifiers use piezoelectric transducers to create high-frequency mechanical oscillations in a water film. It forms a very fine mist of droplets about one micron in diameter, which rapidly evaporates into the airflow.
Unlike humidifiers that boil water, these water droplets will contain impurities in the reservoir, including minerals from hard water (which then form a white dust that is difficult to remove on adjacent objects and furniture). Pathogens that grow in stagnant tanks will also spread in the air. Ultrasonic humidifiers should be cleaned regularly to prevent contamination of bacteria from spreading into the air.
The amount of minerals and other materials can be greatly reduced by using distilled water. Disposable special-purpose demineralization cartridges can also reduce the amount of material present in the air, but the EPA warns, "the ability of these devices to remove minerals can vary greatly." Mineral dust may have negative health effects. Wick humidifiers capture mineral deposits on the axis; this type of vaporizer tends to collect minerals on or around the heating element and requires regular cleaning with vinegar or citric acid to control the buildup.
Fixed installation moisturizer
For buildings with forced air furnaces, humidifiers can be fitted to the furnace. They can also protect wooden objects, antiques and other furniture that may be sensitive to damage from too dry air. In the colder months, they can provide simple energy savings, because as moisture increases, the occupants may feel warmer at lower temperatures.
Bypass humidifiers are linked between hot and cold air duct ducts, using a pressure difference between these channels to cause hot air to make a bypass through the humidifier and return to the furnace.
Any moisturizer should normally be disabled during the summer if AC is used; AC partially works to reduce indoor humidity, and having a continuous operating humidifier will discard large amounts of energy.
Drum
The drum force (bypass) uses a pipe to carry water directly to the reservoir (pan) attached to the furnace. The water level in the pan is controlled by the buoy valve, similar to a small floating toilet tank. The axis is usually a foam pad mounted on the drum and attached to a small motor; hot air enters the drum at one end and is forced to leave through the side of the drum. When the higrostate calls moisture, the motor is turned on and causes the drum to rotate slowly through the water pan and prevent the foam pad from drying out.
- Benefits include:
- Low cost
- Cheap maintenance (drum-style pads are cheap and available)
- Disadvantages include:
- The need for frequent hygiene checks and pad conditions (approximately every month)
- Water evaporation even when humidification is not needed (because the water pot remains exposed to high-speed airflow)
- Mushroom growth in a pan full of water (this problem is exacerbated by large amounts of air, inevitably carrying mushroom spores, passing a well-used humidifier or not).
For the last reason, especially, the drum type humidifier should always be switched off on the water supply during the summer months, and should always be used with high-quality furnace air filters (MERV ratings as high as possible to ensure a small amount of fungal spores reach the humidifier) â €
The wheel style of the disc (cut) is very similar in design to the drum humidifier style; this humidifier type of furnace replaces the foam drum with a number of plastic discs with small grooves on both sides. This allows the surface area to evaporate very large, without requiring much space. Unlike the drum humidifier style, the disk wheel does not need to be replaced regularly.
- Benefits include:
- Very low maintenance (basin humidifier should be cleaned regularly, unless automatic flushing device is installed)
- No spare parts are needed regularly
- Higher output due to large evaporative surface area
- Can be installed in hard water situations
- Maintains efficiency throughout the life span
- Disadvantages include:
- The price is higher
- Water evaporation even when humidification is not needed (because the water pot remains exposed to high-speed airflow)
Bypass flow-through
Bypass flow-through style (bypass - also known as "biscuit style" or many other variant names) uses a pipe to carry water directly to an electrically controlled valve at the top of the humidifier. Air passes through "biscuits" of aluminum (often called pads; the term "biscuits" emphasizes solid and non-foaming forms) similar to a very coarse piece of steel wool. "Biscuits" have a matte ceramic coating, resulting in a very large surface area in a small space. When the higrostate calls moisture, the valve is opened and causes water spray to the "biscuit". Hot air passes through "biscuits", causing water to evaporate from the pad and get carried into the building.
- Benefits include:
- Maintenance is reduced (new "biscuits" are only necessary when clogged with dust or mineral deposits, usually once per year)
- Lack of pot of water potentially stagnant for use as a breeding ground for mushrooms as well as a drum-style humidifier
- No incidental humidification caused by a water pot that is constantly replenished in high-speed airflow
- Reduce requirements for expensive air filters
- Use less power
- Disadvantages include:
- A rather high purchase price
- Manufacturers and custom model replacement biscuits (versus relatively common drum-style bearings) may be more expensive and hard to find
- For most models, some of the water supplied to the unit is not evaporated. It can produce large amounts of wastewater containing minerals, which do require connections to the sewer. There is a limited selection of drain-less models that redistribute water, but mineral buildup must be removed manually periodically.
Fog spray
This type of spray mist uses pipe, usually made of small plastic, to bring water directly to an electrically controlled valve (sprayer-this forces water through a small hole that causes it to break into small particles) in the humidifier. The water mist is sprayed directly into the supply air, and the mist is brought into place by the airflow.
- Benefits include:
- It is simpler than cutting the type that needs to be installed, requiring one cutting hole for installation, no additional ducting.
- Use less electricity.
- Small, compact units that match other types. (About 6 inches (15 cm) square.)
- Because it does not require a ducting bypass does not damage pressure separation (and therefore, blower efficiency) of return and supply duct.
- No need to use an on-going expense.
- Highly efficient water use. It does not produce wastewater, and does not require a separate connection to the sewer.
- Needs a little maintenance. Regular cleaning of nozzles may be needed in harsh water environments.
- Lack of pot of water that is potentially stagnant for use as a breeding ground for mushrooms as well as a drum-style humidifier.
- Disadvantages include:
- The spray nozzle can become clogged in harsh water situations, requiring the use of a water filter, regular nozzle cleaning, or nozzle replacement.
- Dissolve any mineral in the water into the airflow.
Additional types
Additional types include non-bypass flow-through (fan augmented), steam, impeller or centrifugal sprayer, and under the channel design.
Health issues and risks
USEPA provides detailed information on recommended health risks and treatment procedures. If the tap water contains many minerals (also known as "hard water") then ultrasonic humidifiers or impellers will produce "white dust" (calcium is the most common mineral in tap water), which normally spreads over furniture, and is attracted to generating devices static electricity such as CRT monitors. White dust can be prevented by using distilled water or demineralization cartridges in an ultrasonic moisturizer.
In addition, stagnant or non-functioning water supply valves can produce large amounts of water, causing extensive water damage if undetected for any length of time. Water alarms, possibly with automatic water retention, may help prevent this malfunction causing major problems.
See also
- Air ionizer
- Dehumidifier
- Evaporative cooler
- Hygrometer, to measure humidity
- Ultrasonic nozzle
References
External links
- EPA.gov Indoor Air Facts No. 8 Use and Treatment of Moisturizer
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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