Natural Gas Dehumidification

Humidity control – a healthy choice for commercial buildings.

Importance of good indoor air quality
Heightened efficiency concerns have resulted in more tightly constructed buildings with less ventilation.  This alone has created an entirely new set of issues with regard to indoor air quality.  Indoor air pollutants contributed by combustion sources, furnishings, cleaning products and construction materials can adversely affect the health and comfort of building occupants to varying degrees.  Likewise, humidity levels can also affect human health and comfort.

The optimum humidity level for health is considered to be in the 45% to 55% range. Higher or lower levels can be a problem.  High humidity levels encourage the growth of bacteria, mold, fungi and other disease-causing microbes.  Low humidity aggravates asthma and other allergy and respiratory-related illnesses.  Both contribute to occupant discomfort.

Natural gas dehumidification systems wring excess moisture from hot, humid indoor air during the summer which contributes to improved indoor air quality.

Humidity control improves your bottom line
Humidity control offers significant bottom line advantages.   Too much or too little moisture can damage furnishings, wall coverings, flooring and ceiling tiles.  Additionally, well-maintained humidity levels help control odors from cleaning and disinfecting products and from the growth of mold and mildew.

Desiccant dehumidification works with your A/C system to maximize cooling equipment efficiency
Natural gas dehumidification systems can wring excess moisture from hot, humid indoor air during the summer, contributing to improved indoor air quality.  Maintaining cooling comfort during hot, humid periods is accomplished by regulating both the temperature (sensible cooling) and the humidity (latent cooling) of the indoor air.  With conventional air conditioning, moisture-laden air is passed over a cooling coil, which causes the moisture to condense.  The air is cooled and some moisture is removed.   Since conventional air conditioning attempts to do two jobs, this compromise of temperature and humidity control can result in losses to either efficiency or comfort. 

How desiccant dehumidification cools
A desiccant dehumidification system assumes responsibility for the humidity component (latent cooling)—usually at least 30% of the total cooling load—allowing the air conditioning unit to be set for optimal temperature control (sensible cooling) which allows for the use of a smaller compressor, eliminating excess chiller capacity.

How desiccants work
A desiccant system uses special crystal-like materials (a desiccant) that “adsorb,” rather than condense the moisture from the incoming air.  In a typical system, the desiccant is mounted on a rotating wheel.  As the wheel rotates, the desiccant passes alternately through the incoming process air where the moisture is adsorbed and through a regenerating zone where the desiccant is dried and the moisture expelled.

Typically, about three-fourths of the desiccant wheel is exposed to the incoming air throughout the process.  During regeneration, the desiccant is heated by a direct-fired gas burner or indirect-fired water or steam coil.  Working together, conventional air conditioning and desiccant technology can more efficiently handle temperature and humidity control, but desiccant dehumidification can be used as a stand-alone system.

Dehumidification equipment helps contain more than moisture

Improved comfort for building occupants

• Eliminate odors from cleaning and disinfecting products and other sources
• Greater comfort at lower temperatures in winter and higher temperatures in summer

Desiccant wheels rotate and regenerate inside gas-fired dehumidification systems to efficiently dry the air in your building allowing cooling equipment to operate at peak performance levels.

Reduce or avoid costs for

• Repainting or replacing walls, carpeting, ceiling and floor tiles and furnishings
• Cleaning mold and mildew
• Damaged supplies and equipment
• Litigation-related issues

Control or avoid health risks

• Inhibit growth of bacteria, mold, fungi and other disease-causing microbes
• Alleviate environmental antagonism of asthma, allergies and other respiratory-related illnesses
• Reduce absenteeism and improve productivity
• Contribute to estimated national savings of $1 to $4 billion per year from reduced allergies and asthma;  $6 to $19 billion from reduced respiratory disease; and $10 to $20 billion from reduced sick building syndrome2

Improve equipment performance

• Control condensation on cold surfaces
• Improve operation and efficiency of HVAC system

To learn more about desiccants and how they can benefit your facility, contact us or call 1-800-292-4010.