Why Adding Humidification to a Room or Building is Required… or Not
- Post By: Greg Crumpton
- Date:
- Category: Blog
To humidify, or not to humidify, that is the question.
ESD. These three simple letters of our alphabet are the sole reason we have words for adding moisture to our air, via a Humidifier, in our lexicon.
Electro Static Discharge. This occurs when an electrical charge (Static Electricity) leaves one mass and zapps another mass. You know it when you walk across the room in the winter, grab the door knob, and Bam!, you get that little zap. Well, in a computing environment, that little zap can be deadly to the computing process. The zap can contain up to 10,000 volts or more, read more about it here.
Routinely, humidifiers are part of the original design of a data processing facility, computer room, UPS room, etc. It makes sense. Add moisture to a dry environment to keep the ESD at bay. Well, that works great, but historically it can cost a lot of #OPEX dollars to keep the moisture at the desired 40% (+/- 5%). This cost was mainly due to the method that moisture was being induced into the air. Either large open pans of water with a series of infra-red bulbs hoovering over them or a cylinder/canister full of water with electrodes immersed in water were energized, then the steam was pulled into the air stream by the #CRAC or #CRAH unit for distribution. It works great, but costs a lot to operate.
Many people simply choose not to operate their humidifiers because of the cost This isn’t a good option, just one that has been accepted due to costs. The data center was designed for humidifiers, if you operate without one, allowing your rooms RH to fall, are you outside of the SLA’s that you sold to your customers?
There’s a solution to this: Ultra Sonic Humidification. This technique of inducing moisture into any given environment is 93% cheaper to operate than the two methods I described above, the cylinder and the infra-red pan. So, for every pound of moisture you add to the air, with Ultra Sonic, it cost SEVEN CENTS vs. the $.93 for the two old methods. Simply amazing technology. There is certainly an exact science to this system, but essentially, it adds water to the air stream by breaking the surface tension of water with a high frequency, much like a tweeter in a high quality stereo or music system, versus HEATING water to create the steam vapor. Why would we want to heat water in a DATA CENTER when the number one mission is to REMOVE HEAT FROM THE DATA CENTER?
Can the same be said for a commercial or medical office building? ABSOLUTELY! In fact, the medical business loves Ultra Sonic. It allows MRI, CT, PET, and CAT scan rooms to be maintained at the proper humidity levels. This allows for optimum patient comfort, as well as excellent magnet operation. In the office environment, nothing increases office productivity like HUMAN COMFORT. Happy people work and don’t have to worry about their environment, this is simply one way of helping people smile.
Much more information is available on this methodology, Stulz is the #1 maker and science leader of the technology, get a brochure here and find more information in general here.
If we can help with your education on humidification, please let us know, we would love to explain as much as you would like to learn. Email us at info@airtight.co and mention Humidification in the subject line.
