CH-89-24-1 -- Humidification by Evaporation for Control Simplicity and Energy Savings PDF

Humidity control provides a more healthful, comfortable environment and is often essential for control of static electricity or other humidity-sensitive processes. Application of evaporative cooling concepts in the modern electronic office or industrial facility is often overlooked as a means to reduce cooling energy as well as to provide humidification. Evaporative cooling can be integrated with any of the typical HVAC system configurations and, in conjunction with economizer control, can:

• Achieve more cooling energy displacement than a dry-bulb economizer.
• Inherently provide humidification, often without additional equipment or controls.
• Depending on the type of system and the desired or needed humidity levels, require little or no supplementary energy.
• Achieve significant energy savings in providing both cooling and humidification.

This paper identifies the humidification and cooling energy savings of evaporative cooling concepts, as compared with those of "conventional" economizer cycles. Based on the concepts presented, a scenario for the application of evaporative cooling/humidification in nonarid climates, with basic HVAC system configurations, is presented.