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Why, What & How: Dr. Jeremy Wingate Rotronic Instruments (UK) LTD Wednesday, 14th January 2015 CIBSE Webinar

This document discusses humidity measurement and control. It covers key topics like human comfort, health, conservation and energy efficiency as they relate to humidity. It also discusses challenges in accurately measuring humidity, best practices for sensor installation, and notes that controlling humidity precisely is difficult due to sensor limitations and temperature dependencies. The document provides an overview of humidity fundamentals, measurement techniques, common problems, and tips for improving humidity monitoring and control.

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David Donoso
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32 views

Why, What & How: Dr. Jeremy Wingate Rotronic Instruments (UK) LTD Wednesday, 14th January 2015 CIBSE Webinar

This document discusses humidity measurement and control. It covers key topics like human comfort, health, conservation and energy efficiency as they relate to humidity. It also discusses challenges in accurately measuring humidity, best practices for sensor installation, and notes that controlling humidity precisely is difficult due to sensor limitations and temperature dependencies. The document provides an overview of humidity fundamentals, measurement techniques, common problems, and tips for improving humidity monitoring and control.

Uploaded by

David Donoso
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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%rh

Why, What & How

Dr. Jeremy Wingate


Rotronic Instruments (UK) Ltd
Wednesday, 14th January 2015 CIBSE Webinar
Rotronic Instruments
Sales, training and consultancy role

Forest Research
Regenerating brownfield land through
novel decontamination technologies

C-Cure Solutions Ltd


Joint founder of spin-out aimed at
commercialising charcoal technologies

PhD from Surrey University


Decontamination of mining sites by novel
charcoals
1. Human Comfort
Sweating = Evaporation

↓ %rh makes you feel colder

Human comfort
• Temperature
» Radiated and Air
• Humidity
• Air velocity
2. Human Health
Dust Mites
• ↓ 50%rh is fatal
• ↑ %rh is worst

Pathogen Survival in Air


• 40-60%rh most lethal for viruses
• ↓ %rh is worst (winter)

Mould
• ↑ %rh & poor ventilation
3. Conservation
Condensation
– Mould & Rot
– Condensing on windows

Heritage & Storage


– Museum artefacts
– Records

Reliability
– Maintaining equipment etc
4. Energy & Efficiency Building Control
– Better measurements
– Intelligent control
– Sensitive products

Process Control
– Save time and money
– Ensure consistent product

Regulation
– Ever increasing…
1. States of Matter
Solid
- Definite shape and
volume Particles are closely packed
and only vibrate
2. States of Matter
Liquid
- Definite volume
Particles flow to take shape
of container
3. States of Matter
Gas (Water Vapour)
- Neither volume or shape
Particles will expand to fill a
space
4. Dalton’s Law of Partial Pressures

In a gas mixture such as room air the total pressure can be


expressed as…

P(water) = vapour pressure


5. Composition of Air

Components of air (all in gas form)


% water vapour (by volume)
6. Composition of Air

0%rh ~12%rh ~35%rh ~95%rh


(air at ~30 ˚C)
What about %rh?
7. Recap!

• Water (H2O) in the gas phase is called VAPOUR


• Water vapour is transparent
• The amount of gas can be stated as a partial pressure
• Air typically holds ~1 - 4 % water vapour (10 - 40 mbar)
• AIR CAN ONLY HOLD A LIMITED AMOUNT OF WATER
VAPOUR!
8. Last but not least

• Hotter air can support more water vapour


• When air can hold no more water it is SATURATED

• The partial pressure at this exact point is called the


SATURATION VAPOUR PRESSURE
9. Psychrometric Charts
Vapour Pressure (mBar)
10. Psychrometric Charts
Vapour Pressure (mBar)
11. So… Relative Humidity

• The ratio of actual water vapour pressure against the


saturation vapour pressure (in %)
I.e…
how much water vapour is in the air
compared to
how much water vapour there could be in the air
12. Effect of temperature

Same amount of water, different %rh


13. Other parameters
• Dew point
The temperature to which you need to cool a gas in order for
saturation (condensation) to occur
• Mixing ratio (absolute humidity)
Mass of vapour per unit mass of dry gas
Dimensionless ratio although g/kg is often used

• Wet Bulb
The temperature to which a thermometer covered with a wet
‘wick’ will cool (due to evaporation)
• Enthalpy
Of the dry air and evaporated water
1. Historic methods…
• Mechanical
Horse Hair / Cat Gut!
• Poor accuracy
• Poor repeatability
• Slow response

• Psychrometer
Measurement of wet and dry bulb temperatures
• Still used in chamber control
• Requires regular cleaning and service
• Not reliable for building control
2. Relative Humidity Sensors
Very widely used
Highly practical
Based around variations in electrical properties of polymers
- Resistive or Capacitive
Factory adjusted to provide %rh measurements
<1mm

Protection filter

Micro- Foil electrodes


pores
Dielectric polymer

Connecting wires
3. Relative Humidity Sensors
• Pros
Fast response
Robust
Wide operating range
Low cost

• Cons
Stability and repeatability
Temperature dependence
Drift
Contamination effects
4. Typical Humidity Measurement Problems
• Temperature Effects
 Calibration
Duct Wall
 Check instrument reflects the true
Sensor
application temperature
 Stabilisation time Trans-
mitter
 Stem conduction
 Self heating
25˚C Temperature 55˚C
 Temperature coefficients
Gradient
5. Typical Humidity Measurement Problems
• Pressure Effects
 Does not effect %rh
 Some parameters are (eg. dew point)

• Drift
 ALL humidity sensors drift over time
 Varies
 Manufacturer
 Filters
 Application
 Regular calibration
6. Typical Humidity Measurement Problems
• Contamination
 Particulate deposits
Become part of the sensor
 Chemical attack
Solvents
Atmospheric pollution
 Filter maintenance
Correct filters
Regular replacement
7. Best Practice Notes
• Use quality reference instruments when
commissioning with traceability to
national standards

• Ensure good insertion and seal when


measuring ducts
8. Best Practice Notes
• Ensure suitable stabilisation time
 Log 30 minutes of data
True
 Measure until stable Stability
 Consider both ˚C and %rh %rh Apparent
Stability

• Ensure regular calibration of Time


references and store carefully

• Loop check analogue systems for


other errors
1. Sensor Locations
• Representative location with good air movement

• Avoid close proximity to;


 Heaters
 Cooling coils
 Steam injectors
 High air turbulence

• Install duct sensors into air flow (reduces stem conduction)

• Immerse sensors as much as possible


2. Sensor Locations
• Consider using temperature independent parameters

Desired condition = 50%rh @ 23 ˚C


= 8.74 g/kg (mixing ratio)

Control hum and dehum system to 8.74 g/kg (independent of temp)


Ensure room temp is 23 ˚C and %rh will be as required

• Outside air sensors


 North facing wall
 Mounted in a weather shield
 Away from other heat / humidity sources
3. A note on accuracy
• Always consider accuracy and drift (what is best long term?)

• Measuring humidity is hard (3333x worse than temperature)


• UK National Standards; ±0.1-1.0%rh vs ±0.0003 °C

• The very best %rh sensors claim ± 0.5%rh…±1.0%rh

• Temperature effects can be huge (~5%rh / 1.0°C error)

• As such close control for humidity is not easy!


CIBSE Article on NPL Project

Rotronic White Paper on Modern Monitoring and Control


Jeremy Wingate BSc MBA PhD
[email protected]
01293 843701
www.rotronic.co.uk
#rotronicuk

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