Source: HVAC Equations, Data, and Rules of Thumb

PA RT

9
Humidification
Rules of Thumb

h v a c e q u at i o n s , d ata , a n d r u l e s o f t h u m b

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 Humidification Rules of Thumb

86 Pa rt 9

9.01 Window Types and Space Humidity ­Values

A. Single Pane Windows 10 percent RH ­Maximum

B. Double Pane Windows 30 percent RH ­Maximum

C. Triple Pane Windows 40 percent RH ­Maximum

D. The preceding numbers are based on the ­following:

  1. 08F, outside design ­temperature.
  2. 728F, inside design ­temperature.
  3. RINSIDE AIR FILM 5 0.680 UINSIDE AIR FILM 5 ­1.471
  4. RSINGLE GLASS 5 0.909 USINGLE GLASS 5 ­1.100
  5. RDOUBLE GLASS 5 1.667 UDOUBLE GLASS 5 ­0.600
  6. RTRIPLE GLASS 5 2.000 UTRIPLE GLASS 5 ­0.500
  7. Standard air at sea ­level.
  8. The relative humidity numbers presented earlier in this list are rounded for ease of
­remembrance.
  9. The glass ­R-­values and ­U-­values are for average glass construction. Modern glass con-­
struction can achieve higher ­R-­values/lower U-­values.
10.  For additional information on moisture condensation on glass, see the tables at the end
of this ­chapter.

9.02 Proper Vapor ­Barriers

­ roper vapor barriers and moisture control must be provided to prevent moisture
P
condensation in walls and to prevent mold, fungi, bacteria, and other plant and
­micro-­organism ­growth.

9.03 Human Comfort

A. 30–60 percent ­RH

9.04 Electrical Equipment, Computers  

A. 35–55 percent ­RH

9.05 Winter Design Relative Humidities

A. Outdoor Air Below 328F

1. 70–80 percent ­RH
2. Design Wet Bulb Temperatures 2 to 48F below Design Dry Bulb ­Temperatures

B. Outdoor Air 32–608F: 50 percent ­RH

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 Humidification Rules of Thumb

Humidification Rules of Thumb 87

9.06 Optimum Relative Humidity Ranges for ­Health

Optimum Relative Humidity Range

Health Aspect for Controlling Health Aspect
Bacteria 20–70%
Viruses 40–78%
Fungi 0–70%
Mites 0–60%
Respiratory Infections (1) 40–50%
Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma 40–60%
Chemical Interactions 0–40%
Ozone Production 75–100%
Combined Health Aspects 40–60%

Notes:
1  Insufficient data above 50 percent ­RH.

9.07 Moisture Condensation on Glass

A. The subsequent moisture condensation tables are based on the ­following:

1. RINSIDE AIR FILM 5 0.680 UINSIDE AIR FILM 5 ­1.471
2. RSINGLE GLASS 5 0.909 USINGLE GLASS 5 ­1.100
3. RDOUBLE GLASS 5 1.818 UDOUBLE GLASS 5 ­0.550
4. RTRIPLE GLASS 5 2.500 UTRIPLE GLASS 5 ­0.400
5. Standard air at sea ­level.

B. The glass surface temperatures, which are also the space dewpoint temperatures,
listed in the moisture condensation tables that follow, were developed using the
equations in Part ­3.

Single Pane Glass Double Pane Glass Triple Pane Glass

Temp. Temp.
Room ºF Outside ºF Tglass / Tglass / Tglass /
% R.H. % R.H. % R.H.
Tdewpoint Tdewpoint Tdewpoint
–30 –6.1 4.5 29.5 25.9 39.2 38.5
–25 –2.3 5.6 31.3 27.9 40.5 40.5
–20 1.4 6.9 33.2 30.2 41.9 42.8
–15 5.2 8.4 35.1 32.6 43.2 45.0
210 8.9 10.1 36.9 35.1 44.6 47.5
–5 12.6 12.1 38.8 37.9 46.0 50.1
0 16.4 14.5 40.7 40.8 47.3 52.7
65 5 20.1 17.2 42.6 44.0 48.7 55.5
10 23.9 20.3 44.4 47.1 50.0 58.3
15 27.6 23.9 46.3 50.7 51.4 61.4
20 31.3 27.9 48.2 54.5 52.8 64.7
25 35.1 32.6 50.0 58.3 54.1 67.9
30 38.8 37.9 51.9 62.6 55.5 71.4
35 42.6 44.0 53.8 67.1 56.8 74.9
40 46.3 50.7 55.6 71.7 58.2 78.3
(Continued)

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 Humidification Rules of Thumb

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Single Pane Glass Double Pane Glass Triple Pane Glass

Temp. Temp.
Room ºF Outside ºF Tglass / Tglass / Tglass /
% R.H. % R.H. % R.H.
Tdewpoint Tdewpoint Tdewpoint
–30 –5.8 4.4 30.1 25.6 39.9 38.2
–25 –2.1 5.5 32.0 27.7 41.2 40.2
–20 1.7 6.7 33.8 29.9 42.6 42.5
–15 5.4 8.2 35.7 32.3 44.0 44.8
210 9.1 9.9 37.6 34.9 45.3 47.1
–5 12.9 11.8 39.4 37.4 46.7 49.7
0 16.6 14.1 41.3 40.4 48.0 52.2
66 5 20.4 16.8 43.2 43.5 49.4 55.1
10 24.1 19.8 45.1 46.8 50.8 58.0
15 27.8 23.3 46.9 50.1 52.1 60.9
20 31.6 27.3 48.8 53.8 53.5 64.1
25 35.3 31.8 50.7 57.8 54.8 67.2
30 39.1 37.0 52.5 61.8 56.2 70.8
35 42.8 42.8 54.4 66.3 57.6 74.4
40 46.6 49.5 56.3 71.0 58.9 78.0
–30 –5.6 4.3 30.7 25.4 40.6 37.9
–25 –1.8 5.4 32.6 27.5 42.0 40.1
–20 1.9 6.6 34.5 29.7 43.3 42.2
–15 5.7 8.0 36.3 32.0 44.7 44.5
210 9.4 9.7 38.2 34.5 46.1 46.9
–5 13.1 11.6 40.1 37.2 47.4 49.3
0 16.9 13.8 41.9 39.9 48.8 52.0
67 5 20.6 16.4 43.8 43.0 50.1 54.6
10 24.4 19.4 45.7 46.2 51.5 57.5
15 28.1 22.7 47.6 49.7 52.9 60.6
20 31.8 26.6 49.4 53.2 54.2 63.5
25 35.6 31.1 51.3 57.1 55.6 66.9
30 39.3 36.0 53.2 61.3 56.9 70.1
35 43.1 41.8 55.0 65.4 58.3 73.7
40 46.8 48.2 56.9 70.1 59.7 77.5
–30 –5.3 4.3 31.3 25.1 41.3 37.7
–25 –1.6 5.3 33.2 27.2 42.7 39.8
–20 2.2 6.5 35.1 29.4 44.1 42.0
–15 5.9 7.8 37.0 31.8 45.4 44.2
–10 9.7 9.5 38.8 34.1 46.8 46.6
–5 13.4 11.3 40.7 36.8 48.1 48.9
0 17.1 13.5 42.6 39.6 49.5 51.6
68 5 20.9 16.0 44.4 42.5 50.9 54.4
10 24.6 18.9 46.3 45.7 52.2 57.0
15 28.4 22.2 48.2 49.1 53.6 60.1
20 32.1 26.0 50.0 52.6 54.9 63.0
25 35.8 30.3 51.9 56.4 56.3 66.3
30 39.6 35.2 53.8 60.5 57.7 69.7
35 43.3 40.7 55.7 64.8 59.0 73.0
40 47.1 47.1 57.5 69.2 60.4 76.7
–30 –5.1 4.2 32.0 25.0 42.1 37.6
–25 –1.3 5.2 33.8 26.9 43.4 39.5
–20 2.4 6.3 35.7 29.1 44.8 41.7
–15 6.2 7.7 37.6 31.4 46.2 44.0
–10 9.9 9.2 39.5 33.9 47.5 46.2
–5 13.6 11.1 41.3 36.4 48.9 48.7
0 17.4 13.2 43.2 39.2 50.2 51.2
69 5 21.1 15.6 45.1 42.2 51.6 53.9
10 24.9 18.5 46.9 45.2 53.0 56.8
15 28.6 21.7 48.8 48.6 54.3 59.5
20 32.3 25.3 50.7 52.1 55.7 62.7
25 36.1 29.6 52.5 55.7 57.0 65.7
30 39.8 34.3 54.4 59.8 58.4 69.1
35 43.6 39.8 56.3 64.0 59.8 72.6
40 47.3 45.9 58.2 68.6 61.1 76.0
(Continued)

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 Humidification Rules of Thumb

Humidification Rules of Thumb 89

Single Pane Glass Double Pane Glass Triple Pane Glass

Temp. Temp.
Room ºF Outside ºF Tglass / Tglass / Tglass /
% R.H. % R.H. % R.H.
Tdewpoint Tdewpoint Tdewpoint
–30 –4.8 4.1 32.6 24.8 42.8 37.3
–25 –1.1 5.0 34.5 26.8 44.2 39.4
–20 2.7 6.2 36.3 28.8 45.5 41.4
–15 6.4 7.5 38.2 31.1 46.9 43.7
–10 10.2 9.1 40.1 33.6 48.2 45.9
–5 13.9 10.8 41.9 36.0 49.6 48.3
0 17.6 12.9 43.8 38.8 51.0 51.0
70 5 21.4 15.3 45.7 41.7 52.3 53.5
10 25.1 18.0 47.6 44.8 53.7 56.3
15 28.9 21.2 49.4 48.0 55.0 59.0
20 32.6 24.8 51.3 51.5 56.4 62.1
25 36.3 28.8 53.2 55.3 57.8 65.3
30 40.1 33.6 55.0 59.0 59.1 68.4
35 43.8 38.8 56.9 63.2 60.5 71.9
40 47.6 44.8 58.8 67.7 61.8 75.3
–30 –4.6 4.0 33.2 23.6 43.5 37.0
–25 –0.8 5.0 35.1 26.5 44.9 39.1
–20 2.9 6.0 37.0 28.7 46.2 41.1
–15 6.7 7.4 38.8 30.8 47.6 43.3
–10 10.4 8.8 40.7 33.2 49.0 45.7
–5 14.1 10.6 42.6 35.8 50.3 48.0
0 17.9 12.6 44.4 38.4 51.7 50.5
71 5 21.6 14.9 46.3 41.3 53.0 53.0
10 25.4 17.6 48.2 44.3 54.4 55.8
15 29.1 20.7 50.1 47.6 55.8 58.7
20 32.8 24.1 51.9 50.9 57.1 61.6
25 36.6 28.2 53.8 54.6 58.5 64.7
30 40.3 32.7 55.7 58.5 59.8 67.8
35 44.1 37.9 57.5 62.5 61.2 71.3
40 47.8 43.7 59.4 66.9 62.6 74.9
–30 –4.3 4.0 33.8 24.3 44.3 36.9
–25 –0.6 4.8 35.7 26.3 45.6 38.8
–20 3.2 5.9 37.6 28.4 47.0 41.0
–15 6.9 7.2 39.5 30.6 48.3 43.0
–10 10.7 8.7 41.3 32.9 49.7 45.3
–5 14.4 10.4 43.2 35.4 51.1 47.8
0 18.1 12.3 45.1 38.1 52.4 50.1
72 5 21.9 14.6 46.9 40.8 53.8 52.8
10 25.6 17.2 48.8 43.8 55.1 55.3
15 29.4 20.5 50.7 47.1 56.5 58.2
20 33.1 23.6 52.6 50.5 57.9 61.2
25 36.8 27.5 54.4 54.0 59.2 64.2
30 40.6 32.0 56.3 57.8 60.6 67.4
35 44.3 36.9 58.2 61.9 61.9 70.6
40 48.1 42.7 60.0 66.0 63.3 74.2
–30 –4.1 3.8 34.5 24.2 45.0 36.7
–25 –0.3 4.8 36.3 26.0 46.3 38.6
–20 3.4 5.8 38.2 28.1 47.7 40.7
–15 7.2 7.1 40.1 30.3 49.1 42.9
–10 10.9 8.5 42.0 32.7 50.4 45.0
–5 14.7 10.2 43.8 35.0 51.8 47.4
0 18.4 12.1 45.7 37.7 53.1 49.7
73 5 22.1 14.3 47.6 40.5 54.5 52.4
10 25.9 16.9 49.4 43.3 55.9 55.1
15 29.6 19.7 51.3 46.5 57.2 57.4
20 33.4 23.1 53.2 49.9 58.6 60.7
25 37.1 26.9 55.0 53.3 59.9 63.6
30 40.8 31.2 56.9 57.1 61.3 66.8
35 44.6 36.1 58.8 61.2 62.7 70.2
40 48.3 41.6 60.7 65.4 64.0 73.5
(Continued)

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 Humidification Rules of Thumb

90 Pa rt 9

Single Pane Glass Double Pane Glass Triple Pane Glass

Temp. Temp.
Room ºF Outside ºF Tglass / Tglass / Tglass /
% R.H. % R.H. % R.H.
Tdewpoint Tdewpoint Tdewpoint
–30 –3.8 3.8 35.1 24.0 45.7 36.4
–25 –0.1 4.7 37.0 25.9 47.1 38.4
–20 3.7 5.7 38.8 27.8 48.4 40.4
–15 7.4 6.9 40.7 30.0 49.8 42.5
–10 11.2 8.3 42.6 32.3 51.2 44.8
–5 14.9 9.9 44.5 34.8 52.5 47.0
0 18.6 11.8 46.3 37.3 53.9 49.5
74 5 22.4 14.0 48.2 40.1 55.2 51.9
10 26.1 16.4 50.1 43.0 56.6 54.6
15 29.9 19.3 51.9 46.0 58.0 57.5
20 33.6 22.6 53.8 49.3 59.3 60.2
25 37.3 26.2 55.7 52.9 60.7 63.3
30 41.1 30.5 57.5 56.4 62.0 66.2
35 44.8 35.2 59.4 60.4 63.4 69.6
40 48.6 40.7 61.3 64.6 64.8 73.1
–30 –3.5 3.7 35.7 23.8 46.4 36.2
–25 0.2 4.6 37.6 25.6 47.8 38.2
–20 3.9 5.6 39.5 27.7 49.2 40.3
–15 7.7 6.8 41.3 29.7 50.5 42.2
–10 11.4 8.1 43.2 32.0 51.9 44.5
–5 15.2 9.7 45.1 34.4 53.2 46.7
0 18.9 11.6 46.9 36.9 54.6 49.1
75 5 22.6 13.6 48.8 39.6 56.0 51.7
10 26.4 16.1 50.7 42.6 57.3 54.2
15 30.1 18.9 52.6 45.7 58.7 57.0
20 33.9 22.1 54.4 48.8 60.0 59.7
25 37.6 25.7 56.3 52.3 61.4 62.7
30 41.3 29.7 58.2 56.0 62.8 65.9
35 45.1 34.4 60.0 59.7 64.1 69.0
40 48.8 39.6 61.9 63.8 65.5 72.4
–30 –3.3 3.6 36.4 23.6 47.2 36.1
–25 0.4 4.5 38.2 25.4 48.5 37.9
–20 4.2 5.5 40.1 27.4 49.9 39.9
–15 7.9 6.6 42.0 29.5 51.2 41.9
–10 11.7 8.0 43.8 31.7 52.6 44.2
–5 15.4 9.5 45.7 34.1 54.0 46.5
0 19.1 11.3 47.6 36.6 55.3 48.8
76 5 22.9 13.4 49.4 39.2 56.7 51.3
10 26.6 15.7 51.3 42.1 58.0 53.8
15 30.4 18.5 53.2 45.1 59.4 56.5
20 34.1 21.5 55.1 48.4 60.8 59.4
25 37.8 25.0 56.9 51.7 62.1 62.2
30 41.6 29.1 58.8 55.3 63.5 65.3
35 45.3 33.6 60.7 59.2 64.8 68.3
40 49.1 38.8 62.5 63.1 66.2 71.7
–30 –3.0 3.6 37.0 24.4 47.9 35.8
–25 0.7 4.4 38.8 25.2 49.3 37.8
–20 4.4 5.3 40.7 27.2 50.6 39.7
–15 8.2 6.5 42.6 29.3 52.0 41.8
–10 11.9 7.8 44.5 31.5 53.3 43.8
–5 15.7 9.3 46.3 33.7 54.7 46.1
0 19.4 11.1 48.2 36.3 56.1 48.6
77 5 23.1 13.0 50.1 38.9 57.4 50.9
10 26.9 15.4 51.9 41.6 58.8 53.5
15 30.6 18.0 53.8 44.6 60.1 56.0
20 34.4 21.1 55.7 47.9 61.5 58.9
25 38.1 24.5 57.6 51.3 62.9 61.9
30 41.8 28.4 59.4 54.7 64.2 64.7
35 45.6 32.8 61.3 58.5 65.6 68.0
40 49.3 37.8 63.2 62.5 66.9 71.1
(Continued)

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 Humidification Rules of Thumb

Humidification Rules of Thumb 91

Single Pane Glass Double Pane Glass Triple Pane Glass

Temp. Temp.
Room ºF Outside ºF Tglass / Tglass / Tglass /
% R.H. % R.H. % R.H.
Tdewpoint Tdewpoint Tdewpoint
–30 –2.8 3.5 37.6 23.2 48.6 35.6
–25 0.9 4.3 39.5 25.1 50.0 37.5
–20 4.7 5.3 41.3 26.9 51.3 39.4
–15 8.4 6.3 43.2 29.0 52.7 41.5
–10 12.2 7.6 45.1 31.2 54.1 43.7
–5 15.9 9.1 47.0 33.5 55.4 45.8
0 19.7 10.8 48.8 35.9 56.8 48.2
78 5 23.4 12.8 50.7 38.5 58.1 50.5
10 27.1 15.0 52.6 41.3 59.5 53.1
15 30.9 17.7 54.4 44.2 60.9 55.8
20 34.6 20.6 56.3 47.3 62.2 58.4
25 38.4 24.0 58.2 50.7 63.6 61.3
30 42.1 27.8 60.0 54.0 64.9 64.2
35 45.8 32.0 61.9 57.8 66.3 67.4
40 49.6 37.0 63.8 61.8 67.7 70.7
–30 –2.5 3.5 38.2 23.0 49.4 35.5
–25 1.2 4.2 40.1 24.8 50.7 37.3
–20 4.9 5.1 42.0 26.8 52.1 39.3
–15 8.7 6.2 43.8 28.7 53.4 41.2
–10 12.4 7.5 45.7 30.9 54.8 43.4
–5 16.2 8.9 47.6 33.2 56.2 45.6
0 19.9 10.6 49.5 35.6 57.5 47.8
79 5 23.6 12.5 51.3 38.1 58.9 50.3
10 27.4 14.7 53.2 40.9 60.2 52.7
15 31.1 17.3 55.1 43.8 61.6 55.3
20 34.9 20.2 56.9 46.8 63.0 58.1
25 38.6 23.4 58.8 50.1 64.3 60.8
30 42.3 27.1 60.7 53.6 65.7 63.9
35 46.1 31.3 62.5 57.1 67.0 66.8
40 49.8 36.0 64.4 61.0 68.4 70.1
–30 –2.3 3.4 38.9 22.9 50.1 35.3
–25 1.5 4.2 40.7 24.6 51.4 37.0
–20 5.2 5.0 42.6 26.5 52.8 39.0
–15 8.9 6.1 44.5 28.5 54.2 41.0
–10 12.7 7.3 46.3 30.6 55.5 43.0
–5 16.4 8.7 48.2 32.8 56.9 45.3
0 20.2 10.4 50.1 35.3 58.2 47.4
80 5 23.9 12.2 51.9 37.7 59.6 49.9
10 27.6 14.4 53.8 40.5 61.0 52.4
15 31.4 16.9 55.7 43.4 62.3 54.9
20 35.1 19.7 57.6 46.4 63.7 57.6
25 38.9 22.9 59.4 49.5 65.0 60.3
30 42.6 26.5 61.3 53.0 66.4 63.3
35 46.3 30.6 63.2 56.6 67.8 66.4
40 50.1 35.3 65.0 60.3 69.1 69.5

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 Humidification Rules of Thumb

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