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Total Humidification Load Calculation
Nortec EL
2596995_0_EN_1905
5
Total Humidification Load Calculation
5.1
Total Humification Load
The total humidification load is the sum of the three primary considerations: base humidification load,
moisture content equilibrium, and condensate losses. Each of these is described below.
Base Humidification Load
The base humidification load is defined as the humidification load required to increase the humidity of
the unconditioned supply air, from the worst case scenario, to meet the design requirements for the
conditioned environment. This is typically the largest contributing factor to the total humidification load,
"Calculating Base Humidification Load" on page 50
Moisture Content Equilibrium
When materials stored in a conditioned environments retain moisture content that is out of equilibrium
with the moisture content of that environment, it may have an equalizing effect on the environment (de-
pending upon the hygroscopic properties of the material), thereby increasing or decreasing the relative
humidity. This must be be taken into consideration when calculating the total humidification load. Refer
to
"Moisture Content Equilibrium" on page 52
for details.
Condensate Losses
Some steam in the steam distribution system will condense back to a liquid state due to convection heat
transfer, which reduces the gross output of the humidifier. These losses, as discussed in
, must be taken into consideration when calculating the total humidification load.
Once the above considerations have been taken into account, it may be prudent to increase the capacity
of the humidifier, to allow for a safety margin, especially if the design conditions will require the unit to
regularly operate at or near or its maximum capacity.
Visit
www.na.condairhelp.com
and use the free Condair online program -
H
umidifier
E
ngineering
and
L
oad-sizing
P
rogram (H.E.L.P.) to assist you with absorption distance calculations, se-
lection of humidifiers, steam distributors, controls and accessories.
Tutorials on using this program are available from the Literature & Media section of the
Condair website –
www.condair.com
.
Additional information on the effects of humidity, relative humidity calculations, load calcula-
tions, and recommended design conditions can be found in the Condair Humidification Load
Calculation Manual (Condair document 2553856) from
www.condair.com
.
