Humidity

[John]

Hello.

I just wondered if there are any air-conditioners that can also control the humidity levels as well as the temperature?

And what level of humidity would you say is personally right for you?

Thanks

John

[Slumlord]

ASHRAE has done a lot of research in the regards to temperature, humidity, and comfort. Typically, you have to calculate the "Operative Temperature" which takes into account the heat effects of both convection and radiation. Then you have to take into account of what the room will be used for (i.e. exercise room vs sedentary activity).

John wrote:

[jcmatter]

Take a look at the following 3 links for a glimpse of the ASHRAE comfort zones.

This data was collected from an uncondioned school room in Southern CA. The study included unconditioned spaces in over 30 schools and over 180 spaces. (I have a years worth of this data.) The survey allowed the district to prioritze the order for conditioning the spaces.

I wrote the software to collect and graph the data. It was a fun job. I've always wanted to turn this into an 'active' controls function, based on the premise that - In a conditioned space, if you are not riding on the left or right edge of the 'Comfort Zone', you are supplying too much energy. This could take advantage of dehumidifiers/humidifiers as well as temperature controls. Any takers?

John Matter

Here's another link showing the Heat Index:

[New Directions In Building Ser]