How to achieve optimal air humidity in the house: moisture sources, moisturizing devices, humidifier air cleaners.
1. water tank
2. Water level regulator
3. Palm
4. Centrifuge
5. Porous activated coal sprayer
6. Triple Air Filter
7. Fan.
At first, you come to bewilderment when you read how the famous Swiss company in his advertising avenue offers to buy a humidifier of air, and a desiccant, arguing that both devices will make the atmosphere of your home pleasant and healthy! Meanwhile, there is no contradiction: both redundant and insufficient humidity affect the well-being. About how optimal humidity is achieved, is described in our article.
Sanitary norms recommend maintaining a relative humidity of 45-55% at a temperature of 22-25С. Doctors argue that with a humidity of less than 30%, the mucous membrane of the human respiration organs is dry, and this leads to an increase in its susceptibility to respiratory infections. People with dry skin are most sensitive to reduced humidity. Wooden furniture, musical instruments, parquet board also suffer from dry air. The lack of moisture in the air contributes to the accumulation of static electricity and prevents sedimentation of room dust.
Excessive humidity is also fraught with unpleasant consequences. Patients with hypertension and atherosclerosis poorly carry a wet atmosphere. The increased content of water in the air leads to its condensation on the cooled objects, in the cool place of the apartment and to the reproduction of bacteria and mold. This problem is not speculative - it already exists in Europe. As a result of the struggle for the economy of heat in the construction of housing, a wide distribution of double-glazed windows was obtained, thereby declining the air exchange with the street and, naturally, the cost of heating, but the humidity in the premises increased and the mold appeared.
Humidity
Absolute humidity - The amount of water (water vapor) in the air (measured in g / m3). However, the content of water vapor in the air has its limit, if the water is exceeded, water falls in the form of dew or shed in the form of rain.Relative humidity - The degree of air saturation with water. For example, if there are 17.3 g / m3 of water in the air, then at a temperature of 30s humidity - 57%. When the temperature decreases to 10C, the air becomes suspension, and excessive moisture falls in the form of dew in the amount of 7.9 g / m3.
Dew point - The temperature at which precipitation is begins, for example, in the form of water droplets on the leaves. If there is a raw angle in the room and the reason for the reference is not an elementary leakage, then the temperature in this corner is below the dew point. The main sources of moisture in the home, in addition to the rainy weather, are the kitchen, a bathroom and ... man himself. A family consisting of three people evaporates and exhales approximately 300 g / h moisture, which is equivalent to a single working household humidifier. But often this "gift instrument" is not enough. Table 1 shows the maximum amount of water contained in the air depending on temperature. It turns out that at a temperature of 20 ° C in the air, the room, for example, 60 m3 (area 20 m2 and the ceiling height of 3 m) in the form of a water vapor is up to 1 liter of water, which, with a decrease in temperature, can be deposited on the walls, if not adopting special measures.
With our climate, the problems associated with low relative humidity, most often arise in the winter season. Already at a temperature of -10С, absolute air humidity does not exceed 2.14 g / m3, so that fresh winter air is rather dry. When carrying out the humid air of the room is replaced with dry street, and it is necessary to moisten it. With the problem of dry winter air, the inhabitants of modern cottages and residents of Stalin's houses are most familiar. The first were victims of the incorrectly arranged air exchange in their home due to the design of the cottage, and the second forced to open the windows and windows in winter due to the too intensive work of central heating radiators.
Another source of dry air was the household window air conditioner. The air temperature in the stream passing through the air conditioner can be reduced to the dew point, in this case the water vapors begin to condense in a special pallet, and then output through the drainage tube to the street, while the room becomes dry. Until recently, the hostess came out of the situation, arranging winter jars with water along water heating radiators, and in summer - with the help of wet towels. Now in the struggle for a healthy microclimate, air humidifiers entered.
Maximum amount of water in the air
| Temperature, C. | Saturation limit, g / m3 |
|---|---|
| -10 | 2,14 |
| 0 | 4.8. |
| 10 | 9,4. |
| twenty | 17.3 |
| thirty | 30.3. |
| 100 | 803.3. |
Humidifiers of air
By device, humidifiers are divided into three groups. The device operating on the "hot steam" principle is not much different from the kettle-boiling on the plate, heats the water and turns it into steam. Such a humidifier has a high productivity (250-700 g / h) and consumes a lot of electricity (300-500 W). The kit sometimes includes nozzles for inhalation and container for flavoring additives.Many models, apparently, for the sake of simplifying the design are not equipped with a fan and moisturize the air exclusively around themselves, so they are not recommended to put a closer than 15 cm from the wall so that the wallpaper did not dug. Humidifiers of this type must have air humidity sensor and have an automatic on / off property. Otherwise, harm from the convergence of the room will be the only result of their application. According to the principle of "hot steam", air is moisturized, for example, Boneco 1345 and Bionaire CM-1.
More economical humidifiers (power consumption 20-50 W) based on the principle of "cold steam". With the help of the fan, they drive the air through the wet filters and returned to the room moisturized and purified, saturating it with water at a speed of 100-350 g / h. The performance of the instruments of this type depends on the humidity indoors: the lower humidity, the higher the evaporation rate at the same fan speed.
Advertising avenues argue that the "cold pair" humidifier at the same time coolly cools the air. This, of course, but only its cooling abilities (when taking into account the heat released by the fan motor), it is hardly enough to compensate for the heating capacity of the desk lamp. This type of moisturizers (to it relate to Duracraft DH-830 and Bionaire EN-2010) is considered the most successful price and quality ratio.
The ability to cool the air during evaporation of water is based on the work of air coolers, on the principle of operation, no different from the humidifiers of the "cold pair", but in the cooler's tank, it is recommended to put the pieces of ice from the refrigerator. However, such an "air cooler" does not solve the problem. First, when the water is freezed, the refrigerator highlights heat significantly more than then it takes the ice when melting. Secondly, with high humidity, the heat is moved much harder. By efficiency, this cooler is comparable with one portion of low-calorie ice cream or with a glass of mineral water with ice.
In the ultrasound humidifier, using an ultrasonic generator, a cloud of the finest water dust is created, which is put into the room. In its parameters (power consumption and performance), as well as the ability to cool the air, this device is close to installation with a cold ferry. An example of ultrasound humidifiers serve Boneco 7035 and Burg BH-840.
All humidifiers regardless of the principle of operation require care. Manufacturers recommend flushing the filters and disinfection of the water reservoir, as dust and dirt, inevitably settled on the filters and soluble in water, serve as an excellent nutrient medium for bacteria. And if you do not take action, the humidifier will turn into a "bacilloser".
Humidifier air cleaners
Climatic equipment manufacturers also produce combination devices, carrying out both air purification, and its moisturizing. From the point of view of the combination, the union of adsorption air cleaner and the humidifier "cold ferry" is ideal. In such systems, air passes at first through a system of dust and adsorption filters (activated carbon), then moistened and blown out with a fan. Bionaire International produces "serious" devices C-11, C-22, C-33, equipped with a contamination indicator, a tank capacity indicator, a moisture meter and automatic on / off.
The ingenious solution of the combined air cleaner-humidifier proposed the Swiss company Axair Ltd. In the DEFENSOR PH-5 model, the air purified by the adsorption filter spraying water, passing it through porous coal, and puts the water dust with a fan. In the absence of water, this device works as an ordinary air cleaner.
An attempt to use water as a filter took the German company Venta. Airwasher Venta-Airwasher, according to manufacturers, not only effectively moisturizes air, but also cleans it from dust, microbes, heavy metals and tobacco smoke. The humidifier bunds includes a Bio-absorber liquid, with which the device is finally straightened with bacteria. However, due to the insufficient adsorbing capacity of water, the air-reading capabilities of such a device are reduced, rather, to the collection of home dust, sulfur dioxide and ammonia, which is also quite good.
In conclusion, I would like to warn the reader. Improper use of an air humidifier, like many other household appliances, may worsen living conditions. When the need for its use is not in doubt (in a hot dry summer or winter heating season), working humidifier creates a romantic feeling of a light sea breeze or a breeze from the banks of the river; Sometimes it becomes the only salvation for allergic when aggravating the disease. It makes sense to refrain from inclusion of a humidifier without extreme need, because the dampness in the house is not less evil than dry throat. In any case, it is best to take advantage of a meter of humidity and, depending on its testimony, decide - moisturize the air indoors or not.
Comparative characteristics of various household air humidifiers
| Model | Operating principle | Power consumption, W | Price, $ | Recommended area of the room, m2 | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bionaire CM-1 | Couple hot | 180. | 69. | 35. | — |
| Bionaire CP-1550 | Couple hot | 180. | 99. | 35. | - |
| Bionaire CP-0260 | Couple hot | 250. | 118. | fifty | Has a filter, moisture meter |
| Bionaire EN-2010 | Couple cold | 12 | 99. | 50-120 | — |
| Bionaire WS-3510 | Couple cold | 65. | 179. | 75-180 | — |
| Bionaire WS-3560 | Couple cold | 65. | 199. | 75-180 | It has a moisture stabilizer |
| Bionaire C-11 | Couple cold, air purity | 65. | 199. | 150. | Has a moisture stabilizer |
| Boneco 1345. | Couple hot | 500. | 111. | thirty | — |
| Boneco 7035. | Ultrasonic | 45. | 111. | 40. | Has a sensor and regulator |
| Duracraft DH-830 | Couple cold | 25. | 68. | 72. | — |
| Duracraft DH-837E | Couple cold | thirty | 98. | 125. | Has a sensor and regulator |
| Burg BH-840E | Ultrasonic | fifty | 229. | thirty | Has a sensor and regulator |
| Duracraft DH-911 | Couple hot | 275. | 108. | 120. | Has a sensor and regulator |
| Defensor PH-5 | Couple cold, air purity | — | 321. | 20-35 | Coal filter |
| Defense AC-6 | Couple cold, air purity | — | 820. | 40-45 | Coal filter |
| AIRWASHER LB-10 | Couple cold, air purity | 23. | 410. | thirty | Water filter |
| Airwasher LW-31 | Couple cold, air purity | 33. | 570. | fifty | Water filter |
| Airwasher LW-41 | Couple cold, air purity | 38. | 630. | 80. | Water filter |
| Bionaire BT-254C | Climate control | — | 28. | — | Desktop moisture and temperature meter |