While enjoying an icy beverage on a steamy day, you may notice the beads of condensation forming on the outside of your glass.
Why does this phenomenon happen?
When air loses heat, it also loses its ability to retain moisture. Therefore a cooler surface pulls moisture from the warm, humid air that surrounds it, causing the condensation to form.
Just like a chilled glass, a dehumidifier pulls moisture from the air, enabling it to remove excess moisture and improve the air quality and comfort level of any interior space.
How does a dehumidifier work its magic? It’s quite simple.
A dehumidifier is composed of a fan compressor that compresses and expands a refrigerant gas to cool the unit’s coils, a reheater that grabs and collects the heat generated by the cooling process, compressor cooling coils, and a reservoir.
The dehumidifying process begins when the fan compressor captures air from the surrounding area and pulls it into the unit. The air passes through the dehumidifier and when it comes into contact with the compressor cooling coils, moisture is captured through the process of condensation. The collected moisture then drips from the coils into the reservoir. The reheater recirculates the air back into the room.
The collected moisture can be disposed of manually. The unit will shut off automatically when the reservoir becomes filled. On most models, a hose can be used to drain the water into a sump pump or sewer drain.
Most dehumidifiers also include a humidistat that enables you to set the humidity level of your interior space to a desired level. The recommended relative humidity (RH) for a room is 30-50 percent. Any level above 50 percent can promote the growth of bacteria. During the winter months when a furnace is operating, any level above 40 percent can cause window condensation,
A humidistat is composed of two parts – a sensing element and a relay amplifier. Two alternate metal conductors make up the sensing element. A change in the RH will cause electrical resistance between the conductors. The relay amplifier measures the resistance and it sends a signal to activate or deactivate the unit.