
Figure 5.2 illustrates the paths of temperature and water content of air for
heating and humidifying outdoor air in winter, at 08C and 80 per cent relative
humidity, in order to get 50 per cent relative humidity at 208C.
A part of the energy required for heating and humidifying the air in winter
is brought from free sources such as solar radiation or metabolic activity of
occupants. All the electricity used for lighting and other appliances tha t are
not part of the heating system end up as heat, in most cases released into
indoor air. Plants and occupants, as well as activities such as cooking and
drying laundry add water vapour to indoor air. When this is not enough to
reach a comfortable indoor climate, the complement is provide d by a heating
system. In this case, about 0.34 Wh is needed to heat or cool 1 m
3
of air by
18C, as long as the air is humidified by ‘free sources’. This value is therefore
used in models calculating the energy for heating buildings. If a humidifier is
used, it will take 2.5 kJ (about 0.7 Wh) per gram of water vapour generated.
This heat is taken in the indoor environment if the humidifier does not generate
water vapour but water droplets (spray humidifiers).
The paths in the psychrometric chart for cooling and drying summer
outdoor air from 308C and 70 per cent relative humidity down to 208C and
50 per cent relative humidity are shown in Figure 5.3. Note that, for drying
the air, it should first be cooled down at the dew point temperature corre-
sponding to the required specific humidity, and then reheated to the required
indoor temperature. It should also be noticed that it is impossible to cool the
air below its dew point without drying it.
Hot and humid outdoor air cools down and eventually dries on contact with
cold surfaces, on which excess water vapour condenses. If these surfaces are not
cooled down, such as the building fabric or furniture, their temperature rises
and cooling stops after a while. However, the air temperature rises more
0
0 10 20 30 °C
5
10
15
20
25
30
Water content [g/kg]
Sat.
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
Heating
Humidifying
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90 kJ/kg
Figure 5.2 Paths in the psychrometric chart for heating and humidifying
outdoor air in winter to reach 208C and 50 per cent relative humidity
Measurements and Measures Related to Energy Efficiency in Ventilation 81
Kommentare zu diesen Handbüchern