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Humidification Systems

In different regions humidity may vary greatly and this has a tremendous effect on how the heat is experienced. A room heated to 105 degrees and 15% humidity may not seem warm enough for strenuous exercise. It is often necessary to provide moisture to a space for comfort and to allow the clients to sweat as they wish. Generally a humidity level of no greater than 60% is optimal.

Exercise room humidification is a complex process. It is important to select the best method and appropriate size for the room and heating system you will be using. You can not compensate for an inadequate humidifier by keeping the humidifier running around the clock. Exercise rooms need to dry out at night otherwise the carpet and atmosphere can become contaminated with diseases like legionnares disease.

Many problems can be avoided by simply creating the exact volume desired to produce the exact humidity level needed.

Safety and Compliance

The problems that occur with an undersized system yield the same basic result of that of an oversized system -- the space gets too wet for too long. This condition can produce mold and mildew and is harmful to your health.

Many facilities unknowingly using tap water in ionizing humidifiers, which produce a toxic mineral dust and do more harm than good. It is recommended that distilled water be used for any console humidifier which does not produce real 212° F steam.

The safest way to humidify is to simply insulate and use a vapor barrier throughout the space. A room of 25 people in 108° exercising vigorously will produce 25 lbs of vapor per hour. That is enough in a sealed environment to yield the desired humidity level and that level will build over the course of a day.

Most local building codes will have a 15 CFM per person fresh air requirement. In areas with low humidity that would be best served with using a HRV (heat recovery ventilator) with an enthalpy wheel that retains humidity as well as heat.

Options

If the space still needs more humidity then a steam type humidifier is recommended to provide the moisture. Steam humidifiers provide pure clean water vapor to the room and do not carry any contaminants or pollutants as do other humidification methods.

Modulation is available from several different to provide greater precision in controlling and maintaining the desired humidity level.

Of the steam humidification systems there are two worth considering:
Steam electrode humidification actually immerses electrodes in a tank of water and passes current between the electrodes producing steam.
Heating element humidification heats an electric element like a hot water heater with a tank of water. These units tend to be lower cost and used in residential applications and are higher maintenance.

There are many different technologies to choose from at this point, all practical sizing is electric. There are a few gas-fired units available which are cheaper to run than electric, the problem is they tend to produce more steam than needed and be more expensive.

Sources for this equipment can be found on the products listings page.

Specific recommendations on exact sizing and selection is available through Chad Clark's consulting service, as with all equipment listed on this website.

s e r v i c e s

air quality

floor plan

construction

heating

ductwork

humidity

insulation

ventilation

flooring

lighting

plumbing

web design

Pure Humidifier from
Thomas Tech Solutions
to learn more about this product click here