Dehumidifiers

What is a Dehumidifier?

Dehumidifiers remove moisture from the air that is circulating through the unit. The resulting reduction of relative humidity helps prevent rust, rot, mould, mildew and condensation within the room, shelter or other enclosed spaces where the dehumidifier is used.

A dehumidifier consists of a motor-compressor unit, a refrigerant condenser, an air circulating fan, a refrigerated evaporator, a means for collecting and disposing of the condensed moisture and a cabinet to house these components.

The fan draws the moist room air through the cold evaporator coil which cools the air below its dew point. Moisture forms on the evaporator and is collected in the condensate tray then lead away to a permanent drain. The cooled air then passes through the hot condenser, where it is re-heated with the same energy removed during the cooling phase and the addition heat derived from the compressor. The air is therefore discharged into the room at a slightly higher temperature but at a lower relative humidity than that at which it entered the unit. Continuous circulation of room air through the dehumidifier gradually reduces the relative humidity of the room.

Dehumidifiers can be used in a range of applications such as basements, crawl spaces, indoor pools or spas and even commercial and industrial manufacturing processes.

What is the difference between mechanical and desiccant dehumidification?

Mechanical dehumidifiers use cold coils to dehumidify. When warm moist air flows over the cold coils the moisture condenses and drops into a pan or into a drain line/condensate pump to be removed from the space. Desiccant dehumidification uses a silica gel wheel to adsorb moisture from the air. Desiccant systems use what we call reactivation heat to then blow the moisture off the wheel and out of the space. Mechanical dehumidification is more efficient at removing large amounts of moisture from a particular area but not good at getting below a 45% relative humidity, where desiccant is the opposite; it is not good at removing large amounts of moisture at a time but can get below 45% relative humidity if needed.

How to choose the best dehumidifier for your application?

Call Air Marketing Group with the following information and let an expert choose for you.

• Room Size – L x W x H
• Room Temperature
• Relative Humidity Desired
• How many windows and or glass doors
• Type of electric you have; Voltage and phase
• Surface area of pool and or whirlpool if applicable
• Number of people in the space

Mechanical Dehumidification Process