Reducing enclosure humidity.

There are several methods of reducing enclosure humidity to avoid condensation. Flooding the enclosure with dry nitrogen is quick and effective, but may not be viable or practical. In contrast, other methods may leave the moisture inside the enclosure. An example of t is is the use of desiccants such as silica gel.

Other methods require the draining of any condensed water. Furthermore, disposing of this water may not be practicable, and leads to unwanted maintenance costs. Chiefly, it also assumes the equipment is located somewhere accessible.

The most effective method is to completely remove the excess moisture using the new generation of compact solid-state dehumidifiers. A key point here, is that ionic membrane dehumidifiers do not suffer from these or many other problems associated with dehumidification. They remove water vapour in its gaseous form through electrolysis, avoiding liquid water.

Temperature change

It is important to realise that moisture suspended in the air becomes a problem mainly when there is a temperature change due to the environment. This maybe the result of night-time cooling, or as parts of a process. Condensation generally occurs when moist air is in contact with a cold surface.

Air carries in it water in the form of vapour. The amount of water it can hold depends on the temperature. The warmer the air the more it holds. Conversely, as the temperature falls it can hold less moisture. The reduction in temperature causes the relative humidity to increase, and when it reaches 100% it reverts to its liquid form-water: this is called the dew point.

Compact solid-state dehumidifiers like Rosahl use an electrically charged membrane to expel moisture from the enclosure and lower the dew point at which water condenses. Specifically, they work by electrolysis and require a low voltage (3V DC) source. Because of this, they are suitable for enclosures from under one litre to several cubic metres in volume.

Benefits of cabinet dehumidifiers

Rosahl micro-dehumidifiers offers users several advantages when reducing enclosure humidity. These expressly they include:

– no liquid water is involved to there is no maintenance, or cleaning required

– a very low energy footprint, making them inexpensive to run

– silent and vibration free for use in any environment

– a long operating life for use in remote or hard to access locations

– operate down to -20° C