The Netherlands climate neutral by 2050

These objectives require radical changes within organisations. Companies will have to take a critical look at energy consumption and switch to more sustainable solutions. But did you know that significant improvements in sustainability can also be made in the field of humidification?

We are increasingly seeing companies switching off their humidification systems to save energy. At first glance, this seems like a logical choice, but the consequences can be significant.

Excessively low humidity has a direct impact on health, comfort and operational processes:

Health and well-being

Viruses and bacteria spread more quickly in a dry environment. In addition, employees may experience symptoms such as:

• Sore throat
• Dry eyes and skin
• Headaches
• Reduced concentration
• Fatigue

This can lead to lower productivity and higher absenteeism.

Problems in the production process

Low humidity increases the risk of static electricity. This can lead to:

• Malfunctions in installations
• Damage to sensitive electronic components
• Unplanned downtime
• Additional repair costs

This can jeopardise business continuity.

Loss of quality in various sectors

In sectors that work with paper, wood, textiles or food, low humidity can lead to:

• Shrinkage or deformation of materials
• Drying out of raw mmaterials or end products
• Loss of quality during production and storage

In short: switching it off completely is rarely a sustainable solution.

Fortunately, there are various solutions that allow you to reduce the energy consumption of your humidification system without compromising on comfort, health and product quality. These solutions are ecplained in more detail below.

Insulated steam lances

DriSteem has developed two different steam lances, the Ultra-Sorb® and Rapid-Sorb®. The insulation in these lances prevents energy loss of up to 85%. This minimises air heating and greatly reduces unnecessary steam production.

Payback period

If the electric steam humidifier is combined with insulated steam lances, the payback period is less than one year. If it is combined with a gas-fired steam humidifier, the payback period is approximately 1.5 years.

Advantages

The insulated steam lances offer the following advantages:

• Smaller steam generators required
• Energy savings due to less condensate loss
• Short payback period

RTS® electric resistive humidifier

By switching from a gas-fired to an electric steam humidifier, you can achieve significant energy savings. One of the options is the RTS® resistive humidifier of DriSteem.

This humidifier comes standard with an insulated tank, which limits heat loss. This means that less energy is needed to heat the water.

Adiabatic humidification

Would you like to reduce your energy consumption even further? Then adiabatic humidification is a good option. Especially in combination with a heat pump or heat recovery, significant savings can be made

What makes adiabatic humidification a sustainable option?

With traditional steam humidification, water must be brought to boiling point, which consumes a lot of energy. With adiabatic (e.g. high-pressure) humidification, this is not necessary. The water is atomised without boiling, which consumes considerably less energy.

In addition, high-pressure humidification uses heat from the air. Do your machines produce a lot of residual heat? Then this heat can be used to humidify the space efficiently.

Adiabatic cooling effect

During atomisation, the fine water droplets evaporate directly into the air. This evaporation requires heat energy, which is extracted from the ambient air. This causes the temperature to drop, also known as the adiabatic cooling effect.

This not only allows you to benefit from energy-efficient humidification, but also from a natural cooling effect in the room.

Sustainability without risk

Making your humidification more sustainable does not mean compromising on comfort, health or product quality. On the contrary: with the right solutions, you can reduce your energy consumption and guarantee the continuity of your operational processes.

Would you like to make your humidification more sustainable? We would be happy to work with you to find the best solution for your situation. Schedule an appointment with one of our experts.