Category: Humidification technology

EcoEnerSmart ™

Posted on by bsysteamovap

 

 

 

 

1- Laws of physic are ruthless

 

 

 

Tap water we consume is never 100% pure:  it contains other natural elements (or not) such as minerals or metals or other chemical compounds.

Whatever the humidification method, it is necessary to take care of these elements contained in the water.

Water pre-treatment such as water filters, Reverse Osmosis (RO) membranes or Deionization (DI) beds will reduce most or eliminate all of the particulates.

Water pre-treatment is mandatory for adiabatic humidification by water atomization, otherwise all the particulates contained in water will be sprayed in the air , this will result in dust deposit and risk of distributing other contaminant in the air.

When water is evaporated by means of an evaporation media or for isotherm humidification when steam is produced from boiling water, the water  pre-treatment is not anymore mandatory, as steam is pure (pure H2O in the form of vapor), in those cases you need to deal with those water dissolved solids (TDS) afterwards, as those one will precipitate in a form of scale that can be as hard as a rock.

Another ruthless law of physic is the amount of energy to increase relative humidity of surrounding air that is the same whatever the method of humidification is:
It is the amount energy to change H2O from liquid to vapor. 970Btu are required to evaporate 1lb [0.45kg] of water at sea level.

Adiabatic process will take this energy from surrounding air, so water evaporation will also result in cooling the air. Isothermal process will take this 970Btu per pound of water from other source such as electricity or gas to boil water and produce hot  (saturated) steam.

 

 

2 – Water evaporation with steam

 

As mentioned above water pre-treatment is not mandatory for steam humidification. Steam humidification has many advantages:

  • No contaminant contained in the liquid form of tap water is transferred to vapor phase (steam)
  • Steam is pure and sterile
  • Steam is hot, with a temperature of 212F (100°C), it will kill any surrounded contaminant
  • Steam is naturally and quickly absorbed to the air at any temperature.
  • Steam production can easily be adjusted to RH% demand by reducing or increasing energy input and boiling rate.

 

Water is boiled from water tank called steam cylinder, or steam chamber, or evaporation chamber. There will be heating elements or electrodes rods or heat exchanger immersed in the water. This tank will need to be open and cleaned if in stainless steel or to be replaced if in plastic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 -Foaming

Another effect of producing steam by boiling tap (untreated) water is the possible foaming of during water boiling.

Anybody that has cooked some pasta for dinner has experienced water boiling and foaming. In the case of cooking pasta the foam is due to the input of starch from the pasta which are added to boiling water.

When foaming is occurring it is sudden, it is strong enough to be able to sometime lift the cover of the pot, and it will result in overflowing water.

In the case of the steam humidifier, the constant production of pure steam which does not contain TDS will cause the concentration of TDS in the water in the cylinder to increase, to a certain extent and depending on the exact nature of these TDS, conditions for the foam to arise are satisfied. The water concentration is too high.

For this reason, any steam humidifier will be equipped with a foam detection sensor. This foam sensor is usually made from one or more conductive probes placed on top of the steam cylinder. Foam is always conductive. As soon as detected boiling should stop and TDS concentration in the water needs to be decreased before to start over the steam production. In other words, you need to flush this dirty water and replace it.

 

 

4 – How to avoid foaming?

 

There are three methods to de-concentrate the TDS from boiling water in steam chamber.

 

Skimmer

Skimmer is a simple and efficient method, the water reservoir is designed so that every time you re-fill it with new water, some of the water from the top of the tank will overflow and be evacuated to drain. TDS concentration from the top layer of the water is reduced, risk of foaming to occurred is reduced.

There are two important problems with this methods:

1) Overflowing boiling water is very costly energy wise. Humidifier will constantly waste water and steam during steam production.

2) Adjusting the skimmer overflow rate is not easy because it depends on the mechanical and hydraulic construction of the evaporation chamber.

Drain frequency

Drain frequency sometime called flush cycle, does consist in replacing part or full water content from the steam cylinder, water content is drained down at regular and fixed time intervals.

Those time intervals are sometime calculated based on the true evaporation rate of the humidifier but not always, some steam humidifier drain frequency is independent from evaporation rate, full or part of cylinder content is wasted to drain. Water is renew with new and cold water. As soon as cylinder is full again the steam production can resume.

Drain frequency is adjusted depending on water TDS measurement during first start-up or based on technician or building owner experience.

Again the energy wasted by draining hot water is very important. Also there will be a drop in RH% in the humidified space during the water replacement process.

Water dilution

Water dilution sequence have been developed primarily to avoid drop in steam production caused by the drain frequency method.

This method consists in draining small amount and adding same small amount of fresh water at smaller time intervals. When properly set there will be no more drop of RH% in the humidified space.

Water dilution parameters are numerous, amount of water drained, time interval, power input during water filling, amount of water brought in… As for any of the foam prevention method settings are based on water quality (amount of TDS contained in water).

Main problem of this method is the complexity in setting it up properly and efficiently for the steam humidifier.

 

5 – What is EcoEnerSmart ™ function?

EcoEnerSmart ™ is totally unique in the industry, it is a water dilution system that is set automatically and will automatically adapt to the actual water conditions during the life of the steam humidifier.

EcoEnerSmart ™ function is patented. It is the result of the rich experience of steamOvap design team. It is possible thanks to the use of incomparable calculation power of board computer used in our humidifiers and to the full extent of real time clock operating system.

 

As soon as the technician is selecting Autodilution the steam humidifier will select the water dilution sequence settings developed for this specific model. As indicated above, water dilution sequence settings does include time intervals, amount of water drained, amount of new water filled, energy power management to ensure constant steam production. In the event that foam would occur, this event is recorded and settings of water dilution sequence are automatically adapted in order to avoid any further foaming episodes.

Steam production is optimized, since drained water is reduced to minimum and water consumption is optimized as well.

Thus, there is no need for technical assistance to change the settings of the water dilution sequence, all you need to do is select ‘’Autodilution’’. There is no more need for an advanced degree in water chemistry or endless trial and errors to make a proper set up.

 

6. Savings with EcoEnerSmart ™

 

 

 

 

Hopefully EcoEnerSmart ™ function will help change minds. We have measured the energy and water saving to a standard 35 lb/h electric steam humidifier, comparing EcoEnerSmart ™ function to a drain frequency (full tank flush at fixed intervals) method over a period of 24 hours.

Your will save 18.3kWh and 97 Gallons of water (367 Liters) at the end of the 24h period.

A fair extrapolation for a full year operation period with a 50 % duty cycle will result in 3,300kWh of electricty power and 17,700 Gallons of water (67,002 Liters) !

 

 

Conclusion

Steam humidification is often pointed out as an energy-intensive humidification method.

As mentioned above in this article laws of physic are ruthless and watever the humidification method you select : 970Btu will be needed to evaporate one pound of water into the air.

With EcoEnerSmart ™, you can now save energy and water with your steamOvap steam humidifier. 

By preventing foam build-up, EcoEnerSmart ™ function makes life easier for its users. EcoEnerSmart ™ is totally unique in the industry, you do not need technical assistance to change the water dilution sequence, just select the “auto-dilution” mode and the work is done.

EcoEnerSmart ™ is a feature available on all our steam humidifiers, namely IER electric steam humidifier and ISE steam exchange humidifier .

IER service/cleaning video

Posted on by bsysteamovap

IER service/cleaning video and more

We are pleased to present you  the steamOvap youtube channel 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Featured Videos

If you want to learn more about SteamOvap and how humidification can benefit you, here are some videos on how to save energy with proper load calculation and how humidification can be helpful.

Electrode and resistive type humidifiers compared

Posted on by Bernard Saint-yves

Electrode boiler and resistive type electric steam humidifiers compared

Introduction

In this article I will explain the difference between electrode boiler and resistive type humidifiers.
They are both producing steam and use electricity as source of energy but they are based on two completely different principles of operation.
Knowing their differences and their limitations will help you to select the best technology for your application.

How electrode boiler humidifiers generate steam?

Electrode boiler humidifier uses electricity flowing through streams of water to create steam. The conductive properties of water are used to carry electric current. The current drawn and therefore steam production relies on water conductivity (typically between 125 and 1250 µS/cm) and also on the water level covering the electrodes surface.

 

 

 

 

How resistive type humidifier is making steam?

A resistive type (or resistance type) humidifier uses immersed electric heater to heat up the water to the boiling point to produce steam. Current drawn by the humidifier is the result of Ohm’s law; it is constant and only relying on the resistance value of the heater.

Steam output and accuracy

Steam output of electrode boiler humidifier is a direct function of water conductivity and water level. The cleaner and purer the water is, the lower is its conductivity. Water conductivity contained in electrode boiler humidifier cylinder will increase as the humidifier is producing steam. Steam is free of minerals, salts or other substances, so all of those substances stay in the remaining water until a blow down is performed to renew water contents.

Another factor affecting steam output is the amount of scale or lime stone accumulated on the electrodes. Scale is the result of the precipitation of the minerals and salts contained in water. This process is absolutely inevitable for any electrode boiler humidifier as the use of tap water (city water) is required by its principle of operation.

 

Humidity output accuracy cannot be better than +/-5% RH for electrode boilers, furthermore the steam output will slowly decrease over the operation of the humidifier until the steam output cannot supply the demand. Then the cylinder has to be replaced.

For a resistive type humidifier, steam output is independent from water conductivity (or other conditions), also the possible scale build-up on the heating element will not affect the steam output of the humidifier. Humidity output accuracy for resistive type can be as low as +/-1% RH. This accuracy is maintained over the life of the humidifier.

Water quality

As already mentioned, an electrode boiler needs water conductivity (impurity) to be able to operate, so this type of humidifier cannot accept treated water such as RO or DI water.

Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification technology that uses a semi permeable membrane to remove ions, molecules and larger particles from drinking water.
Deionized water (DI), often synonymous with demineralized water, is water that has almost all of its mineral ions removed. Deionization is a chemical process that uses specially manufactured ion-exchange resins.

Resistive type humidifiers can accept very pure water such as RO or DI water. However most manufacturers offering this type of humidifier will use poor materials and/or have limitations due to their water level sensing devices, so they will impose an added cost option for their humidifier able to operate with RO or DI water.

IER humidifier by steamOvap can accept any type of water from tap (city water) to RO water without additional option.

Service

Electrode boiler service consists in removing the ”consumable” plastic cylinder that is not able to produce enough steam anymore by a brand new one.

No recycling program is yet offered by manufacturers for this plastic and electrical spare part that will end in the waste.

 

In the contrary  steam cylinder of a resistive type humidifier is a pemanent part usually made of stainless steel. When tap water is used, this one needs to be serviced. The service consists in opening the cylinder and removing the accumulated scale inside.

This operation can be labour and time consuming and complicated thus requiring special skills and tools for most of the resistive type humidifiers on the market.

This is not the case with IER humidifier by steamOvap, thanks to its patent pending ‘‘guide & lock’’ system that allows you to open and clean the steam cylinder in a few minutes without needs of tools or special skills.

Cost of ownership

Initial cost to purchase an electrode boiler humidifier is lower than resistive type humidifier.

Most of the humidifier manufacturers are offering both technologies. They price electrode boiler humidifier much lower than their resistive type ones. Their pricing is done the same way printers manufacturers do with ink jet printers versus laser printers. Just like ink jet printers, electrode type humidifiers are cheaper to purchase, but as they will be used and operated the consumables will represent considerable costs:ink cartridges for printers or spare plastic cylinder for electrode boiler humidifiers.

Its low initial costs makes electrode boiler humidifier the contractors choice. Most of the time required future spares are not included in the initial budget. This is a very lucrative business for humidifier manufacturers and one of the reasons electrode boiler humidifier is their entry level product.

IER humidifier price is very competitive; furthermore no spare is required for the service of the humidifier. It is the only humidifier on the market offered with a 3 year warranty.

In any case, total cost of ownership is in favor of resistive type humidifier, after only 18 months in average.

Conclusion

When selecting electric steam humidifier, electrode boiler can be very attractive as promoted by other humidifier manufacturers. Reason is simple: they want your business of spares plastic cylinders for the years to come.

Unless you are not concerned by inaccurate and unstable steam output, plus the cost of spare cylinder replacement over the life of the humidifier and the resulting waste of plastic in the field, then electrode boiler humidifier should be your option.

If you prefer to ensure a good humidity control, save energy by using pure water, as well as lower your environmental impact while optimizing the total costs of ownership for the building owner; then resistive type is the best choice for electric steam humidifier.