Decarbonizing humidification technologies are gaining momentum, driving facilities away from high-voltage systems like steam-based humidifiers and toward more energy-efficient adiabatic systems. For many businesses today, going green means avoiding steam.
However, end-to-end sustainability requires more than finding the most energy-efficient system; facilities must find one that works and uses the least amount of employee energy as well. Efficiency and effectiveness are crucial for truly sustainable investments—investments that are green for the planet and evergreen for businesses. This means humidification systems need to be so efficient and effective that employees will actually want to use them for decades to come.
Unfortunately, many adiabatic systems have hidden energy costs. Buyers of adiabatic systems often put their time and energy toward maintenance. Excess moisture and moving parts foster mold, rust, component failure, and more.
But it is possible, using minimal maintenance, to avoid the limitations of both steam and adiabatic systems while meeting business needs and decarbonization goals.
Energy-Efficient Systems Need to Be Effective
Since adiabatic systems don’t need to heat water for humidity, they significantly reduce the carbon cost to the environment and the energy costs to businesses. However, energy-efficient solutions aren’t always effective ones. In fact, adiabatic technology, like ultrasonic tech or atomization, may cause unevaporated moisture to collect on surfaces, or uneven and fluctuating humidity levels to damage products.
A factory in California equipped their facility with ultrasonic units, only to find that the unit was wetting and causing mass bacterial growth, even with UV light. The solution they were given? Add more fans. Surprisingly, the company was not satisfied with the level of maintenance energy required on their part, especially for humidity that was far less than satisfactory.
So, is it possible to have the low-voltage consumption of adiabatic systems without hidden inefficiencies? Forty years of self-evaporative technology proves that it is. Self-evaporation utilizes decorrelation technology, in which water-to-water attractions are naturally reversed. These microscopic droplets self-repel, rapidly travel across large rooms, and penetrate hard-to-reach areas. Though diffusion is rapid and thorough, the entire self-evaporative process is powered by a low-voltage system that uses no external heat. Unlike passive methods of evaporation, such as air circulation, self-evaporation never creates excess moisture. Equipment and products are left safe and dry.
As a 100% water-efficient and low-voltage system, self-evaporative humidification is both energy-efficient and effective, meeting the two criteria for true sustainability. The limitations of steam and common adiabatic systems are left behind.
Energy-Efficient Systems Need to Save Your Energy and Time
Besides optimizing resources, sustainable humidifiers are simply systems that everyday businesses can sustain. This means optimizing the most precious resource: time.
All humidification technologies, including steam, can be high maintenance, but adiabatic systems tend to catch customers by surprise since efficiency is such a selling point. Voltages are quantified, savings are advertised, but human effort is not. As a result, buyers often sign up for a slew of maintenance activities they knew nothing about, such as replacing parts or monitoring unreliable humidity levels.
For example, the same Californian company that initially chose ultrasonic systems quickly found the system used too much time to monitor and maintain. And when working, it never satisfied their humidity needs.
Is it possible for mechanical humidification processes to achieve the robust, low-maintenance humidity that true sustainability requires? A self-evaporative Smart Fog system, running for 365 days nonstop for 20 years and counting, demonstrates the possibilities.
To save the most energy – both in kilowatts and time – self-evaporative systems are built with high-quality materials and no moving parts. This way, maintenance is kept to a bare minimum, and the system lasts. And since the system is low-voltage, self-evaporation further reduces component strain and wear. The only maintenance required is the occasional air and water filter check. Overall, self-evaporative humidification uses a fraction of employees’ time while running for decades.
Key Takeaways
Saving energy, saving time, and satisfying business demands for decades to come are key factors that render humidification technology truly sustainable. Self-evaporative humidification achieves them all.
