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Fans cool humans by applying the evaporative cooling effect on the skin through sweat (and convection, in certain cases). At 75% humidity, the sweat will not ev
by Karrot_Kream 5y ago
Fans cool humans by applying the evaporative cooling effect on the skin through sweat (and convection, in certain cases). At 75% humidity, the sweat will not evaporate. You need dehumidification in those conditions for a fan to have an effect. It would be interesting to see how much more energy efficient a dehumidifier and a fan can be than just an AC, but currently it makes more sense for most folks to just buy an AC. After all, a dehumidifier is very similar to an AC.
Someone else in this thread linked to https://www.nuscool.com/our-technologies/ https://www.nuscool.com/our-technologies/ which looks like a combination desiccant dehumidifier and an evaporative cooler. That may be a more efficient alternative, depending on the lifetime and maintenance of the desiccant.
- TeMPOraL 5y agoI haven't looked into humidification space directly, but from what I understand, compressor humidifiers are more energy-efficient than desiccant ones. If so, that would make an AC unit more efficient than the dehumidifier/fan combo. Plus, you'll eventually need cooling or heating; a heat pump is as efficient as you can get. Many AC designs control supply air humidity by dumping excess water with exhaust air (when cooling), or pulling it from intake air (when heating). The more I look at it, the more I consider heat pump ACs to be a miracle in a box. They're a good default.
- Karrot_Kream 5y ago> The more I look at it, the more I consider heat pump ACs to be a miracle in a box. They're a good default. They are! If you need heating and cooling, a heat pump AC is fantastic. We just need to make building design more efficient so you need to run it less frequently. But look, even switching most existing heating/cooling HVACs to heat pump units would be fantastic. There's a lot to do.