WHY
HUMIDIFY?
WHY
HONEYWELL?
® U.S. Registered Trademark
Copyright © 1998 Honeywell Inc. • All Rights Reserved
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WHY HUMIDIFY? WHY HONEYWELL?
Health. Comfort. Savings. Need. Demand. Those five words neatly summarize why contractors should
quote a whole-house humidifier on every job.
Four key phrases summarize why contractors should be selling Honeywell’s new line of whole-house
humidifiers. Consumer preference. Better products. More choices. Unprecedented support.
Here’s the inside story behind humidifiers — from why they are important to why Honeywell should be
your first choice.
Health
Consumer awareness of and concern about indoor air quality has mushroomed in the nineties. No wonder:
Nearly one in six Americans has allergy, asthma or some other chronic respiratory problem. While air cleaners
and ventilation systems help keep indoor air clean, proper humidification is essential to control, minimize and
eliminate unhealthy airborne pollutants. Figure 1 shows the impact that indoor relative humidity (RH) has on
the most common biologic airborne pollutants.
Impact of Relative
Humidity on Air Quality
Optimum
Zone
Bacteria
Viruses
Fungi
Mites
Respiratory
Infections
Allergic
Rhinitis and
Asthma
Chemical
Interactions
Ozone
Production
10
30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Percent Relative Humidity
Figure 1. Impact of indoor relative humidity (RH) on common biologic indoor air pollutants.
Copyright 1985 by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers,
Inc. Reprinted by permission from Sterling et al., “Criteria for Human Exposure to Humidity in
Occupied Buildings,” ASHRAE Transactions 1985, Vol. 91, Part 1B.
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Too little humidity — below the 35 percent optimum RH level recommended by manufacturers — can lead
to microscopic cracks in nasal membranes, leaving the body more vulnerable to infections from bacteria and
viruses.
Too much humidity — above the 50 percent maximum recommended by manufacturers — helps create
ideal breeding conditions for mold, mildew and dust mites. The waste products and debris left behind by dust
mites are among the most troublesome triggers of allergy and asthma.
Air conditioners, dehumidifiers and whole-house ventilation systems can keep RH levels from getting too
high during the non-heating season. But during cold weather, in most climates, all but the most tightly built
homes need humidification to avoid some very unpleasant consequences. And, as requirements for fresh air
ventilation grow, the need for humidification will also grow, even for tightly built homes.
Comfort
“Static cling” on your clothes is one of those unpleasant consequences. Static electric shocks are another.
Both are warning signs of the damage that too little humidity can do.
Don’t underestimate how seriously low indoor RH gets in unhumidified homes. For proof, check the chart
in Figure 2. When the outdoor RH is 70 percent and the outdoor temperature is 10 degrees above zero, the
indoor RH level in an unhumidified home heated to 70 degrees is just six percent. By comparison, the
average RH in the Sahara desert is four times higher — 25 percent.
Outdoor/Indoor Relative
Humidity Conversion Chart
For Indoor Air Heated to 70º F
2
4
5
6
7
9 12 17 19 23 29 36 43 52
90%
2
3
4
5
6
8
80%
2
3
4
5
6
7 10 13 15 19 23 27 35 42
70%
1
2
3
4
5
6
9
11 13 17 20 24 31 36
60%
1
2
3
3
4
5
7
9
11 14 17 21 26 31
50%
1
1
2
3
3
4
6
8
9 12 14 18 22 26
40%
1
1
2
2
3
4
5
7
7 10 12 14 18 21
30%
0
1
2
2
2
3
4
5
6
7
9
11 13 15
20%
0
1
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
5
5
7
9 10
10%
0
0
0
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
3
3
4
6
0%
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
-20 -10 -5
0
Outdoor Relative Humidity
100%
11 15 16 21 26 31 39 48
+5 +10 +15 +20 +25 +30 +35 +40 +45 +50
Outdoor Temperature
Figure 2. This chart, designed by the National Weather Service, shows indoor humidity levels
when outside air is brought in and heated to 70 degrees.
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Being worse than desert-dry is fine for mummies and pyramids. But it’s bad for people, it’s bad for their
homes and it’s bad for many of the contents in a home.
Imagine a drought-stricken landscape, cracked and crumbling for lack of moisture. Now imagine treasured
possessions such as collectibles, paintings, furniture and woodwork beginning to shrink, warp and crack as
they dehydrate from too little indoor humidity.
Saving money, protecting investments
Health is priceless, and more comfort is certainly worth a reasonable cost. The savings that a whole-house
humidifier can provide should convince even the most price-sensitive builders and consumers. Here are two
examples.
#1: A whole-house humidifier can pay for itself many times over in the damage it can help prevent to the
structure and contents of a home. You can see, feel and hear that damage in unhumidifed homes. Gaps open
as expensive wooden floors and moldings shrink and warp. Floors and stairs begin to creak. Drawers and
banisters begin to rattle as they loosen.
Even new homes, which can take several years to “dry out”, need heating season humidification so they dry
at a controlled rate. Here’s why: Premium wood such as floors, windows, moldings and furniture are
typically manufactured under controlled 50 percent RH conditions to keep the wood from shrinking.
But if you subject that wood to the uncontrolled, drier-than-a-desert air found in unhumidified homes
during heating season, the wood shrinks as it dehydrates. The result can be cracks in the finish or the wood
itself, gaps in seams and permanent warping. Gaps can also appear in drywall joints.
#2: A whole-house humidifier can help reduce heating bills. Properly humidified air feels warmer, so you
can turn your thermostat down to an equally comfortable but money-saving setting.
For example, at 35 percent RH, 69 degree indoor air feels as warm as 72 degree air with only 19 percent
RH. Lowering the thermostat setting by three degrees during heating season can reduce heating bills by 5
percent or more.
Need and demand
Oil embargoes and energy crises in the 1970s created the need and demand for high-efficiency HVAC
systems and energy-tight homes. But bottling up homes to maximize energy efficiency also trapped airborne
pollutants inside, where concentrations could build to many times the level of pollution outside.
Growing concern about the health risks of indoor air pollution is creating a humidifier boomlet in the
1990s. Annual sales are growing at a nearly double-digit rate — and the untapped market is huge. According
to Honeywell market research, more than 60 percent of all homes with forced air or heat pump systems do not
have a whole-house humidifier. That represents a potential U.S. market of 36 million homes.
The need and demand for whole-house humidifiers equals an important opportunity for contractors.
Contractors who don’t quote humidifiers on every job are passing up a ready-made market. They are not
providing the full range of solutions their customers need. They are missing out on the chance to differentiate
themselves from their competitors by becoming true comfort consultants.
They are missing out on the sharply higher profit margins that come with the sales of comfort systems and
accessories.
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COMPLETING THE PERFECT CLIMATE PORTFOLIO
Yes, a number of manufacturers already sell humidifiers. So why has Honeywell entered the market?
Again, the answer involves demand.
“For years, distributors and contractors have asked us why
Honeywell didn’t offer humidifiers,” said John Sedgwick,
Honeywell channel strategy and management leader. “In effect,
what they said was, ‘You’re the number one choice for just about
everything in home comfort systems — all you’re missing is
humidifiers.’”
That demand on the trade side is matched by consumer
preference. Honeywell consumer research shows little brand
name recognition for humidifiers. But if a premium brand name
such as Honeywell was available, consumers said it would be an
important factor in their buying decision. To consumers, the
Honeywell name means superior quality, value and performance.
The introduction of a full line of humidifiers completes the
Perfect Climate® portfolio of home comfort systems and
products. In addition to humidifiers and humidistats, that portfolio
now includes thermostats for every application, the all-in-one
Perfect Climate Comfort Center™ control system, a choice of five
high-efficiency air cleaning technologies, Honeywell Trol-AFigure 3. The addition of humidifiers
completes Honeywell's portfolio of
home comfort systems and products.
Temp® zoned temperature control systems, energy recovery and
heat recovery models of Perfect Window™ whole-house
ventilation systems.
A better choice
However, there was no need for “just another humidifier.” The Honeywell line had to be more than new; it
had to be better. It is.
The new Honeywell-designed humidifiers offer better performance than competitive models. For example,
the patent-pending PerfectFlo™ water distribution tray makes Honeywell flow-through humidifiers the most
effective and water-efficient on the market.
Honeywell also offers an advantage in humidifier controls not available from any other manufacturer — the
H1008 and the Perfect Climate Comfort Center™ control system. The H1008 (Automatic Humidity Control
with HumiditiCalc+™ Software) automatically adjusts the humidity level in the home to provide optimum
humidity levels while preventing condensation from forming on windows during cold weather conditions.
Once set, no further adjustments are needed. The Perfect Climate Comfort Center™ replaces an ordinary
thermostat with an all-in-one temperature and indoor air quality control. The most accurate-ever humidistat
for homes is built into the Comfort Center control. So is programmable fan control.
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Figure 4 shows how much more effective a flow-through humidifier is when used with the Comfort Center
control. It also shows why Honeywell can offer a solution that is independent of furnace run-time and plenum
temperature for almost any application requiring humidification of up to 17 gallons per day (gpd).
Maximum Delivered Humidification
(gallons per day)
20
15
Region C
10
Region B
5
Region A
0
25
50
75
100
Furnace Run Time (%)
Figure 4. Region A shows delivered humidification with a Honeywell flow-through humidifier and
standard control. Region B shows the improvement in delivered humidification when a Perfect Climate
Comfort Center control is used with the same humidifier. Region C shows the delivered humidification
performance of a Honeywell steam power humidifier with standard control.
Region A in Figure 4 shows humidification that is delivered only when there is a call for heat on a system
with a flow-through humidifier and a standard humidistat. Region B shows the improvement in
humidification provided by the Comfort Center control, which can call for and deliver humidification
independent of system calls for heat.
When the furnace run-time is 25 percent, the amount of delivered humidification from a flow-through
humidifier with standard control is about five gpd. The same humidifier with a Comfort Center control can
deliver twice as much humidification, about 10 gpd.
In Regions A and B, the amount of humidity that can be generated by the flow-through humidifier is
limited by the plenum temperature. Region C shows humidification using a steam power unit. Because the
steam unit is independent from furnace run-time and from plenum temperature, it can deliver the full rated 17
gpd capacity even if furnace run-time is zero.
More solutions, better performance
In homes in extreme cold weather climates, in homes with high air exchange rates, in homes where
consistent and precise humidification control is necessary, and in homes whose heating system operates at a
low discharge air temperature, it is important for HVAC contractors to have the option of a steam power
humidifier.
The current market leader does not offer that option. Instead, it recommends that its flow-through models
be hooked up to the home’s hot water supply when used with heat pumps. That compromise is a sure way to
waste hot water: To generate .75 gallons of humidity, more than five gallons of hot water go down the drain.
And how many homeowners want to share hot water with their humidifier when they take a shower?
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That compromise is also less efficient at delivering humidity. Increasing the water supply temperature to
120 degrees increases the humidification rate less than 15 percent, at substantial cost.
By contrast, Honeywell enters the market with a true full line, including by-pass flow-through, powered
flow-through, drum and steam power humidifiers (Fig. 5). There is a Honeywell solution for virtually any
application.
Figure 5. Honeywell provides whole-house humidifiers for virtually all residential applications.
When it comes to solutions, Honeywell’s portfolio of thermostats, zoned temperature control systems,
energy recovery and heat recovery fresh air ventilation systems, whole-house air and portable air cleaners,
humidistats — and now, humidifiers, too — is unmatched.
That portfolio is backed by the extras that come with Honeywell, a world leader in home comfort controls
and systems for more than 110 years.
Extras such as Honeywell’s exclusive free humidifier sizing software for contractors. You simply follow the
on-screen prompts to fill in a few blanks such as home size, geographic area, and type of heating system. The
software quickly calculates humidification demand, generates a sizing recommendation and lists the models
best suited for the application.
Extras such as a toll-free number for technical assistance — 1-800-345-6770, ext.7204 — and Honeywell’s
unmatched technical training opportunities.
Extras that include an array of marketing and advertising support programs.
Consumer preference. Better products. More choices. Unprecedented support. Four reasons Honeywell
humidifiers should be your number one choice.
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Home and Building Control
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