For almost all home and even business uses, a refrigerant dehumidifier, works just fine. Although, there are times when desiccant dehumidifiers are necessary. A desiccant dehumidifier can cut the energy costs of a gas boiler by up to 40%, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. These dehumidifiers work in situations where refrigerant dehumidifiers would be difficult to deploy, or wasteful. Here are some reasons why these dehumidifiers are the best way to go for your needs.
How Does a Desiccant Dehumidifier Work?
Desiccant dehumidifiers use a silica gel pack-based dehumidification system to pull water out of the air in an area. In this regard, it works much like the silica gel freshness packs often included in packages of food and snacks in the supermarket, with the addition that the packs are reusable with very little waste. The desiccant system works very efficiently, especially for its size.
You Have a Cold Environment to Dehumidify
Refrigerant dehumidifiers stop working around 41 degrees F (5 degrees C) but they become much less efficient around 61 degrees F (16 degrees C). For this reason, if your environment is below 60 degrees F regularly, you are not going to get efficient work from a refrigerant dehumidifier. In these cases, desiccant dehumidifiers may be your only energy-efficient and environmentally safe way to operate.
You Need More Efficient Drying With Denser Materials
Desiccant dehumidifiers produce much drier air, down to 0% relative humidity, than refrigerants. With this drier air, they effectively pull moisture out of denser materials, like construction materials and hardwoods. Construction and materials fabrication can be more efficient when a desiccant dehumidifier is creating a very low-humidity environment.
You Need a Machine That Doesn’t Require Draining
Unlike a refrigerant dehumidifier, which has a catch basin and requires a drainage solution, a desiccant dehumidifier uses warm air blown over the silica desiccant to remove excess humidity, which can then be vented to an outside location. With the air-based venting, the desiccant dehumidifier doesn’t risk rehydrating the dried environment by allowing wastewater to evaporate back into the area.
Dehumidification is an important part of any construction project, archival preservation sites, and anywhere else where maintaining constant low humidity matters. If you require a desiccant dehumidifier, then contact our dehumidification specialists to discuss your project’s dehumidification needs.
