Humidifiers
A humidifier is a household appliance that increases humidity (moisture) in a single room or in the entire home. more...
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There are point of use humidifiers, which are commonly used to humidify a single room, and whole house or furnace humidifiers, which connect to a home's HVAC system to provide humidity to the entire house.
Humidification is often necessary in colder climates where continuous heating will make the air drier, resulting in uncomfortable air quality and increased static electricity.
Anatomy of a humidifier
The most common humidifier, an "evaporative" or "wick humidifier", consists of just a few basic parts: a reservoir, wick and fan.
Reservoir
Reservoirs are common to all humidifiers and come in different shapes and sizes. The reservoir is a containing tank of water filled prior to operation, and provides the water for the moisture output.
Wick
The wick is a filter that absorbs water from the reservoir. Evaporation of water from the wick is dependent on relative humidity. A room with low humidity will have a higher evaporation rate compared to a room with high humidity. Therefore, this type of humidifier is self-regulating: As the humidity of the room increases, the water vapor output naturally decreases. These wicks regularly need cleaning and replacement — if this does not happen, the humidifier stops humidifying the area it is in and the water in the tank remains at the same level.
Fan
The fan is adjacent to the wick and blows air onto the wick, thus aiding in the evaporation of the water within the wick.
Other types of humidifiers
Other types of humidifiers include:
Vaporizer (Steam Humidifier) (Warm Mist Humidifier) — Boils water, releasing steam and moisture into the air. A medicated inhalant can also be added to the steam vapor to help reduce coughs. Vaporizers are healthier than cool mist types of humidifiers because steam is steril and free from minerals. Vaporizers use more electricity to boil the water.;
Impeller Humidifier (Cool Mist Humidifier) — A rotating disc flings water at a diffuser, which breaks the water into fine droplets that float into the air.;
Ultrasonic Humidifier — A metal diaphragm vibrating at an ultrasonic frequency creates water droplets that exit the humidifier in the form of a cool fog. Although silent, Ultrasonic Humidifiers should be cleaned regularly to avoid bacterial contamination which may be projected into the air.;
Read more at Wikipedia.org
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