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Understanding Humidity and Comfort

The document discusses humidity and how it is defined as the amount of moisture in the air. It explains that warmer air can hold more water vapour and the temperature at which water vapour condenses is called the dew point. The document also discusses how relative humidity affects human comfort levels and ideal indoor humidity levels.

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9 views2 pages

Understanding Humidity and Comfort

The document discusses humidity and how it is defined as the amount of moisture in the air. It explains that warmer air can hold more water vapour and the temperature at which water vapour condenses is called the dew point. The document also discusses how relative humidity affects human comfort levels and ideal indoor humidity levels.

Uploaded by

jagadeeshkumar116
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

HUMIDITY

Humidity is defined as the amount of moisture (water or other liquid


diffused in a small quantity as vapour, within a solid, or condensed on a surface) in
the air. When the air is humid, it has a lot of water vapour in it. Water as a gas in the
atmosphere is called water vapour.
The maximum amount of water vapour that can be in the air depends on the air
temperature. Warmer air can hold more water vapour within it
. At a given amount of water vapour in the air, the vapour is will condense and fall as
rain at a lower temperature than at a higher one. The temperature at which the given
amount of water will condense is called the Dew Point.
At a given temperature, more saturated air will fall as rain than drier air.
So it’s a balance. Dry air has a very low Dew Point. Moist air has a high Dew Point. For
example, at 20 degrees C (68 degrees F), a cubic meter of air can hold a maximum of
18 grams of water. At 25 degrees C (77 degrees F), it can hold 22 grams of water. If
the temperature is 25 degrees C and a cubic meter of air contains 22 grams of water,
then the relative humidity is 100 percent. If it contains 11 grams of water, the relative
humidity is 50 percent. If it contains zero grams of water, relative humidity is zero
percent.
The relative humidity plays a large role in determining our comfort level. If the
relative humidity is 100 percent, it means that water will not evaporate -- the air is
already saturated with moisture. Our bodies rely on the evaporation of moisture
from our skin for cooling. The lower the relative humidity, the easier it is for moisture
to evaporate from our skin and the cooler we feel.
If the relative humidity is 100 percent, we feel much hotter than the actual
temperature indicates because our sweat does not evaporate at all. If the relative
humidity is low, we feel cooler than the actual temperature because our sweat
evaporates easily; we can also feel extremely dry. Since it costs a lot less to humidify
the air than to heat it, a humidifier can save you a lot of money!
For best indoor comfort and health, a relative humidity of about 45 percent is ideal.
At temperatures typically found indoors, this humidity level makes the air feels
approximately what the temperature indicates, and your skin and lungs do not dry
out and become irritated.
HEAT INDEX

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