Air heating system: influence of a humidifier on thermal comfort

This paper describes the modelling of a humidifier combined with an air con ditioning cooling and heating system. The objective was to assess the influ ence of a humidifier on thermal comfort for moderate climates. The equipmen t was installed in an experimental building, HD2000, situated in Rennes (We stern France). The building and its air conditioning system had been previo usly modelled and validated experimentally. A humidifier model was then dev eloped and validated from specific experimental tests. The effect of the pe rformance on thermal comfort was analysed using different meteorological da ta files and an assessment was made as to the recommendation, or not, as a humidifier. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.