Applying humidity control equipment in European Environment

For many commercial and industrial plants, maintaining required ventilation rates can result in significant operating costs. Fortunately, passive (i.e. enthalpy exchangers) and active (dehumidifying) desiccant systems can be used to reduce the load on the HVAC equipment and reduce its operating costs.
Considering current energy cost scenarios, certain applications of these dehumidifier technologies were found to be economical in some areas of the U.S. and their respective climates. In this paper, authors expanded the evaluation to cover the relatively moderate climate of Central Europe. As with the situation in the U.S., the potential cost savings and return on investments had to be assessed individually for each application and solved on an hourly basis. This paper presents results of such an evaluation.