Why to measure temperature and relative humidity?
Temperature and relative humidity have a direct impact on the sense of well-being and comfort of the residents.
Dry air leads to dry skin, itchy eyes, and irritated nasal passages. It can cause a bloody nose or an itchy throat and can aggravate symptoms of the common cold and some respiratory ailments. It also increases static electricity, which you feel in your clothes and hair and on furniture and carpeting.
Too high relative humidity degrees will result in condensation forming on windows, walls and ceilings that are colder than the air temperature and potentially damaging building materials and causing odors in poorly ventilated spaces. Condensation describes when a gas condenses back into a liquid and is more often used when referring to water vapor condensing back into liquid water. Water condensation usually happens when water vapor cools and appears as droplets on a surface or appears as clouds or water droplets in the sky. The condensation process will facilitate the growth of molds and bacteria that can cause respiratory problems and/or allergic reactions. It provides the conditions for dust mite populations to grow, which can affect asthma sufferers.
Relative humidity
The ratio of water vapor in the air to the maximum amount of water vapor the air can hold at a particular temperature is expressed as relative humidity or rH.
For example: 30 % rH means that the air contains 30 % of the moisture it can possibly hold at that particular temperature.
When air can hold no more moisture at a given temperature (100 % rH), the air is said to be saturated.
Dew point temperature
The dew point is the temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated with water vapor. When further cooled, the airborne water vapor will condense to form liquid water (dew). When air cools to its dew point through contact with a surface that is colder than the air, water will condense on the surface. The measurement of the dew point is related to humidity.
A higher dew point means there will be more moisture in the air.
Since temperature and relative humidity are basic parameters that determine the comfort and well-being of residents, most Sentera sensors can measure these.
Ventilation in function of temperature and relative humidity level is interesting in rooms where large fluctuations in temperature or relative humidity regularly occur, such as kitchen or bathroom. Also outside temperature and relative humidity are important to measure before it enters the ventilation system and the building.