A humidistat or hygrostat is an
electronic device
The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
analogous to a
thermostat but which responds to
relative humidity
Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present.
Humidity dep ...
, not
temperature
Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer.
Thermometers are calibrated in various Conversion of units of temperature, temp ...
. A typical humidistat is usually included with portable humidifiers or dehumidifiers. It can also be included with combined air cleaner or humidifier units to control a home's humidity level or any other indoor space.
Usage
Humidistats are used in a number of devices including
dehumidifiers
A dehumidifier is an air conditioning device which reduces and maintains the level of humidity in the air. This is done usually for health or thermal comfort reasons, or to eliminate musty odor and to prevent the growth of mildew by extracting wa ...
,
humidifiers, and
microwave ovens
A microwave oven (commonly referred to as a microwave) is an electric oven that heats and cooks food by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. This induces polar molecules in the food to rotate and produce th ...
. In humidifiers and dehumidifiers the humidistat is used where constant relative humidity conditions need to be maintained such as a
refrigerator,
greenhouse, or
climate-controlled warehouse
A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...
. When adjusting the controls in these applications the humidistat would be what is being set. In microwaves they are used in conjunction with "smart cooking" one-button features such as those for
microwave popcorn
Microwave popcorn is a convenience food consisting of unpopped popcorn in an enhanced, sealed paper bag intended to be heated in a microwave oven. In addition to the dried corn, the bags typically contain cooking oil with sufficient saturated fa ...
. Humidistats employ
hygrometer
A hair tension dial hygrometer with a nonlinear scale.
A hygrometer is an instrument used to measure the amount of water vapor in air, in soil, or in confined spaces. Humidity measurement instruments usually rely on measurements of some other qu ...
s but are not the same. A humidistat has the functionality of a
switch
In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...
and is not just a
measuring instrument
A measuring instrument is a device to measure a physical quantity. In the physical sciences, quality assurance, and engineering, measurement is the activity of obtaining and comparing physical quantities of real-world objects and events. Est ...
like a hygrometer is.
For
heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) of buildings, humidistats or humidity sensors are used to sense the air relative humidity in the controlled space and turn on and off the HVAC equipment.
[Engineering Manual of Automation Control, Honeywell, 1997, https://customer.honeywell.com/resources/techlit/techlitdocuments/77-0000s/77-e1100.pdf accessed 27 October 2014, Chapter "Electronic Control Fundamentals", Section "Relative Humidity Sensor", pg 125]
References
External links
Types Of Humidifiers
{{HVAC
Switches
Temperature control
Humidity and hygrometry