Awesome Air®
-- From The Inside Out
BK
Products, Inc., has a number of products that use zeolite crystals to address
moisture, vapor and energy problems. One of the products called Awesome Air®
has special significance at this time. Awesome Air® supplements AC systems by
helping to remove residual moisture so cooling systems can operate more
efficiently. The result is safer, healthier air, energy savings, less
maintenance and improved comfort. Awesome Air® can prevent mold, mildew,
off-gassing and airborne allergens and their odors by reducing residual moisture
levels. Zeolite crystals function on a molecular level – a natural way to
adsorb unwanted moisture. You already know why the products work -- now we will
try to explain how the products work.
Reaction Time of
Adsorbers – How Fast Do They Work?
The conditions present
when Awesome Air® is installed will determine the results.
The amount of vapor
adsorbed depends upon many variables: 1) Length of exposure, 2) Quantity of
product used, 3) Quantity of moisture in the airspace, 4) Quantity of vapors
already adsorbed, and 5) Air temperature. The zeolites we use for BK products
are natural adsorbers, not absorbers. Adsorbers are different
than absorbers because they do not undergo any chemical or physical change as
they collect vapors.
Affinity
All naturally occurring
zeolites, as used in Awesome Air®, have an affinity for polar substances such as
water. This affinity is based on pore (angstrom) size. A water molecule has a
pore size of 3.2 angstroms. Awesome Air® has an angstrom size from 2.5 to 5.0 so
it has the capability of being very effective at adsorbing water vapor. And, by
reducing water vapor, it also reduces molds, mildews, and other allergens (and
their associated odors). The BK product line has been created by mixing zeolites
so their affinities match the job they are designed to do.
The Answer To Energy
Efficiency And Better Indoor Air Quality
Much has been written
lately about the devastating effects of high humidity, mold and allergens in
buildings and the role of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning
systems. In the last two decades, ventilation levels decreased as buildings
were made tighter. This created moisture load problems that conventional AC
systems could not remove -- so ventilation rates were increased, but this
increase in ventilation actually increased mold and other moisture-related
problems, making this one of the biggest concerns in indoor air quality today.
Moisture loads cannot be removed by ventilation, creating a crucial need for an
improved method of dehumidification. The answer lies in the distinct advantages
of Awesome Air®.
How Air Conditioners
Work
Air conditioners are
designed to do two things: remove moisture from the air and lower the
temperature. As the air is cooled, it loses its ability to hold moisture, so
relative humidity is actually increased by cooling the air. This is the
“problem” moisture that Awesome Air® helps to alleviate because it continually
adsorbs water vapor.
Methods Currently Used
To Reduce Moisture Levels In AC Applications:
Oversizing
AC units will result in units that actually run a relatively short period of
time. The air is cooled very quickly – the thermostat senses this and turns the
unit off. Unfortunately, there is little opportunity for the moisture in the
air to come in contact with the coil long enough to condense it thoroughly. The
return air is cold enough, but very humid, resulting in the development of
pollutants, mold and allergic reactions.
Undersizing
AC units will run longer since they do not easily satisfy the thermostats.
Longer run cycles allow the system to remove more moisture from the air, but the
indoor temperature may rise several degrees during the late afternoon.
Reducing the indoor fan
speed causes
the coil temperature to drop and also allows the air to remain in the coil
longer. This lowers the dew point of the exit air, but system efficiency is
reduced.
Reheat methods
result in substantial increases in electrical consumption, especially electric
strip reheat which can triple the required energy input. Reheat methods heat the
air after it passes through the cooling coil. This allows the removal of
moisture without overcooling the air. When reheat is used, the cooling ability
of the AC system goes to waste. Electric reheat uses over twice the electricity
to reheat the air as it took to cool it. (Hot gas bypass uses a hot
refrigerant to reheat the air and electric strip reheat uses resistance coils.)
All of the current
methods to curb excess moisture have a downside. Awesome Air® is different. It
improves overall comfort and health, protects against moisture damage and mold
and brings client satisfaction. It conserves energy, is easy to install, has no
operating cost and has a fast ROI.
Saving Energy
High efficiency units
are often being recommended today to save energy. These high efficiency units
sometimes sacrifice latent (moisture removal) capacity in order to
increase their
nameplate SEER ratings. (SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio and
is a measure of energy efficiency.) One way manufacturers increase SEER is to
raise the cooling coil temperature. Unfortunately, this means that the air
blown through the coil does not reach a low dew point temperature, leaving an
unacceptable amount of moisture in the building. Added capacity on the AC to
overcool the air is required in order to remove the moisture, but the additional
energy required to reheat the air to comfortable levels eliminates the intended
benefit of the SEER rating.
Another common way many
people try to save energy is to totally shut off the AC system when occupants
are not present. Turning off the system is a way to invite high relative
humidity. Moisture migrates from areas of high humidity to areas of low
humidity. Water vapor transfers through materials as a liquid or as a vapor.
It moves as a liquid by capillary action and as a vapor through diffusion.
Diffusion is vapor moving through materials due to differences in vapor
pressure. If there is a difference in vapor pressure between the inside and
outside of materials, moisture is going to move toward the lower humidity level.
Keep the interior of the building free of excess water vapor by turning up air
conditioning systems instead of turning them off and use Awesome Air®.
Awesome Air® has none
of the downsides of the other methods used to remove moisture. It is a totally
safe, environmentally friendly way to help remove the water vapor. Because
Awesome Air® works continually to adsorb moisture and vapors, it keeps areas
from becoming saturated.
How Awesome Air® Works
Awesome Air® uses zeolite adsorbents to remove moisture on a continuous basis.
As the moisture load decreases, the length of time necessary for AC compressors
to run also decreases. Awesome Air® is a passive unit made from solid materials
with a tremendous internal surface area per unit of mass. A single gram can
have more than 500 square meters of surface area. This means the rate of both
sorption and ion exchange are extremely high. Natural zeolites possess a high
affinity for water vapor and can adsorb and desorb without damage to the crystal
structure for many years of service.
There are distinct
advantages of using zeolites to assist in the control of moisture. Zeolites, as
used in Awesome Air® work on a continual basis to adsorb vapors. Within any
area, there is a continuing cycle of vaporization and condensation. Each time an
air conditioner cycles off, there is a buildup of moisture. Some of this
moisture vaporizes and becomes a gas, some stays as condensation. Because
Awesome Air® is never turned off, it will help to keep areas drier.
As
Awesome Air® adsorbs water vapor from the airspace, moisture is also given up by
the products, people and materials in the room in an attempt to reach a vapor
pressure equilibrium. Awesome Air® adsorbs moisture more strongly than the
materials, products and people (comparing their heats of adsorption/desorption)
and will continue to dry out the airspace until it reaches equilibrium with the
surrounding air. Some of the humidity will evaporate into gas, which Awesome
Air® adsorbs before it turns into a liquid. When the air conditioning system is
in the cooling mode, it will dehumidify the airspace. So, there is a definite
relationship between Awesome Air® and the HVAC system.
Sorption of water vapor
by Awesome Air® always generates sensible heat equal to the latent heat of the
water vapor taken up, plus an additional heat of sorption that varies between 5
and 25% of the latent heat of the water vapor. Both higher temperatures and
increased moisture content increase the vapor pressure at the surface of Awesome
Air®. When the surface vapor pressure exceeds that of the surrounding air,
moisture leaves. The moisture, released by Awesome Air®, is picked up by the air
conditioning system.
Vapor Pressure
All desiccants work by
vapor pressure differences. Moisture is transferred to the zeolite because of a
difference between the water vapor pressure at their surface and that of the
surrounding air. When the vapor pressure at the surface of Awesome Air® is
lower than that of the air, it will attract moisture. When the surface vapor
pressure is higher than that of the surrounding air, Awesome Air® will release
moisture (which is a natural desorbing mechanism). As the moisture content of
Awesome Air® rises, so does the water vapor pressure at its surface. At some
point, the vapor pressure at the surface is the same as that of the air – the
two are in equilibrium.
How Do Molecules Of
Liquid Become Molecules Of Gas?
Phase transitions
(going from a liquid to a gas) represent structural and energetic changes in a
substance that requires energy. Some of the moisture will evaporate into gas.
The gas that is above the liquid is called its vapor and it creates the pressure
called vapor pressure. Each molecule in the liquid has energy, but not the same
amount. The energy is distributed according to the Maxwell-Boltzmann
distribution. Some molecules have more energy than others. High-energy
molecules sitting at the surface of the water start in motion because of their
energy. Some have enough energy to break away from the attractive forces of the
molecules around it. When this molecule moves away from the liquid surface, it
becomes a molecule of gas. As more and more molecules become gas, vapor
pressure is made.
As the temperature goes
up, there are more and more molecules with the right combination of energy and
direction to break free of the liquid’s surface. When equal numbers of molecules
evaporate and condense per unit of time, then equilibrium is established. The
change in phase going from liquid to gas is vaporization. The reverse process,
going from gas to liquid is condensation. Vaporization is endothermic,
condensation exothermic.
Desorbing and
Regenerating Awesome Air®
In climates where there
is winter heat, the Awesome Air® system will completely self dry -- no
maintenance is required, it regenerates itself. In climates where there is no
winter heat, remove Awesome Air® once a year and place in the sun for several
hours. Exposing Awesome Air® to heat (kinetic energy) allows molecules to
escape, desorbing and regenerating the zeolite. Drying and cooling Awesome Air®
will prepare it to become efficient again. Cooling off the zeolites in Awesome
Air® happens each time the air conditioner is blowing cold air. Cooling the
zeolite crystals reduces its surface vapor pressure so that it more readily
adsorbs moisture. The greater the difference between the air and zeolite
surface vapor pressures, the greater the ability of the zeolite to adsorb
moisture from the air at that moisture content.
Moisture/Air Dynamics
The term relative
humidity refers to the percentage of water vapor in the air at a given
temperature. When the temperature is high, air can contain a great deal of
water in the form of vapor, but when the temperature drops, vapor condenses into
water. In other words, temperature is closely linked to relative humidity.
Because cooler air cannot hold as much vapor as warmer air, a rapid lowering of
temperature can result in condensation, causing the airspace as well as
absorbent materials to become damp. The sudden lowering of temperature happens
each time the AC cycles on – which means condensation can form – it’s the nature
of the system. This makes passive desiccant zeolites such as Awesome Air® the
perfect companion to all HVAC systems.
Because of the
desiccant adsorption/desorption characteristics, everything in the system is
dynamic (changing temperature and amount of moisture) rather than at a steady
state and nothing is isothermal. Within a week after installing Awesome Air®,
the quality of the airspace will improve and compressor run clocks will indicate
run-time savings, which converts to KWH savings and energy savings.
Solving The Moisture Problem Will Solve The Poor IAQ Problems
Experts in indoor air quality have identified moisture and molds as a priority
to be addressed for improving indoor air quality. For optimum IAQ, design
conditions are a very important factor to consider when selecting an HVAC
system. The building structure should be evaluated to determine how moisture
impacts the space: Number of people and type of activity, vapor barriers, fixed
openings and number of door openings, type of building materials, level of
outside humidity, etc., etc. For safer moisture levels, add Awesome Air® -- a
well-engineered HVAC system and Awesome Air® is the solution to today’s IAQ
moisture problems.
Naturally Better. . .
The principle of
Awesome Air® is very simple – air conditioning operates more efficiently when
energy is not wasted on excess humidity removal. Thermostats can normally be
adjusted to save even more energy. The other reasons for using Awesome Air® are
lagniappe, as they say in Louisiana. |
