8
Operating Costs
TrueSTEAM Humidification System
Regardless of the brand or type of humidifier you offer homeowners, there are operating costs
incurred to achieve desired comfort. It is a common misconception that evaporative pad
humidifiers provide the lowest total cost solution. Let's take a closer look at the operating
costs for evaporative and steam humidifiers to illustrate how they are more comparable
than you might think.
How can this be true?
You can boil it down to one universal law that applies to all humidifiers…
Energy must come from somewhere to convert water into vapor.
Whether it is from an electric heating element or from the furnace, it’s essentially the same amount of energy. In order to compare total
operating costs of TrueSTEAM and an evaporative humidifier, there are four factors to consider:
1. The energy cost to convert water to vapor and to operate the system fan
2. Water consumption
3. Sewer drain when metered
4. Cost to heat water when connected to water heater as supply
Let's look at an example and contrast the operating cost of an evaporative bypass humidifier with the Honeywell TrueSTEAM. We will use
national average costs as listed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Consumer Energy websites, November 2008.
National Averages according to U.S. DOE and Consumer Energy, Nov 2008
Natural gas cost = $20.19 per 1000 ft
3
(D.O.E.)
Electricity cost = $0.11 per kW/hr (D.O.E.)
Water consumption = $0.003 per gallon (Consumer)
Sewer drainage = $0.003 per gallon (Consumer)
This cooled air delivered from an evaporative
humidifier needs to be re-heated by the furnace.
120°F supply air
temperature
Humidified
air at 90°F
• In steam devices, an
internal heating element
adds this energy directly
to the water (via boiling).
• In evaporative pad
devices, energy is
absorbed from the air and
must be restored later by
the heating system.
Temperature drop is about 30°F as energy is
absorbed to vaporize water
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