
13Product overview
4.4 Functional description
The Condair RH steam humidier is an atmospheric steam generator. It operates on the electrode heat-
ing principle and is designed for duct air humidication via the Condair VS, Condair DS or Condair DV
steam distribution unit in a residential heat recovery ventilation system (HRV).
Water supply
The water is supplied via a lter valve (accessory "Z261") to the steam humidier. It reaches the steam
cylinder via the inlet valve and the open ll cup.
Note: the open ll cup is designed in such a way, that the supply water is separated from the unit water.
That means, that no unit water can ow back into the supply water line.
Steam generation
Any time steam is requested, the electrodes are supplied with voltage via the main contactor. Simultane-
ously, the inlet valve opens and the water enters the steam cylinder from the bottom via the ll cup and
lling hose. As soon as the electrodes come in contact with the water, current begins to ow between the
electrodes, generating heat and increasing the water evaporation rate. The more of the electrode surface
area that is exposed to conductive water, the higher the current consumption and thus steam production.
Upon reaching the requested steam capacity, the inlet valve closes. If the steam generation decreases
below a certain percentage of the required capacity, due to lowering of the water level (e.g. because of
the evaporation process or drainage), the inlet valve opens until the required capacity is available again.
If the required steam capacity is lower than the actual output, the inlet valve is closed until the desired
capacity is achieved by lowering of the water level (evaporation process).
Level monitoring
A maximum level sensor, provided in the steam cylinder, detects when the cylinder water level is at the
maximum. When the sensor comes in contact with water, the inlet valve will close after a short delay.
Drainage
As a result of the evaporation and rell process, the conductivity of the water increases due to an escalat-
ing mineral concentration. Eventually, an inadmissibly high current consumption would take place if this
concentration process were permitted to continue. To prevent this concentration from reaching a value,
unsuitably high for the operation, a certain amount of water is perio dically drained from the cylinder and
replaced by fresh water.
Control
The steam production is controlled via the internal continuous Proportional (P) / Proportional-Integral
(PI) controller.
Steam distribution
The steam produced by the Condair RH steam humidier is distributed in the duct air via the steam
distribution units Condair VS, Condair DS or Condair DV installed in the supply air duct.