PSYCHROMETRIC CONDITIONS

Psychrometric Processes
In the domestic and industrial air conditioning applications some psychrometric processes have to be
performed on the air to change the psychrometric properties of air so as to obtain certain values of
temperature and humidity of air within the enclosed space. Some of the common psychrometric
processes carried out on air are: sensible heating and cooling of air, humidification and
dehumidification of air, mixing of various streams of air, or there may be combinations of the various
processes.
Illustrating and analyzing the psychrometric properties and psychrometric processes by using the
psychrometric chart is very easy, convenient and time saving. In the next few paragraphs we shall see
some of the most commonly employed psychrometric processes in the field of HVAC and how they
are represented on the psychrometric chart.

Sensible Cooling of the Air

Cooling of the air is one of the most common psychrometric processes in the air conditioning
systems. The basic function of the air-conditioners is to cool the air absorbed from the room or the
atmosphere, which is at higher temperatures. The sensible cooling of air is the process in which only
the sensible heat of the air is removed so as to reduce its temperature, and there is no change in the
moisture content (kg/kg of dry air) of the air. During sensible cooling process the dry bulb (DB)
temperature and wet bulb (WB) temperature of the air reduces, while the latent heat of the air, and
the dew point (DP) temperature of the air remains constant. There is overall reduction in the
enthalpy of the air.
In the ordinary window or the split air conditioner the cooling of air is carried out by passing it over
the evaporator coil, also called as the cooling coil. The room air or the atmospheric air passes over
this coil carrying the refrigerant at extremely low temperatures, and gets cooled and passes to the
space which is to be maintained at the comfort conditions.
In general the sensible cooling process is carried out by passing the air over the coil. In the unitary air
conditioners these coils are cooled by the refrigerant passing through them and are called also called
evaporator coils. In central air conditioners these coils are cooled by the chilled water, which is
chilled by its passage through the evaporator of the large air conditioning system. In certain cases the
coil is also cooled by the some gas passing inside it.
The sensible cooling process is represented by a straight horizontal line on the psychrometric chart.
The line starts from the initial DB temperature of the air and ends at the final DB temperature of the
air extending towards the left side from high temperature to the low temperature (see the figure
below). The sensible cooling line is also the constant DP temperature line since the moisture content
of the air remains constant. The initial and final points on the psychrometric chart give all the
properties of the air.
 PSYCHROMETRIC CONDITIONS

FIGURE: SENSIBLE COOLING OF AIR

Sensible Heating of the Air

Sensible heating process is opposite to sensible cooling process. In sensible heating process the
temperature of air is increased without changing its moisture content. During this process the
sensible heat, DB and WB temperature of the air increases while latent of air, and the DP point
temperature of the air remains constant.
Sensible heating of the air is important when the air conditioner is used as the heat pump to heat the
air. In the heat pump the air is heated by passing it over the condenser coil or the heating coil that
carry the high temperature refrigerant. In some cases the heating of air is also done to suit different
industrial and comfort air-conditioning applications where large air conditioning systems are used.
In general the sensible heating process is carried out by passing the air over the heating coil. This coil
may be heated by passing the refrigerant, the hot water, the steam or by electric resistance heating
coil. The hot water and steam are used for the industrial applications.
Like the sensible cooling, the sensible heating process is also represented by a straight horizontal line
on the psychrometric chart. The line starts from the initial DB temperature of air and ends at the final
temperature extending towards the right (see the figure). The sensible heating line is also the
constant DP temperature line.
 PSYCHROMETRIC CONDITIONS

FIGURE: SENSIBLE HEATING OF AIR

Cooling & Dehumidification, Heating & Dehumidification

What is Dehumidification?
The process in which the moisture or water vapor or the humidity is removed from the air keeping its
dry bulb (DB) temperature constant is called as the dehumidification process. This process is
represented by a straight vertical line on the psychrometric chart starting from the initial value of
relative humidity, extending downwards and ending at the final value of the relative humidity. Like
the pure humidification process, in actual practice the pure dehumidification process is not possible,
since the dehumidification is always accompanied by cooling or heating of the air. Dehumidification
process along with cooling or heating is used in number of air conditioning applications. Let us see
how these processes are obtained and how they are represented on the psychrometric chart.

This article describes psychrometric processes like dehumidification, cooling and dehumidification,
and heating and dehumidification. The article describes how these processes are achieved and how
they are represented on the psychrometric chart.
 PSYCHROMETRIC CONDITIONS

Cooling and Dehumidification Process

The process in which the air is cooled sensibly and at the same time the moisture is removed from it
is called as cooling and dehumidification process. Cooling and dehumidification process is obtained
when the air at the given dry bulb and dew point (DP) temperature is cooled below the dew point
temperature.
Let us understand the cooling and dehumidification process in more details. When the air comes in
contact with the cooling coil that is maintained at the temperature below its dew point temperature,
its DB temperature starts reducing. The process of cooling continues and at some point it reaches the
value of dew point temperature of the air. At this point the water vapor within the air starts getting
converted into the dew particles due to which the dew is formed on the surface of the cooling and
the moisture content of the air reduces thereby reducing its humidity level. Thus when the air is
cooled below its dew point temperature, there is cooling as well as dehumidification of air.
The cooling and dehumidification process is most widely used air conditioning application. It is used
in all types of window, split, packaged and central air conditioning systems for producing the comfort
conditions inside the space to be cooled. In the window and split air conditioners the evaporator coil
or cooling coil is maintained at temperature lower than the dew point temperature of the room air or
the atmospheric air by the cool refrigerant passing through it. When the room air passes over this coil
its DB temperature reduces and at the same time moisture is also removed since the air is cooled
below its DP temperature. The dew formed on the cooling coil is removed out by small tubing. In the
central air conditioning systems the cooling coil is cooled by the refrigerant or the chilled water.
When the room air passes over this coil, it gets cooled and dehumidified.
In the general the cooling and dehumidification process is obtained by passing the air over coil
through which the cool refrigerant, chilled water or cooled gas is passed.
During the cooling and dehumidification process the dry bulb, wet bulb and the dew point
temperature of air reduces. Similarly, the sensible heat and the latent heat of the air also reduce
leading to overall reduction in the enthalpy of the air. The cooling and dehumidification process is
represented by a straight angular line on the psychrometric chart. The line starts from the given value
of the DB temperature and extends downwards towards left.
 PSYCHROMETRIC CONDITIONS

FIGURE: COOLING AND DE-HUMIDIFICATION PROCESS

Heating and Dehumidification Process

The process in which the air is heated and at the same time moisture is removed from it is called as
heating and dehumidification process. This process is obtained by passing the air over certain
chemicals like alumina and molecular sieves. These elements have inherent properties due to which
they keep on releasing the heat and also have the tendency to absorb the moisture. These are called
as the hygroscopic chemicals. In actual practice the hygroscopic elements are enclosed in the large
vessel and the high pressure air is passed inside the vessel through one opening. When the air comes
in contact with the chemicals the moisture from the air is absorbed and since the chemicals emit
heat, the DB temperature of the air increases. The hot and dehumidified air comes out from the
vessel through other opening in the vessel. The inlet and outlet openings of the vessel are controlled
by the valve.
The heating and humidification process is commonly used for reducing the dew point temperature of
air. There are number of automatic valves in the chemical plants that are operated by the
compressed air at high pressure. If the dew point temperature of this air is high, there are chances of
formation of dew inside the valves which can lead to their corrosion and also faulty their operation.
Thus it is very important that the air passing to such automatic valves have very low dew point
temperature. The heating and dehumidification process by using hygroscopic materials is used often
in the air drying units.
 PSYCHROMETRIC CONDITIONS
During the heating and dehumidification process dry bulb temperature of the air increases while its
dew point and wet bulb temperature reduces. On the psychrometric chart, this process is
represented by a straight angular line starting from the given DB temperature conditions and
extending downwards towards right to the final DB temperature conditions.

FIGURE: HEATING AND DE-HUMIDIFICATION

Cooling & Humidification and Heating & Humidification

What is Humidification Process?
The process in which the moisture or water vapor or humidity is added to the air without changing
its dry bulb (DB) temperature is called as humidification process. This process is represented by a
straight vertical line on the psychrometric chart starting from the initial value of relative humidity,
extending upwards and ending at the final value of the relative humidity. In actual practice the pure
humidification process is not possible, since the humidification is always accompanied by cooling or
heating of the air. Humidification process along with cooling or heating is used in number of air
conditioning applications. Let us see how these processes are obtained and how they are
represented on the psychrometric chart.
 PSYCHROMETRIC CONDITIONS
This article describes psychrometric processes like humidification, cooling and humidification, and
heating and humidification. The article describes how these processes are achieved and how they are
represented on the psychrometric chart.

Cooling and Humidification Process

Cooling and humidification process is one of the most commonly used air conditioning application
for the cooling purposes. In this process the moisture is added to the air by passing it over the stream
or spray of water which is at temperature lower than the dry bulb temperature of the air. When the
ordinary air passes over the stream of water, the particles of water present within the stream tend to
get evaporated by giving up the heat to the stream. The evaporated water is absorbed by the air so
its moisture content, thus the humidity increases. At the same time, since the temperature of the
absorbed moisture is less than the DB bulb temperature of the air, there is reduction in the overall
temperature of the air. Since the heat is released in the stream or spray of water, its temperature
increases.
One of the most popular applications of cooling and humidification is the evaporative cooler, also
called as the desert cooler. The evaporative cooler is the sort of big box inside which is a small water
tank, small water pump and the fan. The water from the tank is circulated by the pump and is also
sprayed inside the box. The fan blows strong currents of air over the water sprays, thus cooling the
air and humidifying it simultaneously. The evaporative cooler is highly effective cooling devise having
very low initial and running cost compared to the unitary air conditioners. For cooling purposes, the
cooling and humidification process can be used only in dry and hot climates like desert areas,
countries like India, China, Africa etc. This cooling process cannot be used in hot and high humidity
climates.
The cooling and humidification process is also used in various industries like textile, where certain
level of temperature and moisture content has to be maintained. In such cases large quantity of
water is sprayed, and large blowers are used to blow the air over the spray of water.
During the cooling and humidification process the dry bulb of the air reduces, its wet bulb and the
dew point temperature increases, while its moisture content and thus the relative humidity also
increases.
Also, the sensible heat of the air reduces, while the latent heat of the air increases resulting in the
overall increase in the enthalpy of the air.
Cooling and humidification process is represented by an angular line on the psychrometric chart
starting from the given value of the dry bulb temperature and the relative humidity and extending
upwards toward left.
 PSYCHROMETRIC CONDITIONS

FIGURE: COOLING AND HUMIDIFICATION

Heating and Humidification Process

In heating and humidification psychrometric process of the air, the dry bulb temperature as well as
the humidity of the air increases. The heating and humidification process is carried out by passing the
air over spray of water, which is maintained at temperature higher than the dry bulb temperature of
air or by mixing air and the steam.
When the ordinary air is passed over the spray of water maintained at temperature higher than the
dry bulb temperature of the air, the moisture particles from the spray tend to get evaporated and get
absorbed in the air due to which the moisture content of the air increase. At the same time, since the
temperature of the moisture is greater than the dry bulb temperature of the air, there is overall
increase in its temperature.
During heating and humidification process the dry bulb, wet bulb, and dew point temperature of the
air increases along with its relative humidity. The heating and humidification process is represented
on the psychrometric chart by an angular line that starts from the given value of the dry bulb
temperature and extends upwards towards right (see the figure below).
PSYCHROMETRIC CONDITIONS

FIGURE: HEATING AND HUMIDIFICATION