forced air humidifier

forced air humidifier
For buildings with forced-air furnaces, a humidifier can be installed inside the furnace. They also protect wooden objects, antiques, and other furniture that may be sensitive to damage from excessively dry air. They may provide modest energy savings during the cooler months, as occupants may feel warmer at cooler temperatures as humidity increases.
A bypass humidifier is connected between the heated and cool air return ducts and uses the pressure differential between these ducts to cause some of the heated air to bypass the humidifier and return to the furnace.
If using an air conditioner, the humidifier should usually be turned off during the summer; the air conditioner works in part by reducing the humidity in the room.
drum
Drum (bypass) uses pipes to bring water directly to a water reservoir (pot) connected to the stove. The water level in the pot is controlled by a float valve, similar to a small toilet tank float. The wick is usually a foam pad mounted on the drum and connected to a small motor; hot air enters the drum at one end and is forced out the side of the drum. When the humidistat calls for humidity, the motor turns on, causing the drum to spin slowly in the water pan, preventing the foam pad from drying out.
Advantages include:
low cost
Low maintenance (drum pads are cheap and readily available) [citation needed]
Disadvantages include:
Needs to be checked frequently (about once a month) for cleanliness and pad condition
Even if humidification is not needed, the water will evaporate (since the water pan is still exposed to the high velocity air
) through the humidifier, whether used or not).
For the latter reason in particular, drum humidifiers should always be turned off on the water supply during the summer (air conditioning) months and should always be used with a high quality furnace air filter (MERV rating as high as possible to ensure a small amount of Mold spores can reach the humidifier pan when the water supply is turned on).