A relative humidity chart is a valuable tool around the house. Air is a vital component of our everyday lives. Air properties are important whether we are ventilating a livestock housing unit, drying grain, or determining relative humidity in the home. In a livestock building, temperature, moisture, odors, and toxic or noxious gases must be controlled. Since the moisture holding capacity of air increases with increasing temperature, heat may be added in grain drying to aid in removing moisture from the grain kernel. In the home, moisture can either be added to or removed from the air to change the relative humidity. In each case, air provides the link between the controls and the mechanical equipment, and air properties influence the results of the processes.

Psychrometrics refers to the properties of moist air. A psychrometric chart graphically illustrates the relationships between air temperature and relative humidity as well as other properties. A better understanding of air properties and the psychrometric chart can aid in the selection and management of a livestock building ventilation system, a grain drying system, or a home humidifier.

This cooling effect increases as the relative humidity decreases. The units are designed to "spot cool" areas of air conditioned homes or offices that get too warm for your liking. They blow out a stream of cold air that can be 7 to 12 degrees cooler than the room temp. Many questions are brought up concerning if the units could be used outdoors, or used in an un air conditioned house. The answers are yes, but only in a low-humid climate (60% or below - the lighter blue areas of the map).

This chart helps you determine your home's relative humidity. For example, when the outdoor temperature is 10 degrees above 0, and outdoor relative humidity is 70 percent, a home heated to 72 degrees has an indoor humidity level of only 6 percent-- much drier than the 25 percent relative humidity of the Sahara Desert! Skuttle humidifiers can restore your home's relative humidity to a healthier, more comfortable 30-to-40 percent range.