Many commercial buildings - schools, restaurants, drugstores, convenience stores, and theaters - suffer from humidity-related problems that cannot be resolved with conventional air conditioning systems because they are not effective at controlling humidity. By controlling humidity, commercial buildings can not only reduce risks or liabilities such as, mold, bacteria, structural, and material damage but also can create a more comfortable, odor-free environment while saving energy dollars associated with ventilation and overcooling.

The new Humidity Control Unit (HCU) 3000 by Munters provides the most economical way to bring makeup air into a commercial space and control temperature and humidity at the same time. A compact, packaged unit, the HCU-3000 recycles waste energy from cooling components to provide a cost-effective, energy-efficient way to control humidity and temperature. The system treats 100% makeup air and can work alone or in conjunction with existing air conditioning or energy recovery ventilator units. The HCU-3000 conditions up to 3,400 cfm of makeup air and can carry up to 12 tons of cooling. Compact in design, it is available with gas or electric post heat and configurable to a 2,000 cfm or 3,000 cfm unit, with return air and night setback modes.

Unlike systems that cool the air to lower the humidity and reheat it to create the desired temperature, the Munters HCU removes humidity from building makeup air using a desiccant rotor. The rotor is regenerated using recycled heat from cooling components, providing dry air to the air conditioning system at a low operating cost.

"The end result is a unit that controls humidity with a COP that is up to 65% higher than a typical air conditioning system," said Danny Dotson, sales manager for Munters Commercial DH Division.

"A conventional air conditioner cools the air and removes some of the moisture, and works well at design conditions of high ambient temperature with mild humidity conditions," he added. "However, at more moderate ambient temperature conditions with greater moisture levels, the conventional air conditioner will overcool the air and not dehumidify sufficiently.

"With the Munters HCU, indoor humidity is never allowed to rise when outside temperatures drop, making it ideal for the unique dehumidification, air conditioning, and heating requirements of facilities such as a supermarket."

Features of the HCU include:

  • Nominal flow rate of 3,000 cfm.
  • Titanium silica gel desiccant wheel optimized for the HCU cycle by providing ideal moisture removal utilizing only condenser and compressor waste heat.
  • Continuous automatic operation, including motor starters, protective devices, fault circuitry, microprocessor controller with communication and data storage capability. All wiring is in accordance with NEC.
  • 18-gauge galvalume.
  • Minimal connection requirements for simple installation.
  • Premium efficiency supply and reactivation fans, including variable-speed control for head pressure modulation.
  • Sized for efficient humidity and temperature performance leading to high unit COP.
AMCA