ASHRAE Winter Conference and the minimum relative humidity value
ASHRAE Winter Conference and the minimum relative humidity value
This year’s AHR Expo in Las Vegas will also host, from 28 January to 1 February, the ASHRAE Winter Conference, America’s principal ASHRAE event featuring different themed sessions, workshops and seminars.
One especially interesting seminar will take place on Sunday 29 January, entitled Updating Scientific Evidence about the Effects of Low Humidity on People. Chaired by Raul Simonetti, CAREL HVAC/R Corporate Business Manager, the seminar aims to shed some light on the need of a minimum level of humidity for health, well-being and productivity. Usually high humidity is associated with negative effects and consequently over time solutions have been sought to reduce humidity. Yet is it right to reduce it with no minimum limits?
“The objectives of the ASHRAE seminar are to highlight the effects of low relative humidity on personal health and comfort and establish a relationship between increased infections and excessively low relative humidity”, Simonetti explained. “ASHRAE standards do not specify a minimum humidity value and therefore at this session we aim to underline the need to define one, while being fully aware of the difficulties involved in establishing absolute values”.
Following Raul Simonetti’s introduction, three speakers will address the seminar: Melanie Derby, Ph.D., Associated Member of the Kansas State University, Stephanie Taylor, M.D., Healthcare Acquired Infections Organisation, Boston and Pawel Wargocki, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens, Lyngby, Denmark.
The ASHRAE Winter Conference
Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas
28 January – 1 February
