Sensible heating approach to controlling the equilibrium moisture content of wood

One approach to controlling the equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of wood is the sensible heating of air which results in a reduction of the air?s relative humidity (RH). This can be implemented by maintaining the temperature of the controlled space air at a constant value above the outdoor air?s morning minimum temperature (Method 1), maintaining the temperature of the controlled space air at a constant value above the air?s dewpoint temperature (Method 2), or adjusting the temperature of the controlled space air according to a preset RH (Method 3). These three methods for controlling EMC were evaluated by analyzing the hourly dry-bulb and dewpoint temperature data over a 6-year period (1990 to 1995) for 236 locations in the contiguous United States. At a given EMC, a single value of temperature (Methods1and 2) or RH (Method3) can be used for all locations in the contiguous United States. The temperature and RH settings are presented for different target EMCs ranging from 7 to 13 percent at 1-percent intervals. Excellent EMC control is provided by either Method 2 or Method 3. To obtain better control of EMC for a given location, the local weather data must be analyzed to allow calculation of the best settings for the temperature or RH.

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