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Southern Mildew Problems: Weather and Psychrometrics
Abstract
Mildew, a costly consequence of excessive
moisture in homes, was addressed in a survey of 560
Florida families. Sixty-five percent of the
participants reported they had problems with mildew.
Attempts were made to correlate mildew problem with
building treatments such as weatherizing (a possible
cause in Northern areas) and various family living
practices. The high incidence of mildew problems in
this poprlation indicates a potential gap between the
dehumidification needs people have in their homes and
the amount of dehumidification they are getting with
their air conditioning .
Recognizing the contribution of misture from
outside the home led to the incorporation of
psychrometrics and weather data into tables and graphs
to assess the latent heat removal necessary to produce
an interior environment that would be less likely to
support mildew growth. Terms for the sensible cooling
demand and the latent heat removal demand were
designed, calculated, and plotted against months of
the year for nine locations in the state. This series
of figures provides new insights into the demands for
sensible cooling and latent heat rermval that can be
applied to meet local Florida conditions. Comparisons
of other U.S. coastal areas are also included.
Citation
Peart, V. (1989). Southern Mildew Problems: Weather and Psychrometrics. Energy Systems Laboratory (http://esl.tamu.edu); Texas A&M University (http://www.tamu.edu). Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /6567.