Curated News
By: NewsRamp Editorial Staff
October 14, 2025
Eldridge: Humidity, Not Temperature, Is Cold Storage's Silent Saboteur
TLDR
- Eldridge's humidity control solutions give companies a competitive edge by reducing energy waste and operational costs in cold storage facilities.
- Eldridge engineers use psychrometric charts to model air properties and design precise dehumidification systems that prevent coil frosting and icing hazards.
- Eldridge's proactive humidity control makes cold storage facilities safer for workers while reducing energy consumption and environmental impact.
- Eldridge reveals how psychrometric charts transform invisible moisture into visible engineering solutions that prevent flash-freezing hazards in cold storage.
Impact - Why it Matters
This news matters because humidity control in cold storage facilities directly impacts food safety, pharmaceutical preservation, and supply chain reliability that affect consumers daily. When humidity isn't properly managed, it leads to energy waste that increases operational costs, which ultimately translates to higher prices for goods. More critically, uncontrolled moisture creates safety hazards for workers and can compromise the quality and safety of temperature-sensitive products like vaccines, medications, and perishable foods. As global supply chains become more complex and energy efficiency grows increasingly important, Eldridge's approach represents a fundamental shift in how we think about cold storage infrastructure that could lead to safer working conditions, reduced energy consumption, and more reliable preservation of essential goods.
Summary
In the cold storage industry, where temperature typically dominates discussions, Eldridge, a leading industrial ventilation and dehumidification solutions provider, is highlighting moisture as the true adversary undermining safety, efficiency, and profitability. According to Clayton Settle, Project Manager at Eldridge, "humidity is the silent saboteur" in temperature-controlled facilities operating between 0°F and 40°F. The company emphasizes that low temperatures don't create humidity but amplify it, leading to three critical problems: coil frosting that insulates cooling systems and reduces efficiency, icing and fogging hazards that create safety risks for workers and equipment, and energy waste from frequent defrost cycles and latent heat removal that drive up operational costs. Settle stresses that "the dew point, not just the thermometer, determines success in cold storage design," positioning humidity control as essential rather than optional.
Eldridge engineers are revolutionizing industrial facility management by employing psychrometric charts to model and control air's thermodynamic properties. These sophisticated tools allow engineers to plot dry-bulb, wet-bulb, and dew point temperatures, visualizing exactly when and where condensation or frost will form. This precision enables the design of ventilation and dehumidification systems that keep air safely below its dew point, transforming cold storage operations from reactive problem-solving to proactive prevention. In a compelling case study, Eldridge modeled outside air at 94°F dry-bulb and 78°F wet-bulb against a 35°F cold storage environment, using the resulting 90-grains-per-pound moisture differential to precisely size desiccant dehumidifiers that prevent frost formation while ensuring safe, energy-efficient operations.
The psychrometric chart has evolved from a classroom diagram to a blueprint for modern cold-chain management, allowing facility managers to identify high-risk zones, reduce maintenance cycles, and protect workers before hazards occur. As Settle explains, "By mastering humidity control, companies can move from reacting to problems to preventing them entirely. It's about smarter engineering — not just colder air." Established in 1946 as L.C. Eldridge Sales Co., Ltd., the Houston-based company brings decades of expertise in technical applications for ventilation and noise control, designing solutions that address air volume control, process cooling and heating, air filtration, dehumidification, and airborne noise challenges across industrial, marine, chemical/process, power, natural gas pipeline, utility, mining, and municipal sectors.
Source Statement
This curated news summary relied on content disributed by Newsworthy.ai. Read the original source here, Eldridge: Humidity, Not Temperature, Is Cold Storage's Silent Saboteur
