Industrial & Commercial Dehumidifiers in Dubai, UAE

Industrial and commercial dehumidifiers: choosing the format

The fourteen Yake refrigerant units in the table above cover most industrial and commercial humidity problems in the UAE, from a damp storeroom to a hotel pool hall. They come in three formats, and the format is usually decided by the building before the capacity is.

Portable units (RYCM range, 60 to 138 litres a day). On castors, plugged in, connected to a drain. For construction drying, water damage, seasonal damp, villa pools and spas, and anywhere the problem moves or does not justify a fixed installation. They are the quickest to deploy and the easiest to outgrow.

Floor standing units (RYCF range, 10 to 40 kilograms of water an hour). The workhorses for commercial pool halls, warehouses, production floors and any large space with a continuous moisture load. Sized in kilograms an hour rather than litres a day because the volumes are industrial. They stand in the space or an adjacent plant area and move large volumes of air.

Ceiling ducted units (RYDZ range, 168 to 960 litres a day, and the AMDZ-96C1 with fresh air). Out of sight above a false ceiling, plumbed to a drain, distributing dry air through grilles. The usual specification for hotels, finished pool halls, offices, laboratories and anywhere the equipment should not be seen. The rest of this page covers ceiling installations in detail, because they are the format where the installation decisions matter most.

Where the space runs cold, or the target humidity is below what a refrigerant unit can hold, none of these is the right machine. See desiccant dehumidifiers.

Where these units are specified

Warehouses and logistics, where packaging softens and stock deteriorates. Food processing and cold store anterooms, where condensation on chilled surfaces is a hygiene issue. Pharmaceutical storage, where humidity is a validated parameter. Hotels, gyms, changing rooms and spas, where showers and people generate moisture faster than ventilation removes it. Plant rooms and electrical rooms, where corrosion of switchgear is the concern. Basements and underground car parks, which take moisture through the structure. Indoor pools at every scale, covered separately on our swimming pool dehumidifier page.

Ceiling mounted units in detail: why they are the default for permanent installations

A ceiling mounted dehumidifier is the standard answer wherever the moisture load is continuous and the space is in regular use. It is out of the way, it is plumbed to a drain so nobody has to empty anything, and it is positioned where it can circulate air through the whole room rather than the corner it happens to be standing in.

The alternative, a floor standing unit, takes up space, gets moved, gets knocked, and depends on someone dealing with the water. In a plant room or a pool hall that arrangement lasts about a month before the unit is switched off and the humidity is back. Ceiling mounting removes the human factor from the equation, which is most of the reason it works.

Where ceiling dehumidifiers are specified

Indoor swimming pools and spas. The classic application. Water evaporates from the pool surface continuously and the moisture has to be removed at the same rate or it condenses on the roof structure, the glazing and the walls. Ceiling units in a pool hall are usually specified with corrosion resistant coils and casings, because chlorinated pool air is aggressive to ordinary equipment.

Plant rooms and electrical rooms. Where condensation on chilled water pipework and switchgear is the concern. A ceiling unit keeps the floor clear for maintenance access.

Basements and underground car parks. Cooler than the rest of the building, poorly ventilated, and often taking moisture through the structure. Ceiling mounting keeps the unit out of the way of vehicles and stored material.

Warehouses and storage. Protecting stock, packaging and equipment over long periods. For larger areas, several ceiling units distributed across the space give more even control than one large unit.

Gyms, changing rooms and wet areas. Where showers and people generate moisture faster than ventilation removes it.

Laboratories, archives and clean storage. Where humidity is a specified parameter and floor space is valuable.

Exposed or concealed

Ceiling dehumidifiers come in two formats and the choice is usually about the room rather than the machine.

Exposed units hang from the ceiling or mount on a wall bracket high up, with intake and discharge grilles on the unit itself. They are simpler to install, easier to service, and suit plant rooms, warehouses and anywhere appearance is not a concern.

Concealed or ducted units sit above a false ceiling with only grilles visible in the room. Air is drawn in through one grille, dried, and returned through another, and the unit can serve more than one space through short duct runs. This is the usual choice for hotels, pool halls with a finished ceiling, and any occupied space where the equipment should not be seen. Access for servicing has to be designed in, and it is the item most often forgotten.

The RYDZ range in the table above covers ceiling ducted units from 168 to 960 litres a day. The AMDZ-96C1 is the one to look at where the space also needs a fresh air supply, because it dehumidifies the incoming air rather than only recirculating what is already inside.

Drainage: the detail that decides whether the installation works

A dehumidifier produces water and a ceiling unit produces it at height. That water has to reach a drain, and there are two ways to get it there.

Gravity drainage needs a continuous fall from the unit to the drain point. Where the drain is close and the pipework can be run with a fall, this is the reliable option, because there is nothing to fail.

Condensate pumps lift the water where a fall is not available. They work well but they are a mechanical component that needs checking, and a blocked or failed pump on a ceiling unit means water on the ceiling below. Where a pump is used, a float switch that stops the unit if the pump fails is not optional.

In the UAE, condensate lines also scale over time because of the water hardness, and they grow biological slime in warm conditions. Both block the line. Specifying an accessible cleaning point and including the line in the service schedule prevents the ceiling stain that otherwise arrives a year or two after installation.

Sizing and air distribution

Capacity is quoted in litres per day at stated conditions, and for a ceiling unit the calculation follows the space: volume, moisture load, target humidity, and how much humid air is entering through ventilation and infiltration. For a pool it depends on water surface area, water temperature, air temperature and how heavily the pool is used, and it is the one application where a proper calculation rather than a rule of thumb is essential.

With ceiling units, air distribution matters as much as capacity. The dry air discharge should reach the surfaces at risk of condensation, which in a pool hall means the glazing and the external walls. A well sized unit blowing into the middle of the room while the windows stream with condensation is a common sight and a distribution failure, not a capacity one.

For larger spaces, several smaller units placed across the area usually beat one large unit at one end, for the same reason.

Installation

A ceiling unit needs a structural fixing rated for its weight, an electrical supply, a condensate route, and clear space for airflow at the intake and discharge. It also needs to be serviceable, which means either an accessible position or a ceiling access panel large enough to remove the filter and reach the coil, drain tray and controls.

Climatech installs the units it supplies and is happy to advise on positioning before the ceiling is closed, which is considerably cheaper than advising afterwards.

Servicing

Ceiling units are out of sight, and out of sight is how they end up not serviced. Filters block with dust, coils foul, drain trays and lines scale and slime up, and the unit quietly removes less and less until the humidity is back where it started. In a pool hall, the corrosive atmosphere adds coil and casing inspection to the list.

An annual service, or six monthly on pool and heavy duty installations, holds the unit at its rated performance. Climatech services ceiling dehumidifiers as well as supplying and installing them, including units we did not originally supply where we are able to.

Frequently asked questions

Can a ceiling dehumidifier serve more than one room?
A ducted unit can, through short duct runs to grilles in adjacent spaces. The limit is duct length and the fan pressure the unit is designed for. Beyond a few rooms, a central ducted system is the better design.

Do I need a special unit for a swimming pool?
Yes. Pool air is warm, saturated and chlorinated, and it corrodes ordinary coils and casings quickly. Pool duty units are built with coated coils and corrosion resistant construction, and they are sized on evaporation rate rather than room volume.

How noisy are they?
Exposed units in a plant room are not a concern. In occupied spaces, a concealed unit above the ceiling with lined ductwork is quiet enough for hotel and residential use. Ask about sound ratings if the space is noise sensitive.

What happens if the drain blocks?
A unit with a float switch stops and signals a fault. A unit without one overflows into the ceiling. Specify the float switch.

Talk to us

Call +971 54 574 2443 or email info@climatech.ae with the type of space, its dimensions, the ceiling height and construction, and for a pool the water surface area. Photographs of the ceiling and the nearest drain point are genuinely useful.

For villa pools, spas and pool halls, see our swimming pool dehumidifiers. For cold spaces or very low humidity targets, see desiccant dehumidifiers. For the full range, see dehumidifiers.