Design, construction, and testing of an accurate low-cost humidistat for laboratory-scale applications

Stable and precise control of humidity is imperative for a wide variety of experiments. However, commercially available humidistats (devices that maintain a constant humidity) are often prohibitively expensive. Here, we present a simple yet effective humidistat for laboratory-scale applications that can be easily and affordably (<€250) constructed based on an Arduino Uno as microcontroller, a set of proportional miniature solenoid valves, a gas washing bottle, and a humidity sensor. The microcontroller implements a PID controller that regulates the ratio of a dry and humid airflow. The design and implementation of the device, including a custom driver circuit for the solenoids, are described in detail, and the firmware is freely available online. Finally, we demonstrate its proper operation and performance through step response and long-term stability tests, which shows settling times of approx. 30 s and an attainable relative humidity range of 10-95.