The first hygrometer was invented by Leonardo da Vinci in 1480. Used to measure the atmosphere’s moisture content, a hygrometer can contribute in a very broad way to meteorology and in a very specific way to preserving precise conditions in an indoor environment.

In meteorology, hygrometers are used in weather stations to plot out humidity measurements are multiple points. This allows meteorologists to find ranges, and dips and rises in their measurements, in a large area. Meteorology is a different beast from maintaining the humidity of a room, however.

Meteorology predicts a range of different models based on a running set of measurements that are constantly being made. The model that you see on the news or the Weather Channel isn’t the only model they’ve developed, it’s just the most likely model. It’s the predictive model that results most often from the input of their various measurements. That range of likelihood becomes the estimate. That’s why they rarely say it will definitely rain or it won’t, because there’s always a percentage of models in which it will do the opposite. So we get 60-percent chances of rain instead of definitive predictions.

This is a great way to assess and predict weather patterns because. Very precise shifts that a hygrometer measures won’t affect large weather patterns immediately in the way that more general shifts measured across a range of instruments do. Meteorology needs a great deal of information to predict the statistical likelihoods of various weather patterns, and hygrometers are an important part of this puzzle.

Hygrometers are also used in more specific ways – when a more local area needs to control certain humidity conditions. Hygrometers are used in greenhouses to precisely control humidity for plants so they can grow, or in terrariums when animals need to be kept under certain conditions for their health. Hygrometers are used in bookstores, libraries, and museums that house antique books, and in rare book collections. This allows those managing the books to ensure that humidity won’t contribute to faster decay. Hygrometers are crucial for preserving paintings and other rare and classic art. They’re even used in cigar humidors.

Whichever use you have for a hygrometer, different makes and ways of sensing humidity fit each job differently. Talk to SRP Control Systems about what your needs are, and which sensitivities in measurement offer which advantages for you.