It was developed in 1999 by Charles Cressy as an alternative to conventional refrigerant and desiccant dehumidifier drying techniques.
In July 2013 British Standards PAS 64 "Mitigation and recovery of water damaged buildings - Code of practice" was published recognising and including descriptions of the process within the document.
Both systems use heat, air exchanges and controlled manipulation of the indoor environment to reduce the drying time compared to traditional methods.
The temperature in the target area is increased by recirculating its air through the machine's conditioning system.
A dry state is determined when the exhaust specific humidity drops below intake specific humidity at which stage the heater and machines air exchange fans are automatically turned off and the technician notified by email or text that the building is dry.
Unlike traditional dehumidifiers, convectant systems work efficiently across all temperature ranges.
In addition to the benefits of a faster drying process, use of the process can result in significant reduction in: the need to strip out structural components, secondary damage, environmental impacts, overall cost savings relating to the incident - in particular when being used on more severe water damage or construction drying projects.