Whole House Dehumidifier in Austin (Fort Worth, Spring: how much, buying, prices)

[justtryharder]

We are considering a whole house dehumidifier, and looking for feedback or experiences with anyone in the Austin area who has one. Do they work? Are you pleased?

Thanks.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by justtryharder

We are considering a whole house dehumidifier, and looking for feedback or experiences with anyone in the Austin area who has one. Do they work? Are you pleased?

Thanks.

We did not get a stand alone de humidifier, but we did install a 'fancy' AC this past winter that includes de humidification management as part of the system. It seems to work quite well, but the test will be this summer. The idea is that you can leave you house a degree or two warmer but somewhat drier and get the same comfort level. Or as the vendor states "[The systems] run quietly and at different speeds, allowing them to operate at longer run times but at lower and steadier capacities to better manage humidity. "

I wouldn't buy anything as fancy as that unit, though, as we head into summer - 'winter' prices were almost 1/2 off compared to the summer prices (rebates, installment discounts, etc.).

[justtryharder]

Thanks Trainwreck, hadn’t considered timing it for a better price.

We have a newish house and don’t need a whole new system, so just looking into adding a dehumidifier component which is doable. Our problem is we leave town often, and running the A/C is an expensive way to keep things dry.

Spring and fall are the worst; temp says 70 degrees so no need to run A/C. Then mold becomes an issue, Yuck.

[cBach]

I don't ever need a dehumidifier as the time when the humidity is really unbearable I also use the A/C. I would like a humidifier in the winter, sometimes it's too dry for me. That being said, this is how you rid your house of humidity:

* Every time you shower, turn on the bathroom and W/C exhaust fans and shut the door to the bathroom. This allows all the moisture to be trapped in your bathroom and then eventually funneled outside.
* Install a kitchen exhaust fan. You won't believe how much humidity in the house is due to cooking. On cool dry days having the exhaust on and the window cracked will dry it out real quick.
* Keep laundry room doors closed and the laundry exhaust fan on when doing laundry.
* Make sure your drier exhaust vent is cleaned regularly, this exhaust vents the hot wet air of your drier outside.

[77030]

Good information here. I just have one thing to add, a situation that I hope you are NOT dealing with...

A fatal mistake that people have made in the past is this thought... "if the HVAC guy says I need a 3 ton unit, I'll get a 4 ton unit because more AC is better". With an older style single speed system, this can be a disaster! Comfort in Texas is all about humidity control. Too much capacity, and the space cools too quickly and stops running, and stops removing humidity in the process. You need to run the system a lot to get the humidity down below 50%.

If that is your issue, you need to replace your HVAC. Buying a dehumidifier won't help you. Setting your thermostat to 64 might get it dryer, but you will freeze!

I just replaced two 18 year old Carrier single speed units with new Green Speed Carrier units. Variable speed. So far I love them!!! I can set a target humidity of 46%, and it will run to achieve that, often times as low as 20% of capacity.

[justtryharder]

Thanks 77030, we dealt with that exact scenario in Fort Worth. Way too big of a unit, so learned our lesson there.

Problem is, we don’t need to replace our A/C unit. It works great and is only 6 years old. Hence, my interest in a separate whole house dehumidifier which I understand can be attached as a component. So I guess I’m looking for feedback on those.

[lynarthur]

We installed new carrier variable speed units about 9 years ago and they do a great job removing humidity from our house when the ac runs a lot (I.e. when it is hot outside). We keep our temps at 77/78 and are comfortable as the humidity is in the 40% range. So for summer, they are fine. In fall and spring when it can be very humid but not as hot, I wish we had a dehumidifier for the whole house as levels can up close to 60% while temps in the house are in the low 70s and the ac does not kick on.

[karpo1]

Cheap option could be 70pint dehumidifier that go for $250. I have one downstairs and another upstairs. One dries laundry room and other shower room.

While on longer holiday set A/C to 80 and setting dehumidifier for 55% with exhaust pipe to drain.

Changed 16y old A/C to new one and while new one runs more silent and -50% dollars on hot months they do not reduce humidity like old one. Would get whole house dehumidifier as part of new A/C if buying again. Probably depends a lot on how tight insulation is also.

[justtryharder]

Karpo, I just ordered a Frigidaire 70 pt one today. We do travel a lot, so need to look at drainage options. Our house is REALLY tight. Hope this makes a difference.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by justtryharder

Karpo, I just ordered a Frigidaire 70 pt one today. We do travel a lot, so need to look at drainage options. Our house is REALLY tight. Hope this makes a difference.

You can actually get "cabin fever" in the newer homes they are so tight. My sister had to install a fresh air intake into her HVAC system so there is some outside air introduced. It's better than opening a window because it is conditioned (heated or cooled) before entering the house. In the fall and spring she simply keeps the system on "fan" which circulates air through the house but also has that intake valve always drawing fresh air into the system. Even if you turn the system off, because it is not closed there would still be some air leaking into the house.