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1200 sq ft house, northeast. Would like to hook up dehumidifier to my ac/furnace. House gets humid and times like now, it's too cool to turn on ac.
Sick of 60 plus humidity. You can feel it in the air and it ruins things, like papers you have laying around the house. I'm to the point of just saying the heck with it and running the ac just to get out the humidity for a while. I know you aren't supposed to run it if it's cool out but I've had it with this.
Rant aside, if anyone can recommend one, particularly with a remote control that I can mount next to thermostat, that'd be great
and i figured whole house dehumidifier would be great because i can have it turn on/off based on humidity.
The issue is the cost to get that equipment then install it and integrate with the ductwork and then to run it but for a relatively and often very short season and that without closing up the house you'll never actually finish the job.
Every house is different but if you can somehow get air flowing through and up with the air staring from the shady side... you may be able to moderate the sense of humidity.
What matters is it's hot in, not if it's cool out. Like last night here the temp went down into the 50s I guess. For a while the house probably wasn't cool enough to stop the A/C from running. I don't leave windows open all night, and I went to bed early. So A/C was on. It's no big deal, I don't see why it would matter how cool it was outside. It should help, really, a little bit, or at worst have no effect.
How cool out do you think is too cool out to run the A/C? Whatever it is doesn't matter, just curious. It's hard to imagine the humidity feeling like a factor unless it's at least 60 or so outside, so I'm wondering why one would think it's bad to run the A/C at that temp.
As mentioned, A/C is a dehumidifier. That's how it works. Just run it. Trying to hook up a separate dehumidifier into the system is not cost effective. I do run a separate typical portable dehumidifier downstairs (below grade). It would get overly damp feeling down there otherwise. Trying to inhibit mold, etc. by keeping it down to 40%.
1200 sq ft house, northeast. Would like to hook up dehumidifier to my ac/furnace. House gets humid and times like now, it's too cool to turn on ac.
Sick of 60 plus humidity. You can feel it in the air and it ruins things, like papers you have laying around the house. I'm to the point of just saying the heck with it and running the ac just to get out the humidity for a while. I know you aren't supposed to run it if it's cool out but I've had it with this.
Rant aside, if anyone can recommend one, particularly with a remote control that I can mount next to thermostat, that'd be great
Before you look for a solution, look for the cause of the problem.
I'm on Long Island (which can get quite humid outside) but find proper venting of the kitchen and bathrooms, opening windows on less humid days, closing windows at dusk, and generally just keeping the air circulation in and out of the house (frequent air exchanges) takes care of the majority of the humidity.
People tend to underestimate how much humidity is added by boiling water, taking a shower, having a lot of plants, not opening windows, etc. Even having wall to wall carpeting and a lot of furniture in a small room can help retain moisture and inhbit air circulation.
Don't overlook your landscaping. If your house is nestled in a lot of bushes and trees the humidity outside will be higher, the ground will always be wetter, and you may have moisture in your foundation and walls (which could lead to mold and mildew).
The northeast just isn't that humid to absolutely, positively require a whole house dehumidifier.
I've never heard of a whole house dehumidifier other than a conventional central air conditiong system. If you run cooling for dehumidification when it is cool outside you'll have to lower the thermostat setpoint to keep it running thus making it cooler inside and actually raising the relative humdidity in the house.
Check out the Ultra-Aire dehumidifiers - they are what you are requesting.
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The Ultra-Aire units can utilize the existing A/C ductwork to distribute dehumidified air to the whole house. They are controlled by a remote humidity controller that can be located next to your thermostat.
Often the need to cool and dehumidify a house are not coincident. Adding a dehumidifier such as the Ultra-Aire allows you to maintain your desired indoor humidity level effectively and efficiently without excessively cooling and "overrunning" your AC system.
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Last edited by Ultrarunner; 06-14-2012 at 06:06 PM..
That Ultra Aire system is quite elaborate and most certainly expensive. How does it achieve dehumidification?
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Recommendation for whole house dehumidifier
