[handieman]

Its summer in the villages and the rains have begun and the outdoor humidity is very tropical. This is all well and good when your sitting in the pool but NOT a good thing for the interior or your home.
Let me try to explain what a DEhumidistat will do for you. First off its not a harmful thing for you home interior to be 85. It is a harmfull situation when your home has a relative humidity of 85 inside combined with the heat. So what can we do besides run the airconditioning at a livable temperature resulting in a lower interior relative humidity when were up north for a number of months? Seems wastefull doesn't it and yes it is. At this point you should be asking yourself how can I not run the AC when I'm away and save electricity and still keep the interior of my home safe.
A device called a DEhumidistat is simply a device that when set at 60% does not allow the AC to come on unless the humidity is above 60%. Even though the temperature inside the home is 85, there is no need to cool it if the humidity inside is dry. You Arizona folks know all about this. It costs approx. $50.00-$60.00 and can be installed with a very short service call. It is wired in series with the low voltage coming to your thermostat and simply will not allow the AC to turn on until two parameters are met, one the inside temperature must exceed the temperature set on the thermostat (78-80) AND the relative humidity inside the home must exceed the set humidity level (60%)
Conversations with various folks who have used these devices while away have told me of savings in the $100.00 per month range for the hottest months in summer. As you can see this device pays for itself usually very easily in the first month or two. This is not a device for use when the home is occupied, so it is merely turned to the ON position and the thermostat does its thing.

Being a northerner myself, these devices were a mystery to me until I used one. Color me in the "still learning mode"